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Chapter - 115

Inside the courtroom,

Soon the half-hour break was over, and the courtroom was once again packed to its entirety. Maybe even more people were in there. Daniel and Alex were soon seated on their seats, and not long after that, the prosecutor also walked in with his head hung low. From the way his lips moved, Alex could easily deduce that nothing went his way during the break, and he was probably cursing them and the Judge.

After everyone had settled in the room, the Judge also walked in, dragging those old bones. Everyone present there stood up to greet him.

Wearing his glasses, the Judge started to address everyone there, “Case Number 2022/02/K-1017, Abir Johnson versus the State, defendant?” The Judge read out, and through the gaps of his glasses, peeked to spot Abir.

Hearing his name, Abir stood up in his place among the audience.

“Listening to the arguments from both, the defence and the prosecution, and in light of the evidence presented to the court, the next hearing on this case will be one week from today. In the meantime, the court orders the police to track down the young man pointed out by Mr Sadman, the man who called Mr Sadman and probe into them along with Mr Sadman himself. The court expects an impartial probe from the police and new pieces of evidence in front of the court by the next hearing,” The Judge said and wrote down everything in the records.

“Now, coming to the Case Number 2022/01/K-1018, Salma Bekhti aka Suzie versus the State. Defendant, please stand up,” the Judge called out for Suzie.

Hearing her name being called, Suzie lazily got up from her seat. Playing with her hair, Suzie stood in an awkward boomerang position as if there for a photoshoot.

“Defendant, stand straight,” the Judge said and got back to reading the paper in front of him.

Though reluctant to do so, because of the constant nudging from her manager, Suzie obliged.

“We will have another hearing for this case in a week as well, along with the previous one. The evidence submitted by the defence is ample enough to shift the focus of the investigation from the defendant to the victim. The court orders the prosecution and the police to dig deeper into the matter." The Judge ordered the prosecution and slammed his hammer on his desk.

"The court is adjourned now," And with this, the first hearing came to an end. And without delay, the Judge walked out of the courtroom.

As soon as the hearing was done, the courtroom reverberated with the sound of fingers hitting the keyboard. The reporters began to modify their reports and send them to the newsrooms. And within no time, the internet and the news channels were filled with articles and stories about Abir and Suzie.

Amidst this frenzy, before the reporters could reach out to him, Abir walked up to Alex and Daniel.

"Thank you. I was so scared for the past few days that I can\'t even explain it to you guys. The thought of going to prison sent chills down my spine. Both of you saved me and my career. I can\'t thank you guys enough." Abir expressed his gratitude. His words were all over the place, but he was earnest.

And the sincere gratitude made Alex feel a sense of accomplishment. Daniel, on the other hand, put his hand around Abir, trying to make him feel easy and said, "There is no need for that. We are paid heavily to clear up such a mess. But make sure you don\'t go around ditching your manager and get us involved. Though we are paid to clean up such a mess. I won\'t mind some easy money." Daniel let out a small chuckle as he said that.

This made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere was no longer gloomy. Soon after Abir, his manager, and Suzie\'s manager also expressed their appreciation for the two of them.

Alex looked toward Suzie, hoping that she would also thank them for saving her skin, but she stood far away from everyone there. Without paying attention to them, she was busy on her phone talking to someone.

It was then that his phone buzzed. It was a message from Karen which had only one word written, "Done."

Reading the text, a smirk appeared on his face, as he leaned toward Daniel and whispered something in his ear. As Daniel listened to Alex, he continuously nodded, and his gaze shifted towards Suzie.

“We should get going then,” Daniel finally said.

Not long after that, every phone in the room went off in sync. Alex and Daniel took this opportunity, and bidding their goodbyes to the others, they made their way out of the courtroom.

"Are you sure?" One of the reporters in the room cried out, hearing the person on the other side of the phone.

"This is big,"

"Holly, mother. So why would they work so hard today?" Another reporter couldn’t help but ask.

"It\'s not a publicity stunt, is it?" Someone was sceptical.

The reporters were on their phones, trying to confirm the news they had just received.

On the other side, Abir\'s manager and Suzie\'s manager got the news as well. It shocked them to the core, and before they could even react, the reporters stormed toward them and surrounded Suzie.

"Ma\'am, is that true?"

"Why would Theation want to come out with the accusations right at this moment?"

"How are you going to respond to them?"

"Why would Theation defend you if they were going to cancel their contract with you?"

"Is this a publicity stunt?"

The reporters surrounded Suzie and bombarded her with questions. Poor Suzie had no idea what was going on. She was on a call with someone when out of nowhere, she was surrounded by all these people, not even giving her a crack to slip away.

It took some time for Suzie’s manager to gather himself. When he saw Suzie in the bind, surrounded by dozens, he hurried towards her, and pushing the reporters as hard as he could, tried to reach Suzie. It took him a lot of effort, but he was successful in the end when he reached Suzie and pushed everyone else away.

“No comments… No comments… We will do a press conference later,” The manager put his arm around Suzie, and pushing the reporters to the side, made his way out of the courtroom. Though the reporters still followed behind them, forgetting all about Abir.

“What is going on?” perplexed Suzie asked her manager.

“Let’s get out of here first.” The manager replied as he pulled Suzie away.

"Well, we are not getting any air-time today," Abir\'s manager, on the other hand, said, shaking her head, "I guess we will have to do a press conference to denounce the prosecution. This will help shift the target from your back to theirs."

"What are you saying? Are you not concerned about her at all?" Abir asked. Suzie, along with him, was signed with Theation. Abir had no idea why would Theation do so.

"I never liked that snob, anyway. I wouldn\'t mind Theation suing her for a couple of millions in damage. If they win, her career is almost finished. Then she will have to spend her years scrubbing the floors to pay off her debt." Abir\'s manager smirked, "Huh... I quite like it."

Abir could not believe her sweet manager would think of someone so viciously. She has always been the sweetest to him, caring all about his needs. She had never shown this vivid imagination of hers to him.

The manager then looked at Abir, "Come, let\'s go. It has nothing to do with us, anyway. I will treat you to something nice," with a sweet, comforting smile on her face, she pulled Abir with her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Outside the court,

As they walked outside, Daniel took a deep breath, getting rid of all the stiffness from his body after working hard for so long.

While Alex looked at the large screen mounted on the building on the other side of the road, just opposite the court. Some news about Theation was being broadcasted. Well, it was nothing new, but this time he paid extra attention to it. After all, he was the cause of it all.

Soon, Hazel was on the screen. Unlike her usual carefree look, she was dressed in black, with her hair neatly done, ready to address a press conference. It was not live, and a clip of Hazel’s whole press conference was being broadcasted.

"Next. Theation is going to terminate its contract with one of our artists, Salma Bekhti, known to most by the stage name, Suzie Bekhti. During the recent events, it has come to light that Suzie, along with a few outsiders, has conspired against the company and helped tarnish its image." Hazel read from the paper in front of her.

"She has been involved with certain individuals of our rival company and has been a conscious participant in the incidents orchestrated around her known in the public for the past few days."

"The details regarding their financial transactions, call details, and other details will soon be made available on the company\'s website. But let me tell you all, Theation will not take such incidents lightly, and necessary actions will be taken without compromise. Thank you," Hazel said, and picking up stuff, left the press conference without answering any question from the press.

"Ma\'am... Ma\'am..."

"Ma\'am, is it an attempt to whitewash the company\'s image?"

"Is Theation trying to divert attention from itself by making a scapegoat out of a budding artist?"

Though reporters tried, Hazel paid no attention to their questions and walked away from there.

As Alex watched Hazel address the media, they were also surrounded by reporters who wanted to know the exact details of this turn of events.

With his arms up, Daniel tried to calm them down, "Calm down. I am here to brief you all. I am not gonna run away." Daniel was all smiles as he watched their anxious face.

"Now, before you ask anything, let me come straight with the official statement." Before they could ask anything else, Daniel came forward.

"Suzie has been found to have conspired against Theation, as you rightly heard the spokesperson from Theation. The details of which will soon be shared by the company. Now we are going to take necessary and tough steps against her and the others involved." Daniel was brief with his words, "Now you can ask me anything."

"Is this a publicity stunt? Or is Theation trying to slide everything else under the carpet by making a scapegoat out of Suzie?"

"Only the legal aspect of the case, please." Daniel shook his head, "You should ask these questions to the PR."

"Why are you representing Suzie when you are going to sue her afterwards?"

"These are two different matters. We came across Suzie\'s involvement in this conspiracy along the way as we were trying to 21:57

prove her innocence. Now that she was in a contract with the company I represent, it was an obligation to prove her innocence, and I did it wholeheartedly. But now it’s a different matter, and to make it short, Miss Bekhti will need a different council going forward.” Daniel answered each and every one of them with a smile. While Alex stood beside him. Alex was sure he was going to be on the news today. He must tell his mom.

At this time, Suzie angrily walked out of the court building heading straight for Daniel. She was like a wounded lioness, ready to pounce on Daniel. But Alex was quick to intervene when he saw her.

“Stay out of it,” Suzie said as she glared at Alex.

“Sorry, I can’t,” Alex shook his head, “You look dangerous for his well-

being.”

“You…” Suzie pointed her finger at Alex, wanting to curse him, but stopped when she saw all the media out there.

In the meantime, her manager also caught up to them and pulled Suzie aside, not wanting to make a scene and make their out from there while no one paying attention to them.

* * * * *

(A/N: I will try to keep it short. If you are somewhat enjoying the story or have suggestions do let me know in the comments. Apart from that Powerstones help a lot as well. Thank you.)