The Betrayal

By The Betrayal

CHAPTER 1

To work in one of the country’s most prestigious law firms is a dream for many. But the minute Stephanie Shaw got accepted in Yale, she knew that she will be one of the luckiest students to get into McCartney and Partners and make it big into the legal world. She passed with top honours in her class and was, as a result, the choicest appointment of the firm. As soon as she graduated, she started working pronto for her dream firm. She had often heard from her seniors and professors that the working life is not all pretty. But now that she had been rigorously working for eighty hours a week, she could finally resonate with her seniors. 

It had been six months since she had started working as an associate with McCartney. She was twenty-five, single and lived in a one – bedroom studio that she rented in New York. Although she billed at $300 and owned a lavish and expensive closet, she found it impractical to invest in a high-rented flat which she used only for sleeping and bathing purpose. Her family, who lived in Virginia, never shied away from the opportunity to share their daughter’s accomplishment at such an age. They always had high hopes for her while for her brother, they just prayed that he made into community college. So, it came as a shocker for them when Ray, Stephanie’s brother, got an actual desk job at Sopho, a computer manufacturing firm. For them, Stephanie had always been their ideal child, a fact that had never been hidden from the children. 

But now Stephanie was rethinking about her parent’s stance on her. For the past few weeks, she had been thinking about leaving the firm and joining some other law firm, where the work pressure didn’t wear her out. ‘I have just started out in this world. It will be challenging. I will get through it.’ She often told these words to motivate herself and tried to remind herself now and then that she had been living the dream she had wanted. But little did she know that not everything that glitters is always gold.

Exhausted from her day’s work, Stepanie kicked her Louboutins on the floor and reached for her refrigerator to fetch a cold bottle of water. As she sipped it, she mentally went through her tiring day. 

Woke up at 5 am. Got dressed. Bought a bagel and coffee. Did research work for a client for four hours. Assembling the evidence took another three. Sneaked out for a quick fifteen-minute lunch. Attended a conference that lasted for about one and a half hour. Met a client with her supervisor for three hours. And finally, when she had finally gathered her stuff for the day, a last-minute update about one of the clients had to be reported there and then. 

She had never thought that she would live such a mundane and a monotonous life. Parties were a luxury, something which she learnt very early on in her career. She had long forgotten what a ‘day off’ looked like. McCartney’s rules ordered for the phones to be never switched off or even programmed t DND, for they believed that a legal emergency never saw the perfect time to strike and hence, as a result, they could be summoned to the offices even at odd hours. But her house telephone was the only device she could tolerate. Stephanie had made it a habit to hear all her voicemails while going through her social media. Mostly, the voicemails consisted of her parents asking her about her life in New York and her work at the office. 

“Hey Steph! It’s Mary. I am having my bridal shower on the 15^th of this month. Please make it to it! We have a lot to catch up about! Eager to see you! Love you!”

She smiled softly and made a mental note to send Mary some gifts and her regards along with an apology note, explaining her inability to attend her bridal shower.  As soon as she opened her inbox, a deep, dark and gravelly voice surrounded her petite living room.

“Stephanie Shaw, if you wish for your parents to enjoy another sunrise from their Park Avenue balcony, you will do clearly as I say. Do not, in any case, try to warn your parents about this or else, their blood will be on your hands. Now, be all ears, for I am not going to repeat myself.”

For a moment, Stephanie froze at her spot. Seconds felt like minutes, but she couldn’t fathom what she had just heard. It had to be prank. It had to be. Or at worst, it had to be a huge misunderstanding. Her mind couldn’t process the millions of scenarios milling her mind. Nonetheless, the voicemail continued speaking after what felt like a lifetime.

“I know you are a first-year associate at McCartney and Partners and have been there for six months, five days, to be precise. You started off as an enthusiastic associate and licked several boots to get higher in the associate’s level. It paid off well. You got assigned to many important and influential cases over the course of many months but at the end, you finally realized that this wasn’t your soul’s calling. You’re now actually looking forward to resign from this sorry job of yours in order to search for a humanly job. I hope I didn’t miss anything trivial as your outfit, which, by the way, is a white pant and black blouse with a grey overcoat today.”

Stephanie was about to slip into hysterics. She could already feel a sharp pain throbbing in her brain. Stephanie took a seat on her second-hand Chesterfield sofa and gripped its armrest with all her might. She could feel the lethargy kick in her body. But she couldn’t even blink her eyes. Sleep was out of question.

“Now that you know that I am not kidding around, listen to me very carefully. I know that you are working on the Getlay case. Your firm is defending the fraudulent charges pressed against it by Fred’s. I want you to bring me the research documents of your firm on the Fred’s. Starting from all the evidences you have gathered till now to all the extra dirt your firm is about to throw on them, I want it all. You have twenty-four hours to bring the papers to me.”

Stephanie’s mind was totally blown out. She was dumbstruck. How did a man, whose voice she couldn’t figure out, knew these intimate details about her? How was it even remotely possible? Was she being stalked? Was an intruder behind her? And for how long had this been going on? 

Although she loathed her job, she was not about break the confidentiality clause of her client. She was an ethical lawyer who had always played according to the books. Her lawyer mind was now working at an unimaginable speed. She was trying to concoct a plan to get out of this so-called threat. The first thing that came into her mind was to alert the police. She grabbed her phone and was about to dial 911, when that raspy sound came alive again, “Do not, in any circumstance, try to call the police for help. I know that you will be listening to this voicemail at around 11 pm. If you still think that I am fooling around, I suggest you must check your inbox.”

In less than a second, her inbox was opened. She was greeted by her parent’s photo, sitting in the balcony, looking lost in their conversation. This could not be true. It could be an old photo of her parents. It could be photoshopped. It could be a hoax.

“You can check in with your parents and ask them what they are doing at present. I’m sure their answer will be the same as the photo. Meet me in Room 551, Orlando Hotel at sharp 11 pm with all the papers in a pen drive. Remember, no tricks, Stephanie. Your parents will pay for your misgivings.”

With that, the dreadful voicemail came to an end. She rushed to the telephone to find the number of the blackmailer, but she was shocked to find that the number got self-deleted as soon as the voicemail ended.

Stephanie understood one thing from this whole horrific episode.

She was dealing with a professional.  

CHAPTER 2

Stephanie reported to McCartney and Partners at 6 am sharp. The secretaries were yet to arrive but the office was already abuzz with associates and partners walking into their offices and getting their heads to work. Everyone in the office seemed to had only one thought on their mind – to get over with Friday and get ready for the much-needed weekend respite. Everyone but Stephanie. She looked pale and it was quite evident from her face that she hadn’t got much sleep at night. Well, the latter had been true a lot many times. She had barely eaten anything. She had immediately called her parents after the voicemail and inquired about their whereabouts. It was exactly what the blackmailer had said. 

Gartley Mechanics v/s Fred’s Automobiles was one of the most important and prominent cases for McCartney and Partners. Stephanie was one of the forty associates who had been assigned to the litigation department under the supervision of their respective partners. James Kendall, a tall and fat fifty – five-year-old partner, was her supervisor. As Stephanie was very diligent and precise with her work, she had been allowed by Kendall to access all the documents regarding the case. For James, it was just about getting the work done rather than listen to the whining of his bosses.

Never in a million years had Stephanie thought that she would be that ‘associate’, who would be labelled as ‘disloyal’ and ‘immoral’ in her ethics. She made it to the small, windowless document room at around 7 am. She entered her credentials and got to work. She was mindful of the fact that the small room was very well-secured with at least three cameras monitoring all the activities. 

Stephanie had been reasoning with herself all night about doing the right thing. She was very acquainted with the consequences of what would happen if she were to refuse to abide what was asked of her. On the other hand, she knew that this would be her last working day at McCartney’s. Although she had been waiting for this day to come, she had never thought that this would be the reason. She strongly felt that this would be her undoing.

Reluctantly, she pulled out her pen drive from her briefcase and tried to create a diversion. There were two other people who were busy scrounging down all the files. Stephanie kicked her pen down from her table and bent down to retrieve it. In the process, she attached the pen drive to the CPU and took a seat. She began downloading the files but, in her mind, all she wanted to do was scream and inform everyone about the coercion.

All she could think of was, ‘And my downfall begins.’

CHAPTER 3

Stepanie reached the Orlando Hotel at 10:45 pm. She had been feeling queasy and guilty all throughout the day. James Kendall was shocked to receive the resignation. He tried to convince her to stay with his sweet talks, promises of better salary and even arranging a sedan to take her home every night. But nothing could make her take up all those tempting offers. After all, the conscience of guilt felt heavier and proved to be weightier than all the materialistic needs.

She knocked the Room 551 at sharp 11 pm. Her beating heart could be heard clearly in the still lobby. Beads of sweat formed at her forehead. She rapped the door again. This time it was unlocked. She swallowed harshly and made her way inside the room. She held her bag tightly to herself. In order to show her bravado, she even carried a pepper spray and a little knife, which, she felt, she wouldn’t be able to use. She was still making her way towards the living room when the voice, that had been tormenting her, spoke.

“Hello, Stephanie Shaw. It’s so nice to meet you in person.”

Stehpanie stilled. Her eyes couldn’t believe who she was seeing. 

Jackson Dale. Her childhood friend.

“Jackson. What are you doing?”

He smirked arrogantly and made his way to the liquor cabinet. Stephanie had long lost contact with Jackson when his family shifted to Philadelphia. But his green eyes were unmistakable. Rarest of the rare. She could identify them anywhere in the world. 

“Why are you staring as if you seen a ghost? I am still the Jackson Dale you know. Or knew.”

“Why are you doing all this? Why are you blackmailing me?”

“Give me the documents, Shaw. Don’t be so sappy about it. It’s better for you to co operate with me than asking me dumb questions.”

“No. Answer me first. How did you know what my parents were doing? How did you know what was I wearing? And most importantly, how did you know I was assigned to the Gartley case and was about to le-‘’

“Oh, stop with these ridiculous questions of yours. Don’t pretend to act dumb. Put that pretty Yale mind of yours to some work and answer for yourself.”

“For how long have you been spying on me?”

“I don’t have the time to do all that. You see, I am a very busy man.”

“Then whom did you pay to get my background check done?”

“Do you happen to see or read a lot of spy thrillers? Because you surely are talking like you are in one.”

Stephanie was not feeling hurt anymore. Instead, she was shaking with rage and was about to spit venom. She tried to gather her composure and asked her final question.

“Why? Why did you this Jackson? We were friends at some point of time.”

Jackson, who had been twirling his glass of whiskey, laughed humorlessly. 

“Did Smith and Smith hire you to do this? Were you paid by that lousy firm to get all the dirt we have on their client?”

Jackson didn’t reply. Instead, he was just observing Stephanie.

“You are still the Stephanie I know from childhood. Endless spirals of questions. Wanting answers to all. Still so inquisitive.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Stephanie rushed for the door and was about to make out of it when Jackson grabbed her arms and tried to snatch the bag from her. They got involved in a snatching fight with Stephanie trying to lunge some punches into the devil’s face. But Jackson, with his brawny physique and stature, was able to duck it all.

“It’s futile to fight when you know toy are going to lose, Stephanie. You don’t want any harm coming to your parents, do you?”

“I am not giving you the pen drive, Jackson. Do whatever you want.”

“Oh, we will see about that.”

She tried to engage him in conversation and found the right time to kick him in the balls. As soon as he got the hard punch, Jackson fell to the ground, cursing and whimpering like a kid. Stephanie quickly made a beeline for exit, leaving behind a messy Jackson.

She ran to the hotel reception, explained about a man trying to hurt her and left the hotel. Next, she called her parents to ensure whether they were safe and gave a brief of what she encountered. She called the police and reported everything to them, starting from the blackmail voicemail to her meeting Jackson in the hotel room. The police were on their way to arrest him on and ensured her that she would be safe. 

Stephanie sat on the pavement near the Orlando Hotel and waited for the police to come. She brought her legs to her chest and rested her face on her folded hands. She closed her eyes and could only think of one thing – betrayal.

By The Betrayal