What are Phoenix and Franziska going to do with this blackmail note? What can they do? And what will the repercussions be of digging through Lilith's stuff or was she too dumb to notice her room had been ransacked. I don't know, I just have to remember that Phoenix and Miles were going to have lunch. So that'll be fun.

Chapter 10 – Confrontation and Stuff

-Outside Fletcher Manor, April 16, 2:16pm-

I looked behind us, holding my breath as the mansion slowly started to fade into the distance. I only let it out once it could no longer be seen in the rearview mirror.

"Why so tense, Phoenix Wright?" Franziska asked me. I gave her a look.

"I'm sorry, were we even in the same situation?" I wondered incredulously, "We found a blackmail letter in Lilith's drawer and almost got caught with it by said Lilith!"

"I know," Franziska chuckled, "I thought you managed to save face rather well. Good job."

"Are we not going to talk about this blackmail letter!?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up.

"We are," she replied, "But not here. I am driving right now."

Letting out a small breath of air, I slunk down in my seat, trying to relax. Eventually, Franziska pulled up to a bar I had never seen before. It seemed to be some sort of German bar so she probably visited it frequently. She parked the car and gestured for me to get out and follow her.

I looked up at the name of the bar, called "Beer Garten." A little on the nose, but ok.

The bar itself was rather ordinary. I didn't know much about Germany so I didn't really know if the décor matched or not. I followed Franziska over to the bartender.

"Give me the usual," she told him, "And whatever he wants." She gestured at me.

I had no idea what to order (I usually just had grape juice,) so I asked for a German beer. I didn't drink beer often, but sometimes I would when I went out with Larry.

"So, this letter…" I said slowly. Franziska sighed.

"I don't know what's going on," she admitted, "I didn't realize he had anything to hide. Unless…" She trailed off for a moment, her eyes focused on nothing. I was confused.

"Unless what?" I urged her, desperate to know. She shook her head, coming out of her trance.

"It is nothing," she said. I guess I wasn't getting anything out of her.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the paper. "I wonder who this 'him' is the letter refers to?" I mused, "Is it a pet? But Miles doesn't have a pet. Is it one of his friends? He doesn't have a lot of friends. Maybe it's referring to Gumshoe."

Franziska gave me a look like I had just said something incredibly stupid and I had no idea why. "Yes, Phoenix Wright, maybe it's Dick Gumshoe my brother is worried about," she responded in her most sarcastic voice. Well I don't know!

"Well, I'm going to have lunch with him tomorrow," I told her, "Maybe I could try to get answers from him then."

"I suppose," Franziska replied with a shrug, "But you have to do it carefully. Miles is smart. He's also very defensive. If he knows you're trying to uncover his secrets, he'll put up his walls and won't take them down."

"Don't worry, Franzy, I know Miles. I'll get him to talk," I assured her.

"Good," she said, nodding, "Oh, and Phoenix Wright?"

"Yes?"

"Call me 'Franzy' again and you will get the whipping of a lifetime."

"Noted."

-La Belle Fleur, April 17, 12:01pm-

I had to use a map app to find the place where Miles want to have lunch the next day. It was an Italian place called "La Belle Fleur" because of course he would pick something like that. I saw Miles leaning against the building, staring out into traffic. I smiled as I approached him.

"Hey Miles," I greeted. He turned his eyes to me.

"Wright," he said shortly.

Maybe it was because I now knew he was being blackmailed, but as soon as I reached him, I wrapped my friend in a tight hug. I heard him take a sharp breath.

"Um, Wright?" he said slowly, "Why are you hugging me?"

"I'm just happy to see you," I replied, holding him a moment more before letting go. I pulled back and smiled at him. He was staring at the ground and blushing furiously for some reason.

"Er, I made reservations," he told me a bit nervously, "This place is usually packed during the lunch hour and dinner time, so I thought it wise to make one."

"Good thinking, Miles," I praised as we went in, "Have you been here before?"

"Oh, once or twice," he replied, "But not a lot."

"Ah! Monsieur Edgeworth!" the Maître' D exclaimed happily, "So good to see you again! I was getting worried after we didn't see you last week, but then I saw your name on ze reservations and I knew you were fine. I assume you want your usual table, oui?"

Beside me, Miles flinched slightly. "Yes, Gustav, thank you," he muttered.

The man's face lit up when he saw me. "Oh! I see you've brought a guest with you!" he noted, "How rare! Is he a 'special friend?'"

Before Miles could say anything, I decided to speak up. "Oh, I'm way more than his special friend!" I said.

"Wright, please shut up," Miles hissed under his breath.

Gustav chuckled but said no more as he turned and led us to our seats. It was a small, round table that could only fit two. Perfect for Miles and me.

As soon as the man handed us menus and walked away, Miles narrowed his eyes at me. "So, Wright," he said, "I heard you and Franziska went on a little adventure yesterday."

My heart started to sink. "Oh, you heard about that, huh?"

"Of course I did!" Miles snapped, "Did you expect Lilith not to tell me? What were you thinking, snooping around that house?"

"W-Well, um…" I had no idea what to say. Should I tell him the truth? No, he would get extremely mad. He might even storm out and not want to talk to me anymore. Maybe I could pass the blame onto Franziska. It was kind of her fault in the first place. And how should I bring up the blackmail letter?

"Franziska had some… suspicions… about your future bride," I tried to explain, "She wanted to find something incriminating and she forced me to come with her."

"You realize that's hardly an excuse."

I sighed heavily. "Yeah, I know," I replied, "I'm sorry. I tried to stop her. But that whip, man. She scares me."

Miles gave me a half shrug. "Don't do it again," he warned, "I'm busy enough as it is with this case and the wedding. I don't need to add more work on top of it by bailing you out of jail because Fletcher decided to press charges."

His words instantly lit up my face. "You'd bail me out of jail? Aw! Thanks Miles!" I exclaimed.

Sighing loudly, Miles pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're missing the point, Wright," he muttered.

"You can call me Phoenix, you know," I pointed out, "We're friends. You don't have to be so formal." Miles blinked at me.

"Oh, um… ok. Phoenix," he said in a small voice, and I couldn't help but notice that he was blushing for some reason. That was… rather adora-

No! I do not think my friend is cute! I will not validate Apollo and Athena's delusions!

"Anyway, I think it would be best if you stayed away from the Fletchers for now," Miles continued, "I wouldn't want you to anger them and get you banned from my wedding."

I gave him a worried look. "You wouldn't let them ban me, would you?" I asked nervously.

He sighed. "No, I wouldn't," he admitted, "But I can't control them. Fletcher is a very powerful man. He's almost as powerful as Redd White was. He controls a lot of money and no one wants to upset him."

"I get it. I'm really sorry, Miles. I won't bother them anymore," I promised, "We'll just investigate the factory and that's it."

"Thank you," Miles murmured.

As I said this, the blackmail letter suddenly came to mind. How was I supposed to bring it up in a delicate way? I looked over at my friend who was delicately picking at the salad I hadn't realized had arrived. I cleared my throat.

"Um, speaking of which how's your investigation going, Miles?" I decided to ask. Start off casual. He looked up at me.

"You know I can't discuss that with you Wr- I mean Phoenix," he said, "But I will say it's going well. I don't know what evidence you think you have, but you can't possibly win."

"I don't know about that," I smirked at him, "We have some pretty solid evidence that says he didn't do it." That was a lie but he didn't need to know that.

"Why are you prosecuting this case anyway, Miles?" I questioned him, "It's pretty rare for you to take cases these days."

"Because he's guilty, Phoenix," Miles responded, a little bit of an edge in his voice, "That's all there is to it."

"Are you sure there's not more to that?"

Miles looked up and narrowed his eyes at me. "What are you implying?" he wondered.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the letter and unfolded it. "This… is addressed to you," I told him, "Franziska and I… found it in Lilith's room." I definitely would not tell him exactly where I found it, though. As I spoke, Miles froze up. I knew it. "This is a blackmail letter, isn't it?"

Miles didn't answer right away. He stared down at the table, eyes round, and his body was perfectly still. Then, slowly, he raised his eyes to me.

"How…? Why…? I-I mean…" He drifted off without finishing his sentence.

But I had to know. "Miles, is Dominic Fletcher blackmailing you?" I asked point blank.

He didn't answer. Instead, he stood up and quickly left the restaurant without another word as I watched him go with dread in my heart.

I was going to have another scene, but I decided that would be the perfect way to end this chapter. Next chapter is probably going to get into the next day of the trial or something. Should probably do that. In the meantime, please leave a comment and check out my twitter ThunderingWhite. Thanks!