💚💚💚My dear little broccolis,
💚 So, this is me doing a favour to the same someone who PMed me and asked to upload two of my stories with the FSOG names. I already did it for Forbidden Fruit, and now, here comes the second. The original fic is published under the Mortal Instruments franchise. If you're one of my old readers, well, you already know this story, so only read it if you want to read it with other characters in mind; if you're a new reader, well hang on and let's see how this Ana and Christian work in here.
💚 Now, I am very anxious about your reaction to this chapter, because a lot happens that will be key elements for the plot to unroll. And I am so excited to read your thoughts and impressions. YAY
💚 And please DO READ THE NOTE AT THE END, since this particular chapter will touch a particularly sensitive topic. I really want you to read the note, before leaving a review, just so you have that note in mind.
Chapter 21 ~ Jailbait (6,7K)
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Franklin's PoV.
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With a sigh of annoyance, Franklin hung up his phone and walked outside the Tribunal to get some fresh air. If he were honest with himself, he was not really thrilled to have had this out-of-schedule call, even though he had been waiting for it for weeks.
Today, a case of appeal had been made from one of his old cases where the guilty party had been sentenced to a life sentence. And this was one of the reasons why Franklin did not like working for this State anymore. Had he lived in a state such as Texas, Tennessee or Washington, never he would have had to pull more work hours and kill his social life for a case he knew was solved. If the criminal was guilty, there was no reason for the culprit to still be alive, at the charges of honest citizens.
Franklin knew that his point of view on the Death Penalty was something that would never waver. He actually argued more than once with his Assistant about it since Christian was a fervent defender of the abolition of Capital Punishment. But to Franklin, Christian still lived in a fairy tale world where the word 'fair' had a real meaning and was not just a utopia.
More than once, Lily, his wife, had informed him intensely, that he was a pessimist and a slight defeatist- to which he never found anything to retort. It wasn't so much that he was a defeatist, it was more that he saw too much of the cruelty and ugliness of the world to hope. He knew that a cold-blooded murderer would backslide, he knew that rapists shouldn't be given second chances, and he knew that the Penal System often made a big case of lesser, easier cases.
This was why he never tried to apply to a firm and stayed in his position of District Attorney over the years. Because when you work for the State, you do not have the choice of your cases. You must work for the people.
And yet, Franklin would like nothing more than work for the people of another State. A state where criminals would be rightfully punished for their crimes, and not pampered -at the cost of the citizens. He had actually been considering applying to another State for the past couple of years. A State where Capital Punishment was still in rigour, and where the sun was not too bright since Lily was not very fond of it.
But that was before Ana.
Franklin could still recall the shock he felt when he first saw her, almost falling from her stool in that bar where she worked now. He remembered how he passed by the bar, on the way to get something to snack on before heading back to the Tribunal; and how he first didn't pay much attention to the young girl with chestnut hair, almost falling from her predicament ladder. But then, his head whiplashed as he looked back with more attention.
Saying that Ana looked exactly like Carla when she was young was an understatement. For even a second, Franklin thought that he was looking at a ghost. If he were honest with himself, Franklin took a long time to get over the fact that Carla fled in the middle of the night, he had very strong feelings for her. He knew that he was partly to blame, after all, she told him several times that she didn't like the lifestyle that he was imposing on her, threatening on several occasions that he wouldn't find her one night when he would get home. And Franklin usually apologised for neglecting her with a bouquet of flowers, or a piece of jewellery. Until it seemed like Carla couldn't take it anymore.
She left without giving him the chance to redeem himself one more time, without looking back or even leaving her details to him. At the time, Franklin used to think that it was better for both of them, that they weren't made for one another. He used to think that it was for the best since being with him was making Carla miserable, and that he was also feeling miserable to make her like that.
And though he did not like the way they parted, Franklin was still glad they did. Because he was not sure if he would have been single then when he met Lily six years later.
He met Lily on a case since she had been called to the stand to validate that the woman that was charged with accusations was mentally unstable. It was Lily's first time in a Court, not that she actually liked being called to the stand afterwards. Franklin waited for their case to be over before he started wooing Lily, and he married her six months later. And he never regretted this decision once in his life. When he proposed, he knew that she couldn't conceive; but he loved her more than possible future children. He never actually questioned his choice in that matter, especially since Lily had a sister who had twins a few years ago to whom Lily gave all her maternal love.
So when he first saw that young brunette that seemed to be his long lost lovechild, Franklin's first thoughts went to his wife. What was he going to tell his wife? But Lily actually reacted gracefully, urging Franklin to talk to this daughter, especially after he decided to step aside. Lily kept on repeating to her husband that there was more than meet the eyes with Ana and that her perfect family seemed too perfect to be true. And a part of Franklin wanted to believe his wife, but … why would Ana lie to him about her parents? And moreover, he was a lawyer, he was supposed to be able to read between the lines and spot liars.
And this was the reason why Franklin decided to stay in Ana's life, even though he did not tell her about their common genes. Because he did not want to intrude in her family as a nasty bug trying to crash her perfect life. After all, when Ana talked to her family to Franklin, she mentioned a father and a big brother. So it was obvious to Franklin that Carla never told Ana about his paternity. She never told Franklin either, because there was no way that it would have not tried to be in his child's life one way or another if he had known about her.
When Carla left, Franklin had no idea that she was pregnant with his daughter, or he would have tried to find her. And when he saw Anna, he immediately knew that he was her father. Though she looked older than her age, Franklin knew that she couldn't be older than sixteen the first time he met her, because of the dates. And she really didn't look (or even sound) younger. But then again, she didn't look like sixteen years old either. In all fairness, would he had not made the maths to guess her date of birth, Franklin would have easily given Ana twenty years old.
So, when she mentioned that she had a father and a big brother, with no 'step' before, Franklin understood that Carla let their daughter believe that whomever she was with at the moment was her biological father. Maybe the man knew the truth and they had both decided to spare Ana, or maybe not.
But now, Franklin wasn't so sure about this little family of hers. Ever since Ana started dating that boyfriend she didn't want to talk to him about, he started having doubts about the reality of this family. So he started to dig a little into her past, looking for an Ana Steele in the missing people; but he quickly stopped when Lily got aware of it. She told him to go to her, to just lay out the truth to her, and that if Ana had a good reason for lying, she would explain everything to him. But Franklin couldn't bring himself to do it.
He loved Ana very much. In the almost nine months they had spent building a relationship at the corner of a bar, he grew to actually love his daughter like any father would love his child. But he also grew to love her as the selfless and caring person she was. And this was why he couldn't bring himself to tell her about their mutual genes. First, because a part of him still refused to believe that she lied upfront to him; second because it would mean that he would have to admit that he hid this crucial truth from her. And he couldn't stand even imagining the disappointment he would see in her eyes.
So, instead of following the wise advises of his loving wife, Franklin hired a PI to investigate on Ana, so he could have something solid to tell her. Lily grew mad when she learnt about it, and they even fought on it, with her saying that he was overstepping Ana's boundaries and that he would destroy any sort of trusting relationship they could have together. She accused her husband of trying to interfere in her life without Ana knowing it because he did not like the idea that she now had a boyfriend he knew nothing about.
Ever since, Lily sided with Ana (who was oblivious of all of that) and she never told Franklin again what the two girls would talk about when they would see each other. Franklin respected that and even got as far as to tell the PI that he was only interested in knowing about Ana's past, not her present. But that did not come out very conclusive.
The PI came back empty-handed, saying that Ana Steele never existed prior to her arrival in their town. That was a month ago. And so Franklin asked him to look for Ana's mother Carla Wilks, giving him all the little things he knew about her to make the PI's search easier. It apparently took him less time to track down Carla, because now the PI, Eric Johnson, called him to ask for a meeting as soon as possible.
Franklin had told him to pass by his office whenever he could, feeling anxious about the outcome that this interview could have. He had worked already several times with PIs, and it was never good when they came in person to deliver you the news, instead of making you come to their office.
Passing his hand over his face, Franklin tried not to obsess about the call he just had with Johnson and got two coffees from the café that was just in front of the Tribunal for himself and his promising Assistant. As he walked back to the Tribunal, Franklin considered sending Christian back to his home; just so he could have the privacy he wanted with the PI. Especially since he knew that Christian was less than happy to have to work late once again.
Over the past few months, Christian did complain more than usual about having to pull work hours; and when Franklin expressed his surprise toward this new attitude from his young Assistant, Christian confessed that he had a girlfriend. 'A beautiful brunette requiring his attention', as he would put it. So of course, Franklin did his best to go easy on Christian, not wanting his promising Assistant to repeat the same mistakes he did; though Christian would often admit that his girlfriend never complained about his overload of work, and was very understanding of it. Which was why he was more eager to go to her because she did not complain about his workaholism.
Franklin had always known Christian to be a workaholic. This was one of the things that were making him a good lawyer. He was very passionate about his job and only found satisfaction when he finally felt that Justice had been served. And yet, he was against Death Penalty (though Franklin always put that on the Boheme of being young).
As he was walking in the corridor leading to his office, Franklin saw a young girl sitting on a chair next to his office, and after making a few steps toward her, he recognised Ana. She was hugging herself, her feet resting on the edge of her seat while her chin was on her knees. Franklin looked at her, frowning a little at how frail she seemed to be at this very moment. She was wearing a baggy sailor shirt with ripped jeans and white sneakers. It was nothing out of the ordinary, and yet, her posture wasn't the one Franklin was used to seeing on her.
Franklin kept on walking to his daughter, a frown of worry plastered on his face as he called her name in order not to startle her. She jumped on her feet, tears threatening to spill from her eyes; and Franklin found himself cursing at the two cups that he was holding in his hands and that was preventing him from taking his daughter in a reassuring embrace.
Ana was shivering, her blue eyes wide open with something that looked like a mix of fear and panic, although she was doing her best to smile to Franklin. He could see that her heart wasn't in it, and it made him wonder if she was in some kind of trouble. After all, what was Ana doing in a tribunal? And so he voiced his interrogations: "What are you doing here?"
She swiftly glanced at the door of his office, bringing her hands around herself before saying with an extremely small voice: "I am waiting for Christian."
Those five simple words had the effect on Franklin of a bucket of ice-cold water. Christian. Christian was the word she used. She did not say that she was waiting for the ADA, but that she was waiting for Christian. Franklin looked again at his daughter, before narrowing his eyes at the door hiding his Assistant, denying all he could what his brain was screaming at him.
With politeness, he smiled to Ana before entering his office; and there, he saw his assistant, briefcase in hand and obviously about to leave. The young Attorney barely looked up at Franklin when he entered the room as he said: "Sorry to bail on you, but I got to go."
Franklin glanced at the door, where Ana was probably standing and waiting for Christian; and he asked the question that he did not want to ask: "How do you know Ana?"
"She's the girlfriend I told you about," Christian proudly answered, putting on his jacket while his grey eyes briefly gleamed with something that Franklin did not like to see.
It was an emotion that Franklin had seen grow in Ana's eyes every time she would mindlessly talk about her boyfriend to him. An emotion that Franklin actually loved seeing in his daughter's eyes because it made her whole being surrounded by this glowing aura. But this emotion in Christian's eyes had a whole different meaning. This emotion in twenty-eight years old Christian meant that it was more than a fling for him.
Franklin's brain was buzzing as Christian was putting a few papers in his briefcase.
How long had it been since Lily told him that Ana had a boyfriend? A little more than four months. Four months! How in four months, Franklin never had the good thinking of linking the two of them together? Especially when it was so obvious. Christian talked non-stop about his beautiful brunette who had her heart on her hand. Christian the workaholic, took a week off the same week Ana went to Disneyland. Ana would systematically have her weekends off when Christian would go visit his parents. And the very few times Ana talked about her boyfriend, she would tell Franklin many things about his sweetness, his compassion, his empathy, and how he was so handsome that she felt like nothing next to him. Franklin even remembered how he tried to reassure her on that topic, without being awkward; and how Ana just shook it off, rolling her eyes as she said that her boyfriend would constantly treat her like she was some kind of queen.
Everything was there for him to simply make the connections, but Franklin never did. Because his Assistant was eleven years older than his daughter. Because she was a minor, and that any lawyer knew better than to play with that dangerous line. Because never he would have even tried to picture his now seventeen years old daughter with his twenty-eight years old assistant.
"You shouldn't," Franklin reasoned with the truth. "You shouldn't have come close to her, and you should stop whatever relationship you have with her. As in, now. She's jailbait."
"Whatever Franklin," Christian dismissed with a little shake of his head, clearly not taking seriously any word his mentor just gave him; and Franklin recalled at this moment the conversation he had with Ana about her boyfriend the day he confronted her about it. She said that he was older, but never really answered the question Franklin asked about her boyfriend knowing her age.
"Anyway, I'm taking the rest of the 'day' off. As I said, I got to go," Christian continued, finally closing his briefcase, and Franklin called with a warning tone:
"Christian …"
"What I do outside this office is none of your concern Franklin! I don't care about the relationship you have with Ana, you have no say in the matter. My girlfriend needs me, and I am not going to refuse her whatever help I can get her. After all, you're the one who told me to be there for her."
Franklin bitterly recalled the day he caught Christian lurking in the library of the Tribunal, his nose in books he already knew by heart; and how he sent his young Assistant back to his girlfriend who needed comfort. But before he could even start to linger on that memory, and analyse it on a whole new perspective; Christian started walking to the door, making Franklin snap against his will: "Let me rephrase it otherwise, then. Stay away from my underage daughter."
Those words had the effect Franklin wanted and made Christian stop dead in his tracks. For a couple of seconds, Christian did not move, only showing his very tensed back to Franklin while Franklin was cursing at himself for his little slip. This was not the way he wanted to reveal his lineage with Ana. He wanted Ana to be the first one to know. Not his Assistant, and especially not her boyfriend who was eleven years older than her.
When Christian finally seemed back in control of his emotions, he slowly pivoted on himself, his eyes squinted with disbelief that was clearly painted on his face. He looked at Franklin from head to toe, probably trying to find the same thing that Franklin had tried to find ever since he met Ana: a common trait. But then, he said, his voice cold and distant:
"I don't know what she told you, but Ana is around twenty."
"Around? Don't you know the precise age of your girlfriend?"
Christian narrowed his eyes even more at this response before he uttered: "You are not her father, Ana doesn't have a father. It is not because you spend a few hours a week with her that it makes you her father."
"It is complicated. Bottom line, I am her father, and she is underage," Franklin eluded, hiding his surprise on discovering that Christian knew of his and Ana's relationship. But then again, if she was dating the young ADA, why wouldn't she mention to her boyfriend that she was frequently meeting his boss? This was something completely natural to do in a couple.
"Father? Where were you Dad during that whole mess of her life? Where were you Dad when she arrived in the city with just a backpack and had nothing else than her courage? Where were you Dad when all she's been longing for all her life was just a loving father?!" Christian accused, his grey eyes shooting daggers at his boss. "She went through shit, and you were just here, not even owning up to your 'fatherhood'!"
Franklin was about to defend himself by saying that he didn't have to justify himself to Christian, when Christian didn't even give him time to do so and violently opened the wooden door of the office, his temper clear in his gesture. Franklin cursed under his breath and started walking to the door as well, to prevent Christian from telling Ana what he should be telling her himself; but when he crossed the threshold, he froze in space, seeing what Christian was also seeing.
Ana was nowhere to be seen.
There was her bean bag at the feet of the chair where she was previously sitting but her beautiful chestnut hair was nowhere in sight. Christian called out her name as Franklin looked around, and his eyes fell on the PI Eric Johnson who was leaning against the wall in front of his office.
With precipitation, Christian reached for his phone in his pocket and tried to call Ana while the PI that Franklin hired a few months ago detached himself from the wall he was against and walked to Franklin.
"She heard you," Christian murmured, so low that Franklin had to wonder if Christian was talking to him or not. But then, the young man snapped his head to glare at Franklin and continued: "She heard you say that you knew you were her father and not telling her. And now, she's gone!"
"She's probably just using the restroom," Franklin tried to reason, though he had to admit that he wasn't believing it for a second.
Christian glared at him, before storming out, leaving Franklin alone with Johnson. He was tempted to call back Christian and tell him that he should handle things, but if he were honest with himself, Christian was probably the one who would be able to fish Ana out. He knew her better than Franklin did. They had been dating for months, after all.
With a heave, he picked up Ana's bag and signalled Johnson to follow him into his office; and as soon as he was sitting, he sent a text to Christian, asking that the man would contact him as soon as he would find Ana. He figured that Ana had gone to Kate, the bar owner of her work since the two of them had developed a friendship rather beautiful.
He knew that she hadn't gone back to the apartment that she was renting a few blocks from the Tribunal, because this would be the first place one would come looking for her. Franklin didn't even have to call her landlord to know that she was not there. Even though he was rather close now with the man for he was paying Ana's rent without her knowledge, he knew that Ana wouldn't be there.
So, he reported his attention to the Private Investigator, wondering what sort of bad news he could bring to him. Eric Johnson slid a file with Carla's maiden name on it, his eyes steady on Franklin as he said:
"This file only contains information concerning Carla Wilks. I usually do not give my opinion on the cases I work on, but I strongly advise you to read it. I know you wanted to know about the child, but … this file might be insightful to you."
Franklin shook his head, his mind solely focused on Ana as he said: "I don't care about Carla. Just give me something about Ana."
Johnson did not pip a word, his black eyes still on Franklin; before he slid another file to Franklin. Franklin greedily opened it, seeing school reports, official papers, and medical papers as the PI told his tale:
"Anastasia 'Stacia' Wilks was born on August the sixth, 1998 from her mother Carla Wilks. To this date, the name of her father remains unknown. She has always been a rather calm child who has only been once to the hospital because of a broken leg when she was five. She doesn't have any siblings known and has never caused any sort of problems whether it is out school or regarding the law. Until September the eighteenth, 2014 when she was declared missing by her mother and the man she lives with. She was a little over sixteen the day of the report."
"Missing?" Franklin echoed with a blanch voice. Now he understood why Johnson insisted on seeing him as soon as possible instead of summoning him to his own office.
"Yes. I am sorry, but I had no choice," The PI said, but Franklin shook his head, his eyes solely on the class picture of Ana in primary school. Two of her front tooth were missing, but that didn't stop the young girl from smiling with all her other teeth. Her hair was wild (a thing that Franklin had never seen) and all over the place, and he could clearly see a twinkle in the bright blue eyes of the young girl.
"You alerted the authorities. I can't blame you for applying the law," Franklin assured, looking now at a grade report from her elementary school.
"I alerted the authorities of her hometown," Johnson specified, and finally Franklin looked up.
He understood that the PI had to report that he found a missing child and that this duty was passing before the case he asked of him. But he did not understand why the PI bothered alerting authorities from another State and jurisdiction when he could have simply alerted the local police. He lost time doing so because Ana wouldn't have to go with any law representative of her former State, they did not have jurisdiction in this State.
"Honestly? Why do you think she ran off? There is officially nothing that gave her a reason to run off. According to this file I just gave you, she had no reasons to run away, right?" Johnson said, his black eyes going back to the file with Carla's name on it. Franklin nodded, not sure of where the PI wanted him to go from there, and so the man who made his living into finding other people said:
"She's from a very small town where anyone knows everyone. You know how small towns like that work … Be on the good side of the police, and life shall be easy for you."
"What does that have to do with her running away? Or you alerting the local police of her hometown?"
"The father of her stepfather is the Chief of police there. And this is why I only informed one single officer about Anastasia Wilks and her relocation here as Ana Steele. I told about her to this one particular officer, because he was the one in charge of finding her, and that he was not doing anything about it …"
Franklin frowned, not liking how critic Johnson was being; when logic suddenly clicked in his head. Johnson did his best to delay Ana's return to the house of her mother on purpose. That was why he informed her local police, so he could play with the laws of the different states. He did not want Ana to go back there. And as he was thinking about all of this from a lawyer's point of view, refusing to admit what his brain was telling him, a conversation that he had with Christian came back to him.
* Remember, a few chapters ago, I told youth keep a passage in mind, this is what it was all about. *
It was two weeks after his birthday, and surprisingly, the Tribunal was closing its doors rather early for a Saturday night. Franklin called his wife to let her know that he would be home sooner than expected (grinning like a child at the promising and luxurious tone that she used), but just as he was walking through the corridor to leave the building, he passed by the library where he saw a light on.
He did not even have to check to be sure of who was still burning candles when everyone was relieved to have an early weekend; and for a little moment, he watched his young Assistant burying himself under a mountain of different law books.
With a little frown, he read a few titles of the pile of books surrounding Christian, seeing that most of them had to do with child abuse and sex offenders Legislations. This was something odd considering that the last cases that they had been working on were in no way related to those matters.
Sighing a little, Franklin walked further into the library and cleared his throat before stating: "Out. I do not want, or need, a zombie as my ADA."
Christian briefly snapped his head to Franklin, barely acknowledging him before giving back his attention to his books and the notes he was taking out of them. Franklin restrained himself from sighing, easily recognising his younger self in his workaholic Assistant; and he reminded the man: "Didn't you brag about this new girl that you just got? You should be spending your Saturday night with her, instead of going through old rusty books that will still be here Monday morning."
Those words seemed to trigger something in Christian because he let a desperate sound escape his mouth while he clutched his hair with helplessness. For a long minute, none of the two lawyers made a move or a sound, letting the young man being completely overtaken by his emotions, until Christian finally looked up, planting his grey orbs into Franklin's chocolate eyes.
The mentor could see conflict battling in his young Assistant's eyes; but the young man still asked: "I need your professional opinion over something really personal. Can you do that for me?"
Franklin frowned a little, not liking the words or the tone of the twenty-eight years old man; but he still indicated his Assistant to go on with a nod of his head in his direction.
"So, let's just say that I know this person that we will call X for the sake of argument. Let's just say that I always had my doubts about how life hasn't always been kind to X but kept it to myself. And let's just say that X finally confided to me a couple of weeks ago, letting me know that they were a victim of a crime reprehensible by law.
Now, as a lawyer, or as a person, I know that the criminal should be brought up in front of a court of law, and be punished for his crime. As a lawyer, or as a person, I want nothing more than to see that asshole squirm on his seat when he realises that he won't see the sky again.
And the thing is, I could bring that asshole in font a court of law. I have the means to make sure that he will never hurt anyone again. I know I can take him down and make sure that he stays down….
But the problem is … I gave my word to X to not bring them to court. They refuse to press charges, and even though I could press charges by simply reporting the crime, I don't do it because of that damn promise. So what do I do?"
For five long minutes, Franklin remained silent, his brown eyes going once again on the books surrounding Christian, seeing a whole new meaning into their presence. He tried to imagine how Christian could be feeling at this moment, but he could only empathise on the helplessness that the young man was feeling.
How could one help someone who suffered abuse? Especially when there was no way for them to fully empathise with the victim?
Finally, Franklin regained control of himself and walked to his Assistant. No matter how helpless Christian was feeling at this moment, he was not doing the right thing. He was acting as a lawyer, instead of acting like a man and supporting his girlfriend (Franklin had no doubt that X was Christian's new girlfriend).
With authority, he closed the book that was in front of Christian and said: "This is not the way that you will solve the problem. I know that we teach you in law school that any crime should be reported no matter what; but … this is something real, Christian. This is something that is touching you personally. You should treat the matter like any other man would, not like a lawyer.
You shouldn't be here, trying to find a way to apply the law, but with your girlfriend, comforting and showing her support. You, more than anyone should know how difficult it is for a victim of abuse to open up. How do you think she feels, right now? How do you think she feels about telling you her deepest secrets, and you not being there for her when she most needs you?"
Christian frowned, apparently not fully convinced by Franklin's answer. Probably because Franklin took a human approach to the problem given, instead of treating it in a professional way, as asked. Franklin continued:
"It shouldn't be your choice to make to bring the asshole to court. It should be hers. You can't take that from her."
Now, he understood why Johnson didn't want Ana to go back there, and why he insisted on telling how small her town was and how important the Chief of police was there. And as this realisation came to him, Franklin felt his bile rise in his throat, threatening to come out at any moment.
How many victims of rape did he have to deal with over the years? He knew the signs, he knew everything there was to know about how to recognise one; and yet, he never thought of this possibility for Ana? How come he did not see this terrible thing about his own daughter?!
"You should really look in that Carla Wilks file. As I said, it can give you a good insight on why the kid ran," Johnson repeated once again, and Franklin suddenly felt a bubble of anger directed toward Carla.
But before he could give himself more into that emotion, Christian stormed back into the office, panic clear in his grey eyes as he asked to see the bag that Ana left behind.
Franklin opened the bag in front of Johnson and Christian's eyes; and swift as lightning, Christian reached for a frame that was in the bag. He looked at it, his brows so tightly furrowed that there were forming one and sole line, and then he let himself fall into the seat behind him.
Franklin looked at the picture of the frame, seeing Ana in Christian's arms, the Disney castle behind them. The two of them were kissing, Christian holding Ana the same way a man holds his bride, and the sun setting behind them and the castle.
Love was clearly emanating from this picture, but Franklin saw further into it than he was supposed to. He saw what Christian saw. Ana left the picture behind her. She left Christian and all her feelings for him behind. She left and was not planning on coming back.
Johnson looked at the bag as well, his brows also furrowed, until he pointed out: "There is no cash in this bag. This is not a bag to run away with."
"Ana has cash. She just took it and left any reminder of this city here, so she can make herself a new life elsewhere. She'll probably hitchhike so she won't be caught at the border, just like she did to come here," Christian let out from his seat, with a dead voice, making Johnson nod of approval.
And just when Franklin thought that it couldn't get any worst, a man knocked on the open door of the office, asking for him. He was accompanied by a policeman of this city, and just by the swift glance that he exchanged with Johnson, Franklin knew that he was the police officer from Ana's former town.
"Mister Lambert?" He asked, though his eyes were already on Franklin.
Franklin nodded, and the man opened his mouth, only to be immediately cut short by his peer: "What is your relationship to Miss Anastasia Wilks?"
"She is my daughter," Franklin confidently said, perfectly aware that saying so wouldn't be enough for the police officers to acknowledge it. But surprisingly, it seemed so, and the suited officer continued: "Miss Wilks was apprehended in a bus as she was trying to leave the State, twenty minutes ago. She had a panic attack and is now hospitalized. We would like you to come with us."
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💚Your thoughts and opinions are always welcomed💚
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💚 Okay, so like I said, this chapter holds a lot. There is a lot of emotions from Franklin. Love toward his wife and daughter, Anger toward Carla. And conflict about the whole situation. So yes, the main issue has been brought up, the fact that Ana is jailbait for Christian. But just as a friendly reminder, they never had any sort of sexual intercourses at this moment of the story. Making out is not considered as such.
💚 We also learned a few things about Franklin. Like the fact that he is paying Ana's rent without her knowing it. Or why he never told Ana about his paternity.
‼️ ‼️ ALSO, I just want to make it clear that I do not want to start a debate on whether the Death Penalty is something that should be abolished or not. We are dealing with lawyers here, so they each have their opinion on that. It is impossible for me to make a story about American lawyers (especially lawyers working for a State), and not give their opinion on the matter. Remember that this is a story and that the fact that one of my characters says that he is pro Death Penalty, does not mean that it reflects my thoughts on the matter. ‼️ ‼️
💚 Anyway, question times:
1. What do you think about Johnson and his insight into the case? (This character will not be recurrent)
2. How do you think Christian is feeling right now? About Franklin? About Ana and what he just discovered?
3. What do you think will happen next?
4. What was your favourite part? (Strangely, mine was when Franklin watched all of Ana's childhood and looked at her school picture.
Anyway, E.L James owns the names of the characters from the Fifty Shades franchise, everything else is mine.
Love, Mina💚💚💚