Chapter ch 184

Ryan lets out a shaky breath. "So this is what it comes down to? Blackmail?"

"Call it what you want," Elaine says. "But yes, Ryan, Blackmail. You want Julie

back? You want your life back? You get me out of here. Simple as that."

He runs a hand through his hair, barely able to look at her. He doesn't want to do

this. The very idea makes him sick to his stomach. But what choice does he

have? Julie is slipping through his fingers, and with her goes everything-his

reputation, his family's respect, his carefully crafted life.

"Fine," he says. "I'll talk to my lawyer. If, by some miracle, he gets you out, you're

going to fix it. You're going to make Julie see that this divorce is a mistake."

Elaine's smile is wide. "Of course," she purrs, leaning back with a satisfied sigh.

"I'll do whatever it takes, darling. I'm sure Julie and I will have a lovely little chat."

He can feel bile rising in his throat. He stands, shoving his chair back, unable to

stay in the room with her any longer. He turns without another word, pushing the

door open, feeling her gaze sear into his back as he leaves.

And he knows, as the cold air of the detention center hallway hits him, that he's

already in too deep.

It's three hours past noon, ten minutes until Elaine's arraignment, and still no sign

of Ben. Ryan paces outside the courthouse, checking the driveway for the

hundredth time. If he didn't know Ben better, he'd think he'd been ghosted. This

isn't how their last-minute arrangement was supposed to work.

"Where the hell is he?" Ryan mutters under his breath, catching a glare from a

passing officer. He ignores it, glancing down the street. And finally-finally-Ben's

sleek black sedan glides around the corner, pulling up with an unhurried ease that

grates on Ryan's nerves.

As Ben steps out, all casual confidence in his tailored suit, Ryan storms over.

"Where were you? I thought you'd stood me up!"

Ben closes his car door, locks it, then gives Ryan a measured look. "Why are you

hassling me, Ryan? Have I ever disappointed you?"

"Not yet, but you were cutting it close today. If you didn't want to take the case,

you could have just said it."

Ben smooths a nonexistent wrinkle in his jacket. "If I didn't want the case, I

wouldn't be here. I was just doing some underground checks on the defendant.

Something substantial enough to make the judge take pity on her."

Ryan scoffs. Pity? If that's the angle Ben is aiming at, they're all screwed. The

judge would take one look at Elaine and know that's all horseshit.

"So," Ryan says, "did you find anything?"

"Yes. One of those things is that the defendant is your mother-in-law." He pauses,

watching Ryan's face for a reaction. "I guess you skipped that part when you

called."

Ryan shifts uncomfortably. "Maybe... I thought it'd go smoother if I left out the

details."

"That's not even the craziest part. The complainant? That's your wife?"

"It's a long story."

Ben holds up his hand. "Let me get this straight. Your mother-in-law tried to throw

your wife off a bridge, and here you are trying to get her out on bail because..."

Ryan glances around before saying, "I need her help to fix a certain problem. Julie

left me. I don't know how she did it, but between yesterday night and today, she

managed to obtain a divorce summons. I've been served."

Ben stares at Ryan, eyes wide. "Tell me you're joking."

"Look, I know it sounds messy. But you don't understand. Julie won't even talk to

me. I'm out of options, and if I don't do something, she's gone for good. Elaine's

my last chance."

"So just to clarify once more: your mother-in-law-who nearly threw your wife off a

bridge-gets to play peacemaker here? And you're hoping this same woman can

talk your wife into staying with the guy who sent her killer in the first place? Tell

me I'm getting this wrong."

"Why does everyone keep blaming me?" Ryan's voice rises. "It wasn't my

command. Elaine took things too far!"

Ben raises an eyebrow, skeptical. "And yet, here you are, still defending her.

Ryan, she's a menace. No judge is going to buy whatever sob story we try to sell

about this woman."

Ryan's jaw clenches. "Can you get her out or not?"

"It was never a question about my ability, Ryan. It's about how crazy this is. How

about you let Elaine go to jail and then go hunt down your wife wherever she is

and tell her you're sorry? It's what adults do."

Ryan presses his lips together, avoiding Ben's gaze. He can still picture Julie's

face as she stormed out last night, her eyes cold and unforgiving. He doubts any

apology would do the trick.

"I'll pay you double your rate," Ryan says. "Is that what you want?"

Ben's eyes narrow, but he doesn't miss a beat. "Triple."

"Done."

They shake on it.

At 3:15 PM, the court rises.

The judge enters, an older man with sharp eyes that suggests he's seen it all. He

settles behind the bench and glances down

at his notes.

"State of New York versus Elaine Jenkins," the judge intones. "Charges of assault

and attempted murder. Defense, present your client."

Ben rises, buttoning his suit jacket.

"Your Honor, the defense argues that the charges against Mrs. Jenkins are, to put

it bluntly, an exaggerated misinterpretation of events."

The judge raises an eyebrow but says nothing.

"Mrs. Jenkins has a history of

mental health challenges. She's

been diagnosed with bipolar

disorder, and as her attending

physician has verified, she was not

on her medication at the time of the

incident. What we are looking at,

Your Honor, is not pre-meditated

violence but rather an unfortunate

outburst from a woman suffering

from an untreated illness."

Ryan blinks, turning to Ben in surprise. Bipolar disorder? Sure, he's always known

Elaine is... special, a little intense, but an actual diagnosis? And bipolar? It's like

seeing her for the first time through a different lens. It explains a lot. Yet he can't

quite silence the voice in his head saying this sounds a little too convenient.

"And what evidence do you have of this supposed diagnosis?" the judge asks.

Ben doesn't flinch. "Your Honor, we

have a written statement from Dr.

Cohn, Mrs. Jenkins's attending

psychiatrist. As you can see here,"

Ben holds up the document,

approaches the bench, and passes it

to the clerk, who hands it up to the

judge. "This is not a case of

cold-blooded assault but rather an

episode of unfortunate mental

destabilization."

Ryan's heart pounds now. He thought Ben was just here to play on the judge's

sympathies, maybe go for a generic plea. But this? This is the kind of thing that

could actually work.

"Mrs. Jenkins's behavior, though

erratic," Ben continues, "is not an

uncommon presentation in those

suffering from untreated bipolar

disorder. We are not here to say

she's without fault, Your Honor, only

to argue that her actions, however

misguided, were not the deliberate

acts of a sound mind. Therefore, we

request bail while she awaits trial, in

the hopes that she can seek

treatment."

"Bipolar disorder, Mr. Wallace?" The prosecutor rises. "This is an awfully

convenient diagnosis, don't you think?"

Ben turns to him, his face calm. "Are you suggesting, sir, that mental illness is

convenient? Or are you merely questioning the authority of her doctor?"

"I'm questioning the timing of this revelation, that's all."

As the argument between Ben and the prosecutor drags on, Ryan can barely

keep track. Their words blur together, voices rising and falling around him, but

he's somewhere else-lost in his doubts. Am I really doing this? The thought

circles through his mind, louder than anything in the room. Am I actually helping

her get out?

He snaps back to attention when the judge says, "Bail is set at twenty thousand

dollars, to be released to a third-party custodian."

A murmur ripples through the courtroom, but Ryan barely registers it. Twenty

grand? Nothing he can't cover. But watching Elaine, now uncuffed, rise with that

triumphant gleam in her eye, he's struck by the realization that he may have

unleashed something unstoppable.

As Elaine steps toward him, she smiles. "Well, well, Ryan," she says. "Guess I

owe you one."

"You're going to fix this. Remember our deal."

She raises an eyebrow. "Don't worry, darling. I always honor my deals."