Chapter 4

"Well I admit that was quite a close call. I'm very happy how you turned the whole case around." Grossberg commented as he patted Mia's back.

"But it's not over yet, I'll have to pull out all the stops if I want to win," the brown-headed replied with her arms crossed.

"But we shouldn't have to worry. Demy is the next witness and he'll prove my innocence." Phoenix stated with a smile.

Upon hearing this Mia instantly shouted "Prove your innocence?! He's the one that had you arrested in the first place!"

Phoenix ducked down a bit in fear. She hadn't expected her defense attorney to shout at her like that. While she knew Damian was the that had the police take her away for Doug Swallow's murder, she was still convinced that her boyfriend would come through for her. The young woman couldn't find it possibly that a sweet guy that she had spent six months with would have her placed behind bars for a crime she did not commit.
Mia inhaled sharply through her nose in an attempt to calm herself down; she knew getting angry at her client wouldn't help her win the case.

Once she calmed down enough she asked "Tell me, Ms. Wright, did you meet Damian Hawthorne on August twenty-seventh in this court?"

Phoenix's eyes widened slightly before replying "Yeah I did, but how did you know that?"

The defense attorney closed her eyes with confirmation as she opened up her briefcase and pulled out an old newspaper article.

"Six months ago, there was a murder in this court." she said in a stern tone.

The dark-haired twenty-one year-old's hands shook as she grasped the newspaper tightly, reading about how a defense lawyer named Diego Armando was murdered by poison consumption. The police had searched everywhere for any signs of how the poison was planted but wasn't able to find any clues before finally giving up. Without a word Phoenix slowly lowered the newspaper in shock; not only she couldn't believe such a horrible tragedy took place in the same area as her and she had no idea but she also was horrified that the crime was the same one that Doug Swallow had claimed that Damian committed.
Grossberg closely examined the newspaper before scratching his head as he let out a small hum.

"Now I understand why you wanted to take on this case, Mia. But what you want be able to accomplish your goal with your current evidence." he commented.

"Well I was kind of hoping to wing it a bit." Mia admitted with a small grin.

"Winging it can only get you so far though. But I think I can get the evidence you need to help you win this case. It'll take some time but I'll try to get back as quickly as possible." Grossberg stated.

The female defense lawyer nodded her head both in understanding and gratefulness before finally watching her employer leave the room. Once he was gone Mia turned back to her nervous looking client who was still staring at the floor in shock.

Deciding to get some more information she asked "So what happened that day when you met, Damian Hawthorne?"

Phoenix immediately snapped out of her shock and shook her head a few seconds to clear her mind. Once she was settled she explained how Damian bumped into her on accident and it was love at first sight from that point. The young dark-haired couldn't help but release as happy sigh as she recalled how charming and devilish Damian was to her that day.
Mia on the other hand groaned upon hearing this and resisting the urge to hit her client for saying such things since she did not think of Damian as she charming man he pretended to be.

"He even gave me a necklace as a sign of his love! Here I'll show you!" Phoenix said with a grin as she pulled the necklace out of her sweater.

The defense attorney remained silent as her brown eyes zoned in on the bottle that was shaped like a crystal. She even grew more suspicious when her client explained her confusion about how a few days after their first meeting Damian had started constantly asking for the necklace back. She knew if Damian wanted the necklace back it had to be something very important that would expose him for the demon hiding underneath a mask he really is.

"May I hold onto that. I thin k it might come in handy for the next part of the trial." Mia said as she held out her hand.

Phoenix was a bit hesitant as she bit her lip, unsure if she wanted to hand over a gift she treasured. But after a few seconds she sighed as she handed the necklace to Mia, deciding that if she wanted her innocence to be proven that she had to cooperate.
At that moment the bailiff entered the waiting room, announcing how the recess was over.

"Alright, it's time to end this." Mia muttered under her breath as she entered the courtroom with her client and went to their respective seats.

Mia took in deep breaths as her nails scrapped along the wooden surface of the desk in front of her. The moment she had been preparing for had finally come. The brown-headed woman was doing the best to keep her boiling anger from surfacing as she stared at certain red-headed young man that had been called upon as a witness. Mia hated that twisted and devilish smirk was painted all over Damian's face, knowing that meant he believed he was already off the hook. She remained silent as Damian stated his name and occupation to the court with a sly grin.

"I just want to say, it's a honor to be in the court's presence. I'm sure all of you work hard to give a fair trial no doubt." the young man finished with his brown eyes glistening with charm.

"The honor is ours, Mr. Hawthorne!" Payne instantly exclaimed.

"Yes, your such a well mannered gentlemen that it makes me wish there was more people like you in the world. I'm convinced that you're here to help me the culprit behind bars and help for justice system like the great citizen you are." the judge commented with a smile.

Mia snarled before shouting at the judge to move on with the trial. But she immediately partially regretted shouting when she saw the angry glare from both the judge and prosecutor. Her teeth clenched tightly as she did her best to calm her rage, knowing that she couldn't have many outbursts due to Damian able to easily manipulate people with his charisma.

"Alright then proceed to tell us what happened on the night of the crime, Mr. Hawthorne." she said while doing her best to hide away the venom in her voice.

Damian chuckled as his eyes glanced the defense attorney for a few seconds before starting to explain on the night of the murder he had been walking back to his classroom to pick up some books he had forgotten and left there. On his way he saw Phoenix and Doug talking to each other calmly. The red-headed man continued on by claiming that without warning Doug Swallow suddenly began to wobble before dropping dead. He stated that his girlfriend Phoenix was so shocked by the sudden death that she fainted. Once he saw the scene he called the cops for help but stated how he never intended for the cops to arrest Phoenix, that he only called them to see if they could help Doug.

Phoenix sighed in relief with a smile, glad to see she was right about her boyfriend being there to help her out. But her happiness immediately faded when Prosecutor Payne pointed out in a nervous tone how Damian's testimony was a lie. Her face turned pale with when she heard even Mia agree with the prosecutor. She couldn't believe that her lawyer was going against a testimony that would help her avoid the guilty verdict. It made her wonder if the brown-headed woman was even on her side when all it seemed she was doing was making the situation worse for her by pointing out contradictions.

"Mr. Hawthorne, we both know that testimony is false because Ms. Phoenix Wright's handprints were found on the victim's jacket, meaning he did not collapse on his own and was indeed pushed by the defendant." Mia stated.

Damian narrowed his brown eyes before replying "Same old, Mia Fey. Always trying to give me a bad name."

"Wait you two know each other?!" Prosecutor Payne exclaimed in shock.

"We share a brief history." the brown-headed woman said, intending not to go into further detail.

With smirk the red-headed man revised his testimony, saying that he didn't see the moment of the push and by the time her turned his head he saw the two lying on the ground. He stated that he had no idea Phoenix rammed into Doug Swallow because he heard no noise come from the two, leaving him to believe that they were only having a peaceful discussion.

"Hmm, that would be plausible if it weren't such an obvious." Mia pointed out with a smirk, "Your girlfriend stated in her testimony that she heard a loud snap sound before she lost consciousness and I was already to establish it was the umbrella that she heard. So how is it that you weren't able to hear them if you were so close to them at the time?"

"She said what?!" Damian exclaimed in surprise with a hint of anger in his voice.

Phoenix flinched when she heard the tone of her boyfriend's voice. She couldn't understand why Damian was angry with her for telling the truth. The dark-haired young woman began rubbing her hands together nervously upon starting to witness the new side of the young man she had never seen before. It made her worried why his new personality was starting to surface in the courtroom and why he had never shown any signs of it over the time she dated him. Phoenix didn't know why but deep down she was starting to have trouble believing the man at the witness stand was the very same one she had frown to love.

The red-headed man took in a deep breath as he regained his composure while he crossed his arms firmly across his chest. With a small grin he apologized about a crucial detail he had forgotten in his testimony. The reason he didn't hear the snap was because he was wearing headphones at the time. He was never fond of the loud booming sounds of thunder so when he saw the lightning flashing through the sky he placed on some headphones to block out the sounds he considered horrendous. But without the sound Damian wasn't able to notice the fight until it was too late.

Mia closed her eyes in thought as she pressed her hand against her chin. While the witness' testimony didn't have any contradictions. she did noticed that a new crucial fact was revealed. If it was lightning that day, there was a chance that Doug Swallow actually got struck by lightning. Her eyes immediately snapped open as she pointed this out to the court. The defense lawyer was confident that the new revelation would help her get the not guilty verdict, but unfortunately she noticed Payne's grin as he waggled his index finger.

"You should have more faith in me, Ms. Fey. You didn't think that I thought about that possibility?" the prosecutor said, "Reports indicate there were no lightning strikes that day and I have a testimony from the pharmacology lab stating that they lost power around three o'clock in the morning, the same time Doug Swallow died."

"What no way!" Mia exclaimed in shock as she jerked back.

"To add onto that, the students noted how the wires were old and were needing to be replaced. They were so worn down that even the smallest bump could cause the lines to break. If you recall Ms. Wright's testimony when she slammed herself into the victim, her head smashed against the voltage pole. Meaning that impact is what caused the line to break and ultimately kill Doug Swallow." Payne stated as he adjusted his glasses.

The defense lawyer bit her thumb hard out of panic; she knew she had to come up with a counter argument if she wanted to save her client. Her brown eyes glanced down at the court files, desperately searching for clues. That was when she noticed an important detail in the crime photo that she couldn't believe she didn't notice before.

"With a victorious smirk on her face Mia brushed her bangs out of her before replying "Sorry to burst your bubble, Mr. Payne, but I can't accept that explanation.

"What?!" Payne exclaimed as he started pulling his black again.

"Explain yourself, Ms. Fey." the judge spoke up, "I thought prosecutor Payne's explanation fit perfectly with the evidence given. The moment the suspect hit her head against the pole cause the line to snap and it hit and electrocute the victim."

"That's only part of it." the defense attorney began to explain, "Yes when Ms. Wright slammed herself into Doug Swallow and hit the pole, it did indeed caused the line to snap. But remember the victim had fallen one his umbrella and if you direct your attention to it in the crime photo, it's near the far back pole while the severed line is in the forehead. Which mean someone else electrocuted Doug Swallow because Ms. Phoenix Wright had knocked him down away from the broken wire and wouldn't had the chance to grab the wire because she had knocked herself unconscious!"

The whole courtroom gasped as they muttered to each other in shock. They couldn't believe the lawyer before them that barely had any court experience was punching wholes in every testimony and theory, leading them closer and closer to the truth. It began to make them wonder if Phoenix Wright was truly guilty at all like they had originally thought.

The mutters continued to echo through out the courtroom until finally they were interrupted by Damian coughing loudly. Once he saw he had everyone's attention the young man smirked a charming smile toward the judge.

"I'm sorry your honor for speaking out of turn, but I like to pint out that Ms. Fey explanation isn't quite how I remember the event happened. If you give me a second chance, I promise I will clear the whole thing up for you." he said in a sly yet devilish tone.

The judge stared in silence before shaking his head immediately and replying "Oh no need to apologize young man. After all you're only helping us find the truth out of your overwhelming love for the justice system."

"Oh gag me." Mia bitterly thought to herself as she rolled her eyes, finding it annoying how clueless the judge was to Damian's personality.

The red-headed man nodded his head before explaining that when Phoenix hit the pole she wasn't quite knocked out yet. She was dazed but was able to easily spot Doug Swallow trying to get away. Using the last of her strength she managed to lunge herself at the victim, knocking his body into the exposed electrical wire before both of them collapsed on the ground and there was when Phoenix finally lost her consciousness.
Phoenix felt like she lost the ability to breath when Damian apologized to her for not being able to protect and cover up her murder successfully. Many thoughts of confusion and fear ran through her mind. She didn't want to believe her boyfriend was against but it seemed every fact thrown at her in court room told her other wise. She bit her lip hard as she began digging her fingers into her dark hair, not quite sure what to believe in anymore.

"And exactly how much time occurred between the first and second push?" Mia asked with her brows lowered in both suspicion and anger.

"Hmm." Damian started as he tapped his index finger against his chin in thought before answering, "I would say about a minute."

At that moment Mia shouted out "Objection! Your testimony doesn't match up with the evidence! I would like you to take a look at this photo."

The young man focused his brown eyes on the photo the defense lawyer held out to him before raising a brow in confusion as he noted "That's just a picture of Doug holding Nixie's cold medicine."

"It isn't the medicine I want you to look at, it's the watch on the victim's wrist." Mia said in a stern tone, "Because of the electrocution, the watch froze at the time of Doug Swallow's death which was at three o'five. Now, Mr. Payne, would you be so kind as to remind the court at what time the lab lost power."

"Well of course, it was at two-fifty..." the prosecutor started to answer but then screamed in realization.

"The lab lost power at two-fifty-five in the morning and Doug Swallow was murdered at three o'five. That's a ten minute gap between the events. Ms. Wright wouldn't have enough strength to tackle Doug Swallow due to her consciousness slipping and Doug Swallow should had been able to easily get away. So I ask you this, Damian Hawthorne, what were you doing during that ten minute gap while your girlfriend was lying unconscious and your former friend was getting himself off the ground?" the defense lawyer demanded.

Damian clenched his teeth tightly in rage before bitterly replying "Well by the sounds of thing, Ms. fey, it sounds like you're accusing me of murder."

"As a matter of fact, I am." Mia said in a dark tone as she leaned forward on her desk, "You were the only other one at the scene of the crime and there's a ten minute gap missing in your story. With your Ms. Wright unconscious you easily had the opportunity to dash in and murder Doug Swallow!"

Upon hearing the claim the courtroom audience exploding into yells of shock and surprise, people shouting for how they wanted the truth, how no one was able to figure out who murdered the victim with all the new discoveries brought to light.
The judge started slamming his gavel against his desk as he demanded for their to be order in his court.

Everyone kept shouting and arguing about the trial ignoring the judge's orders until a voice shouted "Hold it!"

Mia immediately turned her head and felt like screaming when she saw her very own client Phoenix Wright trying to frantically climb out of the defense bench while two bailiffs were struggled to pull her back.

"Your honor, strike everything the defense said from the record! There's no way my Demy would murder anyone!" the young woman screamed at the top of her lungs, "Demy is too sweet and kind to hurt anyone! Mia Fey has to be wrong! Demy is not a murderer!"

"Ms. Wright, back in your seat and reframe from ever making another outburst! You are at the end of your rope so I suggest you sit down and be quiet!" the judge shouted in an angry tone.

Phoenix tired to shout out a reply but instead she entered another sneezing fit caused by her cold. Because of this the two bailiffs were able to successfully get a firm grip on the dark-haired woman and force her back down in the defense bench.
Mia couldn't help but release a groan of frustration and she rubbed her fingers against the temple of her forehead. She couldn't understand why her client continued to turn a blind eye toward the facts that were right in front of her face.

"My that girl stirred about quite the commotion." a male voice commented.

The brown-headed woman turned to the left to see none other than Grossberg standing next to her.

"I managed to track down the police files for the case in the newspaper article. Luckily I managed to get back here just in time." he said as he held out an orange colored file.

Mia accepted the file before quickly reading through notes that detailed how Diego Armando was murdered from poisoning and he had been investigating Damian Hawthorne concerning another case he had been involved. She remember how Detective Gumshoe wasn't able to fine any poison on the premise except for the one that was found in Diego's coffee cup and how the suspect didn't have any kind of bottle on his person. She knew it couldn't had been a coincident that Damian had happened to decide that very day to make Phoenix Wright his girlfriend.

"Ms. Fey, this is quite the accusation you have made. You know there are huge penalties for accusing an innocent witness." the judge stated.

"I'm quite aware your honor. That's why I would like Mr. Hawthorne to testify about the day he met Phoenix Wright." Mia replied.

"Objection! What will that prove?" Payne shouted in slight panic.

"It will prove exactly why Damian Hawthorne had the need to frame his girlfriend." Mia answered in confident tone.

Damian shook his head with a small laugh as he agreed to testify; he figured that sooner or later Mia would bring up that fateful day in the courtroom sooner or later.
He told the court about how he met Phoenix in the court library and it was love at first sight and ever since then he had mean dating her so there was no possible reason for him to frame her.

"And may I ask what your were doing in the library that day?" the brown headed woman asked.

"I was studying the court of law for a writing report." the young man replied.

Mia grinned as she immediately got out the police file.

"Sorry, Mr. Hawthorne, that excuse won't work. According to this report you were arrested for suspect of murder on August twenty-seventh. Diego Armando died from poison ingestion and you were with him at the time for an interview concerning another case. You were the only one that could have slipped the poison in his cup at the time." she replied.

Without warning Damian began laughing loudly, causing some people to jump back in surprise.

"Oh that's rich, Ms. Fey, accusing me of poisoning a lawyer. Besides I wouldn't be able to get my hands ahold of such a poison." he continued to laugh.

The defense lawyer remained silent in thought for a few seconds before finally saying "Yes you could, from the victim Doug Swallow. He was a pharmacology student."

Upon hearing that Damian immediately ceased his laughing. His eyes were wide in fear and his hands were nervously clawing at the defense bench. He couldn't believe the lawyer who couldn't even find evidence to put him on trial for Diego's death was finally managing to catch up to him. The thought of being exposed terrified him deeply that it caused him to feel dread at the possibility Mia Fey succeeded at placing him behind bars for good.

In an attempt to turn things around for him once more, Damian gathered his nerves before pointing out "But upon my arrest the police officers found no bottle on person and there was no evidence anywhere else in the courtroom. So obviously it couldn't have been me."

The moment Damian uttered the word bottle, everything had finally clicked in Mia's mind. After many months she finally now knew the reason why he told her that she would never find any evidence against him. Her brown eyes burned with brand new determination and victory; she finally had him cornered.

"That's why you gave it to someone who wouldn't be searched. You knew at all costs the police couldn't find this in your possession." Mia proclaimed as she held out the bottle necklace, prompting both Phoenix and Damian to gasp in horror, "You gave this necklace to Ms. Phoenix Wright disguised as a gift of love when in truth you were using her to hide evidence! And after you were released from police custody you only proceeded to date my client to get your evidence of your crime!"

Sweat dripped down the red-headed man's forward until he let out a yell of rage as he smashed his hands against the witness bench.
But before Mia could continue, Phoenix once again shouted out an objection. Tears streamed down her face as she begged and pleaded for her lawyer to tell the court that her boyfriend didn't murder anyone and that he wasn't using her as a means to an end.
The brown-headed woman exhaled through her nose as she slowly shook her head.

"Ms. Wright, I'm sorry but you desperately need this wake up call. Damian Hawthorne manipulated and used you, like he does to many people." she said as a part of her felt bad for the heartbroken young woman.

Phoenix was speechless as the tears continued to flow from her eyes. She finally had come to face the facts, Damian never did love or cared for her. But despite knowing this she didn't feel like the six months she spent with him were a lie, for some reason she still felt that love was genuine. She used the sleeve of her pink sweater to wipe away her tears before she end up entering another sneezing fit.

"Oh for goodness sake, Prosecutor Payne, I know it's evidence but can you please give Ms. Wright her cold medicine so she may stop her sneezing." the judge said with a groan.

"Of course, your honor." Payne replied before grabbing the pill bottle and handing it to the dark-haired woman.

Damian snarled as he decided just drop his entire charming façade, his brown eyes burned with anger as he glared at eh defense lawyer he grew to hate with a passion.

"You foolish stupid woman, that's what you are Mia Fey." he said with venom dripping off his voice, shocking everyone in the courtroom except for Mia with his change of personality.

"Mr. Hawthorne, what happened to you?" the judge asked out of confusion.

"Heh, I just thought it was time to drop the sweet act. Might as well show my true colors since this hag over here is going to paint me as the villain. But despite all she has said, she still has no proof for a motive to kill Doug Swallow, meaning I can't be prosecuted. And before you point of that crystal bottle, even if it had poison, it would have grown potent by this time, meaning you will find no traces of it in there." Damian replied with a sneer.

Mia clenched his fists a bit when she knew the red-headed man was right; while she had connected him to the previous crime, she still wasn't able to connect him to the death of Doug Swallow. She searched her mind for possibilities, trying to find a reason. The only one she was able to come up with was that Damian felt the need to silence him. She knew Phoenix mentioned about how Doug told her about how he knew Damian had stolen the from the pharmacology lab but he had only given her this knowledge.

"If Damian felt the need to kill Doug Swallow to keep him quiet. That meant he felt the victim exposed something." Mia thought to herself as Phoenix dumped a cold pill into her hand.

At that moment the defense lawyer remembered the pill bottle that was found at the scene of the crime. The same one Phoenix had claimed went missing around lunch when she was eating with her boyfriend.

"You killed him because he was warning the person you had really set out to kill. You stole the pill bottle and poi..." Mia began to shout but was interrupted by a loud thug.

She turned to see much to her horror Phoenix lying on the floor while she was violently coughing up blood.

"What happened to defendant?!" the judge exclaimed.

"Damian had that bottle poisoned! He had set out to kill Phoenix for not giving back the bottle!" the defense lawyer shouted.

Wasting not time she quickly dashed over to the defendant's bench and held up Phoenix by her back before pleading for someone to get help.

"Hmph, why couldn't you just die like a good girl 'Nixie'." Damian said in a hateful tone as the bailiffs began to escort him away.

"Well I suppose that settles it. I pronounce Phoenix Wright Not Guilty, now someone quickly rush that girl for some medical help!" the judge proclaimed.

"I lost... NOOOOOOOOO!" Payne shouted in a horrified tone as he pulled his black hair.

But because the prosecutor was pulling on his hair so tightly, he ended up tearing out his pompadour, leaving a giant bald spot on the top of his head. He light out a yelp upon seeing the two large clumps of hair he now held in his hands before sobbing about how his beautiful hair was gone.
Mia scooped up Phoenix into her arms as best as she could before quickly making her way toward the courtroom exit.

"Mia, where are you going?" Grossberg shouted.

"I'm going to take her to the hospital, she won't make it if we wait for an ambulance! I refuse to let her die like Tammy!" Mia shouted back.

Phoenix groaned as she watched the defense lawyer carry her to her car. Her vision was starting to fade and her body was starting to lose all feeling. Her indigo eyes glanced up at the brown-headed woman to see her panicked and worried expression as she continued to carry her. She struggled to keeps her eyes open as her lawyer urged her not to close her eyes. But despite her best efforts her eyes continued to droop close. As Mia loaded her into the car, the young woman's thoughts traveled back to her former boyfriend and how much her heart ached when he told her that she should have died like a good girl.

"Damian, that couldn't have been you in that courtroom." was her last thoguths before she slipped into unconsciousness.