A/N – Thanks for the comments and support. I always appreciate it. Hope you like the chapter and I apologize, sorta, for the cliffhanger lol.

Chapter 56

Diane shifted from side to side as she sized up her opponent. He was a tall burly man who would probably intimate most people. "Mr. Gianni, can you please tell the court why you were out of town?"

"I was on vacation."

"Really? You were summoned to court and then just disappeared."

"Can a guy go on vacation?" His thick accent was making the jurors chuckle.

"Sure, but then again, most of us don't have bosses that pay for it."

The man's eyes narrowed and she could tell that she had scared him. "Excuse me?"

"Did Ric Lansing pay for your little vacation?"

"No."

"Are you willing to go to jail for him?"

"Objection!"

"Ms. Miller, are you going somewhere with this?" the judge asked.

"Yes."

"Answer the question."

Hugh threw his pen on the table.

"No."

Diane strode back over to the desk and grabbed some papers. "It's amazing what one can find when they subpoena a bank account. Can you explain the large sum of cash you received a week ago?"

"It was a bonus."

"For what exactly?"

"For good work."

"Do you call a building falling on people good work?"

"No."

"Who put that money in your account?"

The man swallowed languidly.

"Think long and hard before you answer, Mr. Gianni. Perjury can get you thrown into jail."

"Objection!" Hugh said standing.

"Ms. Miller, I'm sure Mr. Gianni understands the consequences of lying," the judge said.

"Answer the question please."

"I don't remember it."

Diane leaned forward. "Who paid you the money?"

The man's eyes flickered to Ric and then back to Diane. "I'm not going to jail for nobody. Mr. Lansing did."

As the murmur from the court got louder, the judge banged his gravel against the desk. "Order in the court! We are still in session."

"Why did he give you the money?"

"Because he didn't want me to testify."

Diane wanted to smile so badly. The looks on the juror's faces were priceless. "Why?"

"Because he didn't want everyone to know that he went against protocol and tried to save costs so that he could report the pricier amount and pocket the extra money."

Ric stood. "He's a liar!"

"I am not. You know what you did."

The judge banged the gavel again. "Continue Ms. Miller." He was enjoying seeing a weasel like Hugh being chewed up and spit out.

"Do you have proof?"

The man nodded. "He ordered it from an old friend of mine. Ric came to me and asked if I wanted to make some extra money and I pointed him in the right direction. He bought the beams and didn't have them inspected."

"The week when the men called out sick, why did they do so?"

"Ric and several of us went out partying. We have hangovers so we called in."

"Do you know how much money was pocketed?"

"About eighty grand."

"Did you split it evenly?"

"No. I got twenty-five percent."

Diane paused for dramatic effect. "How many other times have you pulled this scheme with Ric?"

"About five times."

Diane looked like the cat that ate the canary. "Would you like to tell us why you are lying?"

"I'm not. Ric knows the truth."

"Do you have proof to back anything up?"

Mr. Gianni leaned forward. "Do you have a receipt for the beams?"

"Of course there is a receipt."

"What name is on it?"

Hugh went through an envelope and before he could say anything, Mr. Gianni said, "Mason & Co., right?"

"Yes."

"It doesn't exist."

"What do you mean it doesn't exist?"

"My friend made it up. If you look up the address, you'll find it's a repo car place."

Diane stood. "Your honor, I'd like to ask permission to look up the address."

"Permission granted."

She quickly pulled it on her phone. "He's right. It's a repo site."

"That still doesn't prove anything," Hugh said exasperatedly.

"It's not your turn counselor."

Hugh sat down in a huff and Diane pressed forward. She smelled blood and was going to go for the kill. "Do you have any other proof that Mr. Lansing knowingly agreed to the purchase."

"Yes."

"And would that be?"

"I have his signed signature on a receipt and I have him on video."

People started talking again and the judge smashed his gavel down.

"Mr. Gianni, was Mr. Lansing aware that you were filming him?" the judge asked. If he wasn't, it couldn't be remitted as evidence.

"Yes. My nephew who is ten was in the car with a camera. He interacted with him and my nephew ended up turning it to look out the window. You can still hear his voice."

"Do you have the recording with you?"

"Your honor, this is ridiculous. The evidence was not submitted in a timely manner and could have been tampered with," Hugh said.

The judge took off his glasses and looked over at him. "Given this isn't a criminal trial and the majority of the testimony of the witnesses are able to be corroborated, I'm going to allow it."

Diane smiled. "Thank you, your honor." She took the video camera from Mr. Gianni and plugged it into the AV equipment. Everyone watched raptly as Ric got into the car and joked around with the little boy about the camera and then the men spoke.

"Did you get the information I needed?" Ric asked.

"Yes. Just call the number on the paper."

"And he has enough materials?"

"Yeah. They aren't exactly what we need though."

There was silence for a moment.

"As long as it's close enough, I don't care. No one will know the difference and both of us will be rich men."

"Whatever you say boss…"

"Can they deliver the beams tomorrow?"

"Yes. I'll take care of it."

The tape stopped. Jason had to clench his jaw to stop from smiling. Edward didn't care and was grinning like a fool.

"No further questions your honor," Diane said. The damage had been done.

"Mr. Gianni, you may step down, but do not leave the building yet."

"Ms. Miller, are you prepared for your closing arguments?"

"Yes your honor."

She walked towards the jurors. "You heard some pretty shocking evidence today. I want to remind you what is at stake here." The lights dimmed and again, the pictures of the building and the aftermath flicked through the air along with a couple of pictures of Elizabeth and Jason in the hospital afterwards. "Elizabeth Webber suffered greatly afterwards. She had nightmares for weeks along with her physical recovery. Mr. Morgan is still suffering. That day can never be undone. Whenever there is a thunderstorm and the wind picks up, it will haunt them. Apparently, it's all because Mr. Lansing decided to cut corners for financial gain. I'm not asking you to come up with some insane amount. All I'm asking is that you be fair and reasonable. The fact that Mr. Lansing didn't take personal responsibility for his actions and made my client and Ms. Webber re-live that day is abhorrent. Children were displaced and two people were injured because of his greed. There is a preponderance of evidence that all leads up to one thing, the defendant was negligent and my client ended up being his victim. If Mr. Morgan were your son or brother, would you let that go? I don't think so." She turned and walked back to her desk. "I trust that you will do the right thing. I rest your honor."

The judge looked over at Hugh who was fuming as he sat next to a despondent Ric.

He rose and approached the juror box. "The bottom line is that my client did not think that the beams would collapse or cause the kind of damage that they did. He didn't set out to hurt Mr. Morgan, a man he didn't even know. The testimony you just heard was damaging, but it still wasn't a pre-meditated attack on anyone. People in the construction business cut corners every day in order to come in under budget and nothing happens like what happened that day. The tornado is the real culprit. You can't dismiss that. Without that happening, Mr. Morgan would have further secured the beams and the project would have continued. You heard testimony from experts that the beam material might have been low grade, but it in itself was not the reason for the collapse. It was the way it was installed that weakened the material. That is the key and you can't ignore that because you don't like my client's actions. He has lost his job and probably will never be able to return to his career. To devastate him financially will not make the nightmares go away or change anything. It was a horrible tragedy, one which haunts my client too. We ask you to be fair with your judgment, considering all the evidence. Thank you." It was all he could do. He just hoped that his words had penetrated and that they wouldn't go over the top with their judgment.

Diane pursed her lips. The part about the installation could hurt them and she wished that she had covered that. Sensing her stress, Jason got her attention.

"Don't worry about him. The jurors looked like they wanted to roll their eyes. Even if the installation was shoddy, a better beam would have probably not have collapsed. You made that point when you were cross-examining his witnesses. We're good."

She met his gaze. "Elizabeth is a very lucky woman. You're a good man, Jason. Don't let anyone ever tell you different. Your mother would be proud."

Her words made him smile. He really hoped that his mom would be proud. She taught him to be a survivor not a victim and he would always be grateful for that.

"I hope I haven't failed you."

"Never," he said before squeezing her hand. Looking to left, he saw Elizabeth who gave him a soft, loving smile.

"Alright, the jury is excused for deliberation. If you don't reach a decision by 4:00 P.M., you will be allowed to go home, but you are not to discuss the case or view any information about the case whether online or on television."

The jurors got up and went into the jury room.

"Now, Mr. Lansing, please approach the bench."

Ric stood and then approached him. "Yes, your honor."

"I am going to recommend that you be brought up on criminal charges of negligence and I am charging you with perjury for lying under oath. You will have your chance in court to try to refute it, but considering you willfully lied, a jail sentence will probably be assessed."

Ric's jaw clenched.

"That will be all."

Ric strode back to the desk as everyone rose and the judge left. "Can you get me out of this?"

Hugh shook his head. "You lied. I don't see how I can twist that. I'm afraid that you'll probably do time for it."

"What!"

"I'm sorry, Ric, but it's clear cut. You'll probably have to pay a fine too. Of course, as long as you're still paying me, I'll represent you, but it doesn't look good."

Ric sunk into a chair. He was fucked and he knew it.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Johnny had been sitting on a bench in a park for a half hour before someone sat next to him.

"You look like you're a million miles away."

He grinned and turned his head. "Epiphany… What are you doing out here?"

"I was walking. I'm trying to get my stamina back."

"You shouldn't push yourself too much. Your body is still healing."

"Have you been talking to Patrick?"

"No, but he's right."

Epiphany sat back as she perused the area. "What's wrong?"

Johnny closed his eyes. "I'm not sure."

"You can talk to me. I won't tell anyone what you say."

"I just—I saw something earlier and I'm kind of thrown by it."

"What?"

"I ran to the grocery store to get some lunch and I turned a corner and some man had his arms around Amelia, she must have almost fallen or something and I froze."

"You froze because you're jealous and it's messing with your head, right?" It took everything not to get up and do a happy dance.

Johnny rubbed his face with his hand. "Yeah, we've been spending a lot time together and she's great."

"Were you in love with Katherine?"

"No. We hadn't even gone out or anything. It was more that there was a promise of it. I didn't want her to be a rebound."

"Are you over Elizabeth?"

"I am. I miss her sometimes, but I'm not in love with her."

"And Amelia?"

Johnny's body crashed backwards against the bench as he breathed out a heavy sigh. "We get along really well and she's funny and beautiful."

"I'm not seeing a problem here."

He turned to look at her and caught the mischievous look in her eye. "You're bad."

"I'm okay with that. Listen, you both are single and gorgeous. Amelia is fun, smart, and slightly twisty. She'll give you a run for your money. You are certainly a catch, so why not open your mind to it and later, hopefully your heart?"

"I feel like I'm jinxed. First Elizabeth didn't work out and then Katherine was taken from me. I don't want to ruin her."

Piph reached over and gripped his hand. "You are not cursed. You've just had a bad run and I think Amelia is just what you need to turn things around. But Johnny, she's been really hurt before. If you can't commit to her, then don't go there."

"I wouldn't play games like that. She has become a good friend and I don't want to ruin that."

"Then don't."

He slightly smiled. "You make things sound so easy."

"I know that they are complex. Patrick and I sure took long enough to realize we loved each other more than friends. I'm just trying to save you the torture."

"I appreciate it. I don't even know that Amelia likes me that way."

"I don't think that she would be spending this much time with you if she didn't."

Johnny shrugged. "I guess time will tell."

"So you're willing to go there?"

"Yeah."

Piph grinned as she stood. "You just made my day."

"Why?"

"Because you deserve some happiness and I'm a sucker for happy endings."

He smiled. "Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime, besides, I can't leave any of you people to your own devices or you just make messes." She moved away.

"Bye Piph."

"Bye!"

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John gripped Jolene's hand. "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"My dad wants us to come back to the City."

She sucked in a harsh breath. They were hot and heavy and she hadn't even considered that he might leave. "Oh."

"I don't want to go. You—Let's just say you took me by surprise and I'm falling in love with you."

Tears started to gather in her eyes. Relationships usually didn't end well for her and she was finally finding some happiness and it was about to get ripped away. "I feel the same way."

"I'll try to stall, but it's just a matter of time. He is relentless and won't give up."

A tear led a trail down her cheeks and then she got angry. "No!"

His head jerked so he could see her.

"No! I won't let you go. I can't. It's just not fair so we'll have to make it work."

He reached up and his thumb wiped at his tears. "Don't cry. If I have to fly here every weekend, I'll do it. I'm not willing to let you go."

She pressed her lips together and looked down as she started to cry harder. His willingness to fight for her was just doing her in.

"Jolene, baby, I want to be with you. Don't be sad."

"I'm not. Believe it or not, these are happy tears."

He undid his seatbelt and leaned towards her and kissed her passionately. "You need to go."

She was going to be late for her shift. "Okay. I'll see you later."

"Definitely."

He watched her get out and vowed to himself that he wasn't going to let his father ruined the love he found like he had ruined his relationship with Elizabeth.

IiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiIiI

Diane walked into a lounge. "They've reached a verdict."

Edward was surprised. "So soon?"

"Yes."

"Is that good?" Jason asked.

"I hope so." It had only been an hour and Diane had expected them to go longer.

Liz stood and held out her hand which Jason took. "Let's go."

They all strode back into the courtroom.