Appeal

"Are you ready to show the evidence to the court?"

After their meeting, Prince and Bryce headed to the Vasterian Appeal's Office. In so long, this is the first time they got to prove that their fathers aren't guilty. By the use of technology and reading in between the lines of the last trial back '90's, Prince had the courage to scourge every tiny thing about Avery and found the results.

Lara De Leon hid a device that stored a controversial video about the three of them.

Prince had managed to attain it by hacking. Now, he had to keep that as bait and search for the remaining evidences. One must be able to fit the puzzle in order to attain the answer. Bryce had done his thing, too, and quickly able to trace where Lara and Tin were concealed.

"We have a controversial piece today. Something that might awaken the past testifiers of our father's last trial before the verdict, I want to summon them when the appeal is approved."

Bryce agreed, uttering, "We have a lot in store for now. We don't have time to publish it on a day of the appeal. We have to take it slow. Plus, we want Tim Espino to get out of his cave."

The past administration has been flunked down with an accusation of embezzlement, fraud, tortures and killings, especially, graft and corruption. All of this in 6 years that they had been in the politics and never did the people tried to seek an impeachment to him. The Espinos' have been living a luxurious life ever since the head of the family became the most influential person globally, and the citizens had left to starve.

"Are you sure you can let the Espinos, particularly Tim and Nadine, out of their hiding spots?"

The judge was very considerate. With a little to no time on filing the appeal, it was very hard to prove it without a solid evidence. The judge would eventually dismiss it out of insufficient support. But Prince and Bryce wouldn't allow that to happen.

There are people to testify their fathers' innocence.

"We can make sure to engage to public media on opening the case once again. We don't have any choice but to do it. Our fathers had been living in hell inside the prison. It's time to prove they're innocent."

…

The inspection for Avery's missing case must still be ongoing. The moment he went out of the office, two detectives approached him, carrying a notebook, and a plastic-covered paper. Prince and Bryce glanced at each other. They expected it to arise along with their appeal application.

Prince asked, "I recognize the two of you. Did something happen with the results? Is the investigation still ongoing?"

One short detective take turn looking around the place, wondering what Prince was doing here.

"We are accepting the appeal cases from now, so don't suspect me with something else. I'm a prosecutor," Prince reassured. The detective nodded, apologizing. He focused on his notebook, waiting for his senior to say something. Prince smiled, agreeing him to continue.

"I'm Yoo In Wang, a senior detective of the Vasterian Police. The case has been handed to us: about the missing body of Avery De Leon. We found a car on the other side of the Aurora Hotel, and looked like the trees had smacked down duly cause of drunk driving. We saw the contacts, and it was you at the top."

Prince called Avery before the event and the fingers doesn't point at him. What would be the boyfriend's motive to kill his girlfriend when he secretly proposed to her that night? Well, the ones who witnessed the scenes had been killed, disposed, and cleaned up. Even the hotel director changed their statements once they saw the money inside the bag Prince offered.

The minds have come weaker when money is involved.

Prince acted as if he's touched, inquiring, "So, what happened then? Why would it lead to her death?"

Yoo In Wang retrieved his phone, tapped on the pictures, and saw the results of her blood.

"The one my junior was holding was the results of the car getting smashed to a tree. This time, we tested her blood, and there are narcotics in there, something that can let the driver be drowsy a minute after it all drain down. The hotel management said the same thing, and we're searching for the person who put this drug on her drink. We are very sorry for the lack of evidence to support the claim she's being kidnapped, Mr. Gomez."

Prince had staged all of it in the first place. It's planned, and nothing's ever surprising. He's just clever to give the tiny details to the police in order to sustain a good and clean image about a son plotting a revenge for his father. Avery isn't the one that can ruin him.

"As we have yet to reach the resolution about her, we brought the ashes to her mom, Lara De Leon."

Bryce lifted his eyebrows. Ashes? To Lara De Leon?

"So her body has gone burnt and cremated?"

"Yes." There's no way they could find that bullet hole in her chest, cause by the burn of the fire by the car. Prince smirked, hiding it from the detective. Bryce has known the filthy tricks worked again.

"With the body really burnt like a coal, we don't have any choice but to pour it down as ash. Poor woman, she never had the chance to do the autopsy."

Prince was celebrating inside his mind. All of the secrets are buried with Avery's ashes. Nothing can go against him after the appeal is approved. Prince was very much happy with the progress, and it is the only thing running through his mind for the remaining weeks to come.

"That's why we planned to close the investigation on a shorter time. We're just finishing the paperwork, and you're not going to be disrupted from work again, Mr. Gomez."

Prince pretended to be sad. His lips curled down, and his eyes brimmed with little tears.

"Just visit Lara De Leon, her mother. I'm sure… she's waiting for you."

…

Bryce and Prince laughed along the news on the radio. The anchor's voice ended with a blast, and Prince's guffaw never died down. It must be the devilish expression of a man who killed a nuisance in his life. Prince would never forget this kind of explicit happiness.

Bryce smirked, "They're a fool. They don't know how to see through the lines, and even concluding that Avery's case was default. Detectives aren't that intelligent with combing clues, huh? They just go along what everyone feeds them."

Prince never thought of Aria until now. He had to undergo several stages of happiness in order to say that the plan was accomplished. Prince done it, but not Bryce, and with Avery killed, no one would be able to find what origin did she has.

"What worried me the most was Aria, she must be kept unknown in order to live."

Fortunate that the red light ran through, Prince turned to Bryce, indicating, "Do you think it would be right to let her fall in love with me and I pretend to be one, too?"

Bryce sighed, looked out of the window, watching the other cars stopped by at the side. He clenched his jaw, mumbling, "I don't know. Both of us entered her life with no assurance of the end. I don't want to conclude a happily ever after when I'm the first one to fall in love with her."

That heated Prince up. What's wrong to be the last? Is it worth shedding off the entire reputation Bryce built up for several years? His world must revolve around Aria now.

"So this is the warning you gave me? Make a woman your world? From that, I'll never make it a serious thing at all."