Date: Saturday, September 3rd, 2016

Time: 10:37 pm

Location: The Palace Nightclub, Los Tokyo

In 16 months, I had attended 23 parties, looking for information on Redd White, and for the one piece of evidence that would unravel his case. I even held a seance with some of his victims, those who were alleged to have committed suicide because of his actions.

It required so much channeling power to contact all these victims simultaneously and I was out of practice. They could only provide small details before they were sent back to their realm. However, what they provided me with was enough to confirm the rumors. His actions had led to their deaths, and he went unpunished.

Once again, this information was all so damning, but it wouldn't hold up in court. His list of crimes was a mile long, but nothing would stick without proof. I wasn't sure if I would ever find the evidence I needed, until that 24th party, when everything finally broke apart.

A man had shown up to that afterparty; a man I had never seen before. Everyone kept their distance from him, and he was sitting alone at a booth by himself. He looked unassuming; he was a middle-aged man of average height, with glasses, and he wore a nice, but not expensive, gray suit. Everyone seemed to fear him though, and I couldn't figure out why. I decided that I'd have to approach him to find out.

"Hi, I thought you might like some company," I trilled flirtingly, as I approached his table.

He held up his left hand. "I'm married, thank you," he explained plainly. "I'm not looking for that kind of fun."

I dropped the act. "God, I wish I heard that line more often around here. I'm not looking for that kind of fun either. Everyone here is avoiding you and I wanted to see why."

He seemed taken aback. "Are you the one?" he asked.

"The one?"

He looked around him before whispering. "Are you the person investigating Bluecorp?"

"Who's asking?" I inquired skeptically.

"Redd White sent me here," he replied.

I snorted. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I said sarcastically.

He chuckled. "Yeah, fair enough. Will you let me explain?" he asked. I nodded. "I'm Redd White's accountant," he stated. "He had heard rumors that there was someone investigating his operations at these events. He sent some of his girls to look into it, but they always came back empty-handed. Tonight, he sent me instead."

"He wanted you to seduce the information out of the guests?" I asked disbelievingly.

He laughed sardonically. "Yeah, because that would work so well; just look at me. No, he already tried that angle, but it didn't work."

"So, he wanted you to talk to people?" I pressed. "Everyone here seems scared of you."

"He wanted me to observe. To look for the person here who seemed suspicious."

I swallowed. "That person is me?" I asked hesitantly.

"You're the only one brave enough to talk to me," he said matter-of-factly.

I shook my head. "I'm just friendly, that's all."

"What do you do for a living?" he asked. "Are you a lawyer?" I didn't answer. He pulled out a paper from his briefcase, a list of party attendees, and reviewed it until he found my name. "Is this you?"

I panicked. I thought I might get caught one day, but not like this. I debated lying to him, but he would figure out the truth eventually. I simply nodded instead.

"Okay, Ms. Fey. What if I told you that I wanted to take him down too?" he asked.

"I would need proof," I replied.

Date: Monday, September 5th, 2016

Time: 8:53 pm

Location: Fey & Co. Law Offices, Los Tokyo

Redd White's accountant, Mr. Blakely, had been working for him for the last 14 years. When he started, Bluecorp was still a relatively new company and its reputation as a blackmail and bribery front had not been well known yet. He said that it paid very handsomely compared to other jobs in his profession, but he regretted working there within months of being hired.

He tried to quit, but Redd White wouldn't let him. Unbeknownst to Mr. Blakely, he had already helped file the financial records of various victims and he wasn't allowed to leave with that information.

He couldn't be blackmailed though. He had a clean record and no scandals to his name. To keep him in line, Redd White had threatened violence instead, saying he would hire goons to hurt him and his wife if he didn't cooperate. Miserably, he's been stuck working there ever since.

I asked him why he didn't go to the police. He had access to all the records of Redd White's crimes. That would have been plenty of ammunition to bring forth a case. He told me that, in all actuality, he was in the dark about most of the information.

Redd White started obscuring the names of those he blackmailed, assigning aliases to their payments. While Mr. Blakely kept the books in order, making Bluecorp look like a legitimate company, he had no idea who the victims were and why they had been making those payments.

While he wasn't interested in attending events like this, he had unsuccessfully tried before to gather information about the victims at previous parties. Unlike the ever-rotating string of model secretaries Redd White kept in his employ to circulate at these events, the Bluecorp employees whom guests were happy to chat with, Mr. Blakely had been employed too long and was known to everyone. No one would talk to him.

Then, he heard about me. Redd White was getting frustrated, hearing about some "secret agent" who was gathering information about him. When his girls failed to identify me, he sent Mr. Blakely, figuring he had his trust. The consequences of Mr. Blakely not cooperating were too great. Redd White was wrong though. Mr. Blakely wanted to join forces and bring this nightmare to an end.

While his information sounded credible, I was uncertain if I could trust him. Maybe this was all an elaborate story to get me to divulge my knowledge and undo my months of work.

He hatched a plan. Each of us would make two copies of our records: my list of victims, complete with their stories and blackmail dates, and his accounting records. The extra copy would be our insurance policy. If one of us faltered on the plan, destroying the documents, we would have the extra as a backup.

If we both cooperated, we would cross-reference the documents together and bring Redd White down. Mr. Blakely would come forward as the first victim, the whistleblower, and everyone else would follow once they knew Redd White was in custody, and they were safe from retaliation.

I agreed, and we both left early that night, heading back to our respective offices to finalize our documents. We would mail the documents to each other and then keep the other copies in a safe place. Once we each had a complete set, we would go to the police together and stay there in safety until he was apprehended.

I dutifully mailed him the list that Sunday morning. He was to call me that day to confirm that he had mailed me his records too. I had just returned to the firm and was on my office phone when he called. When he confirmed that I had left the firm unattended that day to photocopy and mail my files and purchase a new lamp for my office, he asked me to switch to my cell phone instead.

"Mia, we have a problem," he said seriously.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Redd White knows."

"You told him? I should have known," I said crossly.

"No. I had to report to him after the event. If I didn't, he'd know immediately that something was up. I told him I didn't see anything suspicious, but he obviously didn't believe me. He checked the security tapes from last night, saw the two of us talking, and ID'd you."

"So, he knows about our plan?" I asked nervously.

"I assume. There were some thugs outside my house this morning. My wife and I had returned from an errand and saw them. We drove past our house and peeled away, managing to lose them. I hope."

"That's terrifying," I said sympathetically.

"It was." He sighed. "I'm at the airport now," he continued. "I had my extra copy of the files with me in the car, just in case. We're going to flee the country for safety and I'm taking the files with me. I suggest that you do the same."

"Why didn't you just go to the police?"

"Trust me, he would have assumed that was our next move. I'm certain that he has the nearest stations staked out."

"What about the copies we mailed?" I asked. "When I get the copy of your records, I can go to the police. They can't stake out all the stations forever."

He sighed again. "They'll probably get intercepted," he said. "He has friends in the post office too. Protect the copy you have and get it somewhere safe."

I exhaled too, in resignation. "How long are you leaving for?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a month."

"I can't leave for a month!" I exclaimed. "I have a business, an employee, and a sister."

"I know," he said contritely. "Mia, I'm sorry things went south so quickly. Maybe I should have lied and given him a fake suspect. It would have thrown him off the scent. I didn't want to put someone else in danger."

"It's not your fault," I commiserated. "I'm just not sure what to do."

"Don't use your office phone," he warned. "It's probably been tapped. Only use your cell from now on. Try not to be alone."

"I'll try my best," I told him.

"I have a plane to catch," he said apologetically. "I'm calling you from a pay phone, but I'll find some way to get in touch. We'll corner him when I get back."

"Have a safe flight."

I was unbelievably terrified after that call. I didn't have anyone to keep me company at the firm. It was one of Phoenix's days off and I didn't want to call him in just for that. He wouldn't be able to stay all night anyway. I didn't want to put Maya in danger either. Leaving would be safer than staying, so I took the White file and the list of names with me and left the firm.

First, I went to a diner and drafted up my will, just in case something went wrong. It was disturbing to think I could need it, but I wanted to be prepared for the worst. Along with the White files, I had gathered Diego's car keys, the engagement ring, and some mementos. Once I had finalized the will, I would put those items in my safe deposit box, and Diego would be entitled to all its contents.

Then, there was the firm; I agonized over what to do with it. I would have willed it to Diego too but, if he didn't wake up soon, I would need someone to keep it afloat in my absence. If I was just being paranoid, and he did wake up, we would partner the firm together anyway.

I willed the firm to Phoenix instead, so he could keep it running and the legacy alive if I wasn't. I willed him the lease to the apartment I rented for Maya too. He was still living at home and had needed a place closer by. He might have trouble covering both the firm's mortgage and the apartment's rent but, if I could make it work, so could he. All my savings, the little I had, would go towards pre-paying a few months of that lease to help him out.

Maya wouldn't be able to take over the lease, even with some months pre-paid, but she'd still need a place to stay in the city. She was going to come work with me after she finished school, shuttling back and forth between home and the Village to continue with her training. Even if I was gone, and she didn't want to work for the firm anymore, she would need the respite from home and Aunt Morgan regardless.

I planned to introduce them tomorrow evening so that she and Phoenix could become friends and they'd feel comfortable staying at the same place. I put in the conditions of the will that Phoenix was only entitled to the lease takeover and rent payments if he housed Maya, a condition I'm sure he would accept without issue.

Once I accounted for everything, I signed the will and listed Mr. Grossberg as the executor. I deposited the will and the mementos in my safe deposit box, before moving on to my next task.

After that, I bussed to Diego's hospital room, figuring there was no safer place for me to sleep that night than a hospital. I reviewed the contents of the files I had, trying to commit them to memory. I needed to know that list backward and forward for my plan to work.

My plan was simple: I would return to the office tomorrow morning and call Maya on my office phone, telling her to hide the list for me. I would store the list in The Thinker clock that Larry gave me. Redd White's team was tapping my phone and would hear of the plan, preparing to intercept the list.

Next, I would make plans for myself, Maya, and Phoenix to meet for dinner that evening. The whole day, I would never be alone, being with Phoenix or clients most of the day. Someone from Bluecorp would only be able to come by in the half-hour window I was alone at the office before dinner. They'd take the list and hopefully leave me alone.

Once Redd White assumed he had won, and I felt safe, I would rewrite the list and have it ready for when Mr. Blakely returned to the country. I thought about just making several more copies of the list, but it was too risky. If he felt like I planned for his interception, he would continue to spy and harass me until he felt certain that all copies of the list were destroyed. I needed him to think he got the upper hand.

I stayed up at the hospital until 2 am, testing myself on the information like I was studying for a law school exam. Once I could recite the information several times without looking at the list, I fell asleep in the chair and woke up a little after dawn. I kissed Diego's forehead and gave his hand a squeeze on my way out to the firm, planning to arrive at the same time as Phoenix.

When I arrived at the firm and opened my private office, I noticed that some items had been moved ever so slightly out of place. His goons had searched the place again while I was out, but they hadn't found what they were looking for.

I called Maya to put the plan into motion and placed the list in the statue, removing the clock's contents to fit them. I told her and Phoenix that dinner would be at 9 pm, my treat. Then I went about my day, as normal. I had client meetings and a pretrial conference call until 8:30 pm that evening and had sent Phoenix home at 5 pm.

When the conference call was finished, I sat at my desk, buzzing with nervous energy as I waited until one of Redd White's representatives showed up. Just then, I heard the door to the firm open and someone walk in.

I looked up, surprised to see that it was the man himself, Redd White, and not one of his lackeys. It made me more at ease; he always sent his associates to do his dirty work for him.

"Hello, Miss Fey," he greeted me.

"Hello," I said cheerily, pushing down my nerves. "I don't believe we've met. Are you in need of law services?" I asked.

He laughed disingenuously. "Don't give me that," he replied. "I know what you've been up to. All your little spy missions. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?"

I played dumb. "I don't know what you mean," I said.

"I'll explucidate it to you clearly, so you can understand. I know about you and my rat accountant; about your plans," he explained. "He fled with my records, but he can't do anything without your list. Give it to me and neither of you will be hurt," he warned.

"He has the list," I lied. "I mailed it to him."

"No, he doesn't," he replied smugly. "I shredded that list along with the copies of the financial records that he sent you. If he had copies, so did you. I'm not stupid, you see. Now, Miss Fey, I'll take what's mine, the papers."

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you what I don't have," I said distractedly, pretending to be invested in my work.

"Miss Fey, you are a poor liar. Why, I see it right over there." He pointed to the statue. "That must be The Thinker that swallowed those papers."

"How could you know?" I asked with faux surprise.

"Ho ho. You are not cogniferous of my background? Gathering information is my business, you see," he said proudly.

I shook my head in disbelief. "I... I should have been more careful," I said disappointedly.

He grabbed the statue and twisted it open, removing the list, and tucking it into his jacket pocket. "Ho ho, my dear Miss Fey, I am so very sorry, but I am afraid I must ask you for one more thing."

Still holding the statue, he glanced up at me menacingly, a crazed look in his eyes. My heart skipped a beat. "Your eternal silence," he continued. "Farewell, Miss Fey."

I got up to my feet, ready to run. While I had prepared for the worst, I truly didn't think it would go like this. I knew he wasn't above hurting people, but he always had staff that did that for him. He had the list he needed now; why did he need to kill me too? He wasn't being logical either; if he killed me, it would only make him more likely to get caught.

I tried to rationalize what was happening, but my brain turned off and panic took over. No, something worse than panic. Terror like I've never felt in my entire life. I switched to autopilot, repeating the same thing over and over in my head: I just need to outrun him until Phoenix and Maya get here. It was almost nine and they should be here soon.

Unfortunately, we were all prone to lateness, and I had enabled it. Since I needed grace with my schedule, I told Phoenix that I didn't care if he was late, so long as the work got done and he was early to client meetings. He would probably be here ten minutes late and Maya would be five. I don't think I could last that long.

I tried to outmaneuver Redd White, but he was so quick. Every time I moved one way, he'd quickly catch up with me. He looked a lot stronger than me too. If he grabbed a hold of me, I don't think I'd be able to get away.

I tried to distract him or create distance, pushing over my new lamp and shattering it on the ground. He wasn't deterred at all, walking through the shards towards me.

As he approached the far corner of the office, where I stood, I saw a small gap to my right, near the window. If I could sneak past him and out the door, I'd be safe as long as I made it to the building's hallway. There were security cameras out there that would record him.

I made a mad dash, but I wasn't fast enough. He blocked me with his arm, holding me in place. He punched me in the stomach, dizzying me. While I tried to find my bearings, I looked up to see the statue over his head, ready to strike.

I covered my face to try and block his attack, but it didn't help. With a single blow, he hit me hard over the head and I started to drift out of consciousness. I muttered something as I faded away, but I don't remember what. Then, I was dead.

Date: ?

Time: ?

Location: Shadow Realm

After I died, I awoke in complete darkness. I was wearing the same clothes I had on when I was killed and there was a wound on my head from where Redd White had struck me. I didn't feel pain from the wound, and I couldn't look at myself in a mirror to see it, but it was alarming to touch my head, feel the blood, and see the residue on my hand but never be able to heal it.

In this realm, I don't see anything. There is only blackness and not another soul around. I can walk infinitely in any direction and only more blackness waits for me. I have absolutely no concept of time or place. Despite the nothingness, I don't feel happiness, sadness, boredom, anger, or loneliness. I just don't feel anything at all.

Then, every so often, I see a flash of light and I am brought back to earth. The first time it happened was shortly after I died. Phoenix was serving on my murder case, defending Maya.

The idea that she would kill me was preposterous but, when Phoenix caught me up to speed, as Maya channeled me, I realized that Redd White had carefully planned for this. He wrote her name on a receipt in my blood, trying to frame her for the crime.

Luckily, I still retained the information and knowledge I had on earth. Phoenix still wasn't confident enough to defeat Redd White on his own, but it didn't matter. The names of all his victims and their stories were burned into my brain.

I wrote their names and stories down on a memo and handed it to Phoenix at the trial. When Redd White saw the memo, he finally confessed to my murder, preferring prison over the potential retaliatory hits he could take as a free man once that list got released and Mr. Blakely confirmed its validity. So long as Maya could channel me, I would always be able to generate new copies and implicate him; despite killing me, I wasn't silenced.

Before I left, I wrote a brief note to Maya, asking her to help Phoenix with the firm. Since I would be in this state of limbo indefinitely, I wanted her to channel me, whenever he was in trouble, to ensure the success of the firm in my absence.

Phoenix was going to be a great lawyer someday, but he was a diamond in the rough. After seeing him perform on Maya's case, I thought he might still need some assistance.

After that trial, I would wait in the abyss until my next channeling, quickly needing to figure out the details of a case on the spot and then helping as much as I could. There were some pretty harrowing cases I had to face upon my summoning.

Maya was charged with murder again, less than a year after I was killed. As I spectated during the case and gathered details, I had the unfortunate realization of who the true culprit was, Aunt Morgan, working with another woman to frame Maya. They had different motives for the murder, but their interests aligned enough that they had collaborated.

It's crazy. When I was alive, Aunt Morgan and I always butted heads. She was so strict and her anger towards me and Maya for being next in line for the Master was palpable, to me anyway. Maya always seemed to see the best in everyone.

Yet, when I realized what had happened, I couldn't implicate her. Phoenix had been given a magatama from Maya or Pearl and he had to use it on me to reveal the truth. Aunt Morgan had raised me after Mom and Dad left and there was some part of me that couldn't believe she'd go so far as to frame Maya for murder to ensure Pearl became the Master instead.

It didn't matter what I felt though; the truth was that she had. At the end of the trial, we had Pearl channel me instead of Maya. Pearl was present at the courthouse that day because Phoenix and Maya were looking after her. We didn't want her to see her mother charged and taken away in handcuffs.

The most harrowing case of all happened not even a year after that, with Maya being kidnapped and held ransom to ensure that Phoenix would obtain a not guilty verdict for his guilty client. If Phoenix failed, the assassin his client hired, the man who kidnapped Maya, would kill her.

It tortured me to see all the horrible experiences that Maya had to go through. I had given up the Master title because I wanted to protect our relationship. Making Maya next in line and asking her to help Phoenix in my absence had only put a huge target on her back and endangered her more than I could have ever imagined.

While Maya was held hostage, Maya and Pearl took turns channeling me so I could relay relevant information to Phoenix. I would gather details about Maya's surroundings and then Pearl would channel me so I could tell Phoenix, and he could find Maya. Thankfully, he and Edgeworth worked together to ensure her safe return.

Phoenix had always told me that Edgeworth was secretly a good person and not the menace I had faced during my first trial. The one who called me a "quaggy hag" and a "bimbo." I didn't believe him until this trial, when I saw Edgeworth put aside his ego to ensure justice was served and Maya was safe.

Phoenix explained that Edgeworth had changed his ways after losing two cases and finding out the truth about DL-6 and his father's death. However, from what I had seen up until this trial, he was the same arrogant prosecutor I always knew. Maybe he cared about Maya now, but he was happy to put forward disingenuous arguments against her during my murder trial.

While I only felt emotions again while I was being channeled, a stark contrast to my complete lack of feeling in the Shadow Realm, being there for brief moments made me ache in a way I had never experienced while I was alive.

I put on a brave face when I was summoned, knowing that Phoenix and Maya needed positivity, but I had a deep, chasmic longing that couldn't be filled. Seeing them again, hugging Maya as Pearl summoned me, was excruciatingly painful.

One time, while Phoenix was despairing over a case, I gave him some encouragement: "A lawyer is someone who smiles no matter how bad it gets." While he needed to hear it at the time, I think I was the one who needed to hear it more.

That line was Diego's; he told me that during my first trial. When he first said it, I thought he was just being dramatic. After the trial ended, and Terry's limp body was carried out of the courtroom, I understood why a platitude like that would be helpful. I especially understand it now. Each time I was summoned, I had to push down the urge to cry and grieve my lost life.

While I was happy to assist Phoenix and help him become the lawyer that I knew he could be, I didn't understand why I was still in limbo. I should be in the Twilight Realm, living a peaceful existence in the afterlife. Why had I not moved on yet?

Though I wasn't summoned for it, Phoenix had told me that the DL-6 case had been re-tried before the statute of limitations ran out, and Manfred von Karma, Miles' adopted father, was revealed as the true culprit. The retrial proved that my mom wasn't a fraud.

Gregory Edgeworth had passed out from lack of oxygen in the broken courthouse elevator, and he didn't know who his real killer was. Only nine-year-old Miles Edgeworth and a security guard were trapped with him at the time.

He assumed that the killer had to be the guard and not his son and that's what he had told Mom during his channeling. He didn't know that Manfred von Karma stumbled upon the scene and shot him.

Before Phoenix told me that, I had thought that maybe Mom was the reason I was still in limbo. However, hearing this news made it unlikely. I had punished the man who tarnished her reputation and Phoenix had restored it, but she still hadn't come out of hiding. It couldn't be that. I had avenged my own murder so it couldn't be that either.

I thought maybe I was needed to ensure Maya's safety but, after both of her murder trials and her kidnapping, I was still here.

Maybe it was for Phoenix, and to ensure his success, but he was becoming capable enough to defend without my help. I was summoned less and less as time went on. Even the times I was summoned, I thought Phoenix could have solved the cases on his own, if given enough time.

Then, one day, I was channeled again, and it all made sense. When I was awoken in the courtroom, I looked across from the defense stand and at the prosecutor we were facing. It was him: Diego. Only it wasn't really him. He wasn't the person that I used to know.

His hair was still completely grey; he didn't bother dyeing it. He had the new vision technology that his doctor had told me about it, these unusual-looking goggles with red neon lights. He was dressed similarly to how he used to, but not quite the same.

In the past, he mostly wore red, his signature color, having a closet full of dress shirts in various shades of it. Now he was wearing green instead, a color I rarely saw him wear in all the time I knew him.

His changes in appearance weren't the most notable differences about him though. He was a lot angrier and a lot more bitter than the man I loved. He never referred to Phoenix by his name, instead derisively calling him "Trite." He badgered Phoenix the way crooked prosecutors used to badger us. Whenever Phoenix annoyed him, which seemed to happen frequently, Diego threatened to scald him with hot cups of coffee.

I couldn't understand why he was on that side. He always swore that he never wanted to be a prosecutor. He used to be so devoted to defending his clients, even the guilty ones, and giving them a chance to receive a fair and honest trial. Now he had become everything that he hated.

Worst of all, he was trying to indict Phoenix's client, even though he must have known that he was innocent of the murder charge he was facing. I had only been channeled for mere minutes, but even I could clearly see that he had been framed. Diego was ready to put an innocent man in jail for murder if it meant beating Phoenix.

Even though Phoenix was on the right side of the case with this trial, he needed my help to push back and achieve his not guilty verdict. Diego intimidated him and Phoenix wasn't thinking straight. He was at a loss for what to do. Maya had summoned me to help him, shortly before the judge was set to hand down the verdict.

"Your Honor!" I exclaimed. "Just now you said something very interesting: 'You have cross-examined every statement the witness has made here today.'"

"Y-Yes, that's true," the judge replied. "But..."

I cut him off. "Unfortunately, your Honor, you're forgetting something. Earlier, after the last cross-examination, this witness made a number of remarks!"

"Y-Yes, but these comments appear to have no importance whatso..."

I cut him off again. I technically wasn't even a lawyer right now but, by being firm with the judge, he seemed to accept me as one anyway.

"Very well. Then we shall prove their importance via cross-examination. At any rate, as long as the witness has made these remarks, we, the defense, assert our right to question them! Is that alright with you..." I hesitated. I wanted to call him Diego, but I didn't think he was Diego anymore. "...Prosecutor?"

He just stared at me in shock, not saying anything for a moment. Maya had channeled me, so I was wearing her clothes and had her hair, but he recognized me too. He must have realized, at least momentarily, that he was in the wrong because he agreed to my request. Either that or he just wanted to appease me, even though it lost him his case.