Revamped!

[School got cancelled because of "extreme weather conditions" and it 7:00 AM so I might as well update!][2020: I remember this day … woke up early praying that class would be cancelled. Now I'm hoping that classes get cancelling because of the pandemic.]

A Study in Scarlet: Part Eight

Paris, France, The European Federation

On the cab ride to the courthouse, Scarlet takes her phone out of her blazer pocket and turns it on for the first time since she arrived in France. She chokes on her breath as she sees the stream of missed messages and calls. Wolf laughs to himself as he rests his head on her shoulder and she marks them all as read, going straight to their group chat. While all this was going on, Émilie was explaining the whole café drama to the cab driver who seemed so invested in it.

Group Chat - Locating Scarlet Expedition Squad
Members: Alpha Wolf, Captain Thorne, Cinder Blackburn, Cress Darnel, Jacin Clay, Kai Rikan, Scarlet, Winter Blackburn

Scarlet: I know that I owe you guys a lot of explanations but I don't have a lot of time.

Scarlet: I'm in France - which you guys already know. I'm safe. It was an emergency.

Jacin Clay: Why am I in this group chat?

Scarlet: Really? I'M IN FRANCE AND THAT'S YOUR RESPONSE!

Jacin Clay: *shrugging emoji* Bonjour?

Captain Thorne: SCARLET YOU'RE ALIVE *crying emojis*

Scarlet: Never in my life would I be happy to get a message from Carswell.

Jacin Clay: *eye-rolling emojis*

Captain Thorne: I'LL LET THAT BIRTH NAME SLIDE BECAUSE YOU'RE ALIVE *crying emojis*

Cress Darnel: Wait, you're with Wolf, right?

"Babe," Scarlet says, getting his attention.

Wolf sits up as Scarlet opens the camera on her messages. She lifts her chin and smiles brightly as Wolf kisses her curls. She doesn't check to see if the photo was good because she knows that it is because it has her and Wolf happy in it. It takes a bit longer for it to send but it was well worth it. The responses made her extremely happy.

Cress Darnel: WOLFLET FOR LIFE *pattern of crying emojis and hearts*

Kai Rikan: How did he find you so fast?

Cinder Blackburn: Wolves love a good hunt.

Winter Blackburn: ;)

Captain Thorne: So, where are you two heading? Back home?

Scarlet: Courthouse.

Cress Darnel: *shocked emojis*

Kai Rikan: What?

Cress Darnel: *continued shocked emojis*

Jacin Clay: How do I remove myself from here?

Winter Blackburn: ARE YOU TWO GETTING MARRIED?!

Scarlet looks up from her phone and at Wolf, showing him the messages since he isn't following along. "Why would they think we were getting married?"

Wolf hesitates as he shifts his position in his seat. Scarlet eyes him as Émilie and the cab driver turn around to see his answer. Wolf knows that his friends are talking about his Plan B to getting Scarlet back if she got deported, marry the girl so she could take his Earthen citizenship. She narrows her eyes at him and he grins.

"If we get there early…" Wolf hesitates.

"No," Scarlet replies, smiling.

"Come on, Scarlet…" Émilie begs. "I'll be your witness and our cabbie will drive you to a destination honeymoon. When in France."

"Je voudrais," the cab driver says enthusiastically.

"No," Scarlet confirms.

Scarlet goes back to her phone as Émilie starts rambling to Wolf and the cab driver about the wedding she has planned in her head. Scarlet rolls her eyes, tuning out all of Émilie's babbles although Wolf and the cab driver show extreme interest towards that.

Scarlet: The French government sent me a subpoena.

There are no responses at first but then, they come at once.

Winter Blackburn: Hold up, isn't there some legal process that had to happen? I mean, France and Commonwealth have different law systems so France can't just SEND you a subpoena.

Scarlet: Well, they did and I don't want to go to jail.

Cinder Blackburn: You should've gotten Levana as your lawyer even if she isn't practising. She would've given legal advice without charging you.

Kai Rikan: Subpoenaed?!

Jacin Clay: Oh, I'm loving this group chat now.

Scarlet: *narrowed-eyed emoji*

Captain Thorne: I just looked up what a subpoena was and WHAT?!

Scarlet: That's all I know about it. I have no clue what'll happen and I'm scared to find out.

-o-

Scarlet enters the courthouse with Wolf and Émilie behind her. Official-looking people in business suits with their briefcases rush by her, yelling at one another. They scream so fast that it sounds like an engine in her ear. She definitely doesn't belong here but the government ordered her to come and she obeyed. Scarlet takes a breath as she pulls her subpoena out of her pocket to see where in the courthouse she's supposed to be.

She's almost there but all this began with a little girl who had no prospects, who barely knew what love was since she never experienced it. Being here is a testament to towering female strength showing that she won't only survive this but figure it out.

Scarlet finds the room number and it was no help because she has no clue where the room is. She looks around and stops breathing when she sees a ghost from her past nearby.

His short hair was still as curly as hers but retained its dark brown color with some strands of grey. He had a beard over his jawline but that didn't stop her from recognizing him. He looked thinner, probably from all the alcohol, and now he was standing here in a tuxedo beside someone who she can only assume is his lawyer, also because of the alcohol. It's always the alcohol, isn't it? His face has finer lines but she still recognizes him.

Scarlet finally knows what she's here. It never had anything to do with custody. Émilie sent her the email about her father getting arrested. Seeing him in the courthouse makes sense now. Why else would a criminal call his estranged daughter whom he hasn't seen for a decade the moment he gets arrested? She isn't sure, but she'll have to find out soon.

Scarlet stands with a blank mind the longer she looks at him. That is until her anger reaches the surface, causing her to act in a blind rage as she storms forwards.

"Scarlet!" Wolf yells but she's already gone.

Before he goes running after her, Émilie stops him. Wolf turns and sees the spooked expression on her face as she figures out where Scarlet is going. Émile mutters something in French under her breath. Wolf looks back and forth, connecting the two pieces of the puzzle.

"Who is that man?" Wolf asks, showing concern.

"Her father," Émilie responds.

Wolf remains quiet as he nods, trying to figure out this situation now that he knows that. "Her father got arrested. Aces … that's probably what this is about."

"Nobody gets subpoenaed to a criminal court case just to watch," Émilie says.

Wolf sighs. "She'll have to testify."

"Maybe we should've gotten her a lawyer…" Émilie mutters.

Scarlet stops marching over the moment her father looks and sees her. His possibly fake look of surprise sends shivers down her spine. It's like he was trying to accept the fact that his daughter showed up despite the decade-long timeframe, and how much she grew up in that decade.

"Scarlet? T'es — t'es ici ?" Her father, Luc Benoit, asks in disbelief.

"J'ai pas un choix !" She screams, shoving the subpoena in his hands. "What did you do?"

Her father doesn't answer. Instead, the man in the suit beside him takes over. "Mademoiselle Benoit, I'm your father's lawyer. You're here to testify on your father's behalf. He was caught in an incident involving a DUI, acts of violence, and vandalism in a public area."

Scarlet scoffs. "Pas mon problème."

"The prosecution and I will be asking you questions revolving mostly around your father's character to give the jury a full picture of his character. That's why we have called you here today. Your father has faced some jail time up to this point but your father won't be going back but will face different consequences - freedom with a record, charges for the damages or rehabilitation. It depends on where this goes."

"Aces, this justice system…" Scarlet laughs a little to herself. "I have nothing helpful to say. I can't give a character profile because I don't knw him. What looks good about a runaway daughter?"

Her Dad steps closer to her. "I'm sorry, Scarlet. You deserve so much better than me and your mother. My stars, just look at you - I can't believe how beautiful you've gotten and I just know that you're smarter than both your mother and I combined."

Scarlet starts to shake her head. She knows that he's trying to charm her so that she'll obey. "Stop…"

"I'm still your father, Scarlet."

"On my birth certificate, definitely, but I stopped thinking of you that way the moment I started packing when I was seven."

The lawyer cuts back in and Scarlet narrows her eyes. "Mademoiselle Benoit, before the court session, it would be wise for us to rehearse some answers."

"Baise-toi." Scarlet points directly at him with glowering eyes. "You're not my lawyer."

"Scarlet, s'il te plaît," He pleads before she cuts him off.

"I don't want to hear it, Dad. Did you think your subpoena said s'il te plaît ? Non, alors, I'll meet you in the courtroom and that'll be the last time I ever see you."

Scarlet turns around and walks away. Angry tears sting her eyes as she tries to blink them away. These people know nothing about her, especially her father, and yet, their words sting. When they fall out, she harshly rubs them away.

So after this criminal incident, her father either gets off completely, pays for the damages caused or goes to rehab. That. Was. It. Whatever her testimony would be, whether for or against him, it'll still help him. He would be getting leverage in some way because, like always, he always wins. But at this point, it doesn't matter to her. After today, she's done with her father.

"I want to go home…" Scarlet mutters as Wolf wraps his arms around her and kisses the side of her head.

-o-

Moments later, Scarlet finds herself standing in a full courtroom. In front of her is the judge sitting officially in his wrinkle-free robe and stoic expression in his bench. She swore an oath to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth before making her way around and taking a seat in the witness stand just beside the judge but closer to the ground. The cold leather seat sends a shock up her entire body but she shivers it away.

Before her eyes is the entire courtroom: the prosecution sits in front of her and her father and his defence lawyer sit parallel to them. The jury is off to the side and spectators are behind the lawyers. She glances at Émilie who smiles brightly at her with an additional thumbs-up, giving her hope. She looks at Wolf and he smiles lazily as he winks at her: a little wink that promises that everything will be okay.

Scarlet was raised by her Grandmère to be honest, but the truth is always complicated. It doesn't matter if the truth won't make a mess because something becomes scattered in the process. Clean slates are never guaranteed. Sometimes, the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.

The prosecution steps up first and walks in front of her. "Mademoiselle Benoit, you made the choice on your own as a seven-year-old girl to leave your father and go live with your paternal grandmother in Commonwealth, The Earthen Union, correct?"

Thank the stars they'll let her testify in English.

"Yes," Scarlet responds.

"And before you left France, your mother already the family, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where she is?"

Scarlet shrugs. "She didn't even say goodbye to me."

"Do you know why she left?"

Scarlet almost jumps out of her seat when her father's lawyer unexpectedly stands up and objects, calling a speculation. Her heart rate accelerates as the prosecution tells the judge that he is just giving the jury a full perspective of her family life as a child. This situation intensifies for Scarlet and she's tempted to run right out of the courtroom. This would be A Study in Scarlet and she didn't like this one bit.

"Sustained," the judge says. Scarlet has no clue what that word means but her father's lawyer sat down looking pissed and it makes her happy.

"Mademoiselle Benoit ?"

Scarlet snaps back into reality, looking at the prosecution. "From how I understood it as a child, Mom left me because I reminded her of Dad."

"And how did your father treat you after that?"

"Dad emotionally abused and rejected me and I assume it was because I reminded him of Mom."

"I rest my case."

The prosecution heads back to his table and Scarlet feels inclined to follow him, but her father's lawyer stands up and approaches her. Scarlet sinks back in her seat and glares at him the closer he gets. Of course, he had to question her now. He had to get some answers that would glamorize her terrible father.

"Mademoiselle Benoit," he starts, "when did your father become dependant on alcohol?"

"Before my mom left, they fought a lot and after a fight, he would drink until he passed out," she says, forcing herself to look at her father who's already locking eyes with her. "The more they fought, the more he drank. Then, Mom left and I don't remember ever seeing him sober."

Scarlet watches her father lean back in his chair, feeling uneasy. She looks away.

"Why did you leave France?"

"I reminded my father of my mother just by looks," Scarlet replies. "I didn't want him to start treating me like her."