Empire of Vendetta

[D-35] Valerio's Shadow

The countdown had started and because it took three days from the interview to Lilith's first day of work, she was already left with only thirty five days left. On one hand, she didn't care too much about the counter since her main goal was murder but on the other, she wanted to get it over and done with as soon as possible. So she decided to stick to the counter. Besides, she didn't want to seem like she was wasting time in front of Alia. 

"Good morning," she fake smiled at the receptionist at the front desk as she walked in. She gave her a coffee she had just bought from the coffee shop across the street. The role she was playing was a sweet, naive but optimistic new graduate so she was pressured by Summer into doing something "sweet" for her colleagues that would put her in their good books. 

"For me?" the receptionist smiled as she held a hand to her chest. "Aren't you a sweetheart!"

Lilith flickered her perfectly curled lashes at the older women before she walked in and gave the other workers their coffees. She had made it her mission the previous day to study everyone who worked in the law firm with her and called up the junior assistant to ask for everyone's preferred drink. And it looked like all her efforts didn't go in vain. Everyone smiled at her and looked like they were automatically in love. 

She looked down at the last coffee on her tray before she walked over to the junior assistant, Tara, and asked her if she could give Valerio his coffee.

"Boss doesn't drink coffee in the morning," Tara told her. "He prefers hydrating herbal tea." 

"Rich people," the receptionist jokingly scoffed before she added, "If he doesn't want it, I'll have it." 

Lilith didn't say anything as she watched the receptionist take the second cup of coffee over to her desk area. 

"So," Lilith began to change the topic as she turned back to face Tara, "what exactly am I supposed to do here?"

"Didn't Alexandra email you your work description?" Tara sighed before she rolled her eyes and added, "That lady literally has one job but she keeps forgetting to do it."

Lilith didn't bother to correct the junior assistant. She didn't want to seem irresponsible on her first day of work. 

"Since you're the intern, you'll be working very closely with Prosecutor Otero, a.k.a that sexy beast over there," she pointed towards Valerio's office, with a raised brow and tantalising smirk. "You'll go through his case files, examine the crime scene with him and attend court hearings with him too. So you'll basically be his shadow until the end of your internship." 

Lilith's eyes travelled towards the office that was covered in glass walls. Had the blinds not been down, she would have been able to see everything that was going on in the inside of the room. She didn't know why anyone would want something like that. She valued her privacy and would hate to have the entire firm see her working. 

Her eyes landed on Valerio's working figure. She had tried to ignore his presence since he had a very strange effect on her but no matter how much she tried to ignore him, he was too eye-catching. She just hoped she would be able to calm her silly feelings because now was not the time to be feeling like a hormonal teenager. She had a mission to accomplish.

"Come, it's time for your shift to begin," Tara said before she lead Lilith towards the lion's den. She knocked and opened the door with a bright smile on her face. 

"Good morning, boss," she began, pointing to Lilith before continuing, "your intern is ready for duty!" 

Valerio's eyes landed on Lilith's and made her body feel as if it was burning up. How was it possibly for it to feel like a fifty degree day on a ten degree day? 

Valerio wordlessly nodded at Tara, dismissing her before he turned to Lilith and got straight down to business. 

"We have fifty-five year Alberta Garcia, accused of murdering her husband by stabbing him in the neck with a kitchen knife. There is evidence that proves her crime and witness statements. But she is pleading not guilty. Here are the case files. Read them." 

Valerio pushed a case file towards Lilith, which she took and began to read through. 

"If there's evidence and a witness testimony, what exactly am I looking for?" she mumbled underneath her breath. She went through the evidence already and there didn't look like there was anything that could prove her plead. "She's clearly guilty." 

"Hmm," a deep sound escaped from Valerio's throat as he sat up straight and leaned back in his seat. He looked as if he was deep in thought. Lilith tried her hardest not to squirm under his watchful gaze. "An elder woman who has early signs of dementia and absolutely nothing left to live for, what reason would she have to plead not guilty?" 

Dementia? Lilith didn't see anything about dementia in the reports. But then again, she barely read through them properly.

"Maybe she doesn't want to live out the remainder of her life in a jail cell?" Lilith answered, as she met Valerio's scrutinising gaze. 

"She won't remember any of it."

Lilith opened her mouth to respond but no words came to mind. He had a point. If she had dementia, then she most likely wasn't going to remember anything either way. Whether she lives in a jail cell or a royal palace, it won't mean a thing to her. 

"I'll ask again," Valerio's voice danced in her ears, "why would a fifty-five year old with nothing left to live for plead not-guilty?" 

"She probably thinks she's not guilty," Lilith responded after thinking for a moment. She probably didn't even remember she committed the crime with her condition. 

"That's one suggestion," Valerio nodded. "Or she's really not guilty. We'll need to examine the crime scene again. The hearing is on Thursday, we need to find anything that could grant us an extension by then." 

Valerio stood up and waited for Lilith to do the same before he lead her out of his office and towards his car.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she got in his car. She wasn't sure why she mindlessly followed him but she knew that she needed to get closer to him and if it meant working cases with him, then so be it. 

"To the crime scene," he answered before he revved the engine and made his way towards the victim's house. 

Lilith simply nodded as she put her seatbelt on. 

It hadn't even been an hour since she started working with him but it already seemed like it was off to a good start. Maybe, just maybe getting close to Valerio Otero wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. She just needed to do a good job and he was right in her pocket.