Chapter 457

Everyone will encounter problems they are not sure how to handle.

From the homeless on the street to the president sitting in the Presidential Palace, they all need someone to provide some constructive suggestions before they make a choice on some difficult issues.

Of course, this kind of questioning will only be posed to those who are relatively trusted.

Lance lit another cigarette. “I’ll do my best.”

“Emily is pregnant.”

It could be seen that William’s expression was a bit awkward when he said these words. He really didn’t know what to say about this matter.

Since he began his campaign for municipal councilman, Emily’s sexual desire had been reactivated, and of course, so had his.

The couple often fought long and hard. At first, they would pay attention to some measures, but there would always be some unexpected moments.

Passion came too suddenly, without any preparation, and then they found that there were no problems. Gradually, they let down their guard.

And then she got pregnant.

William had an expression that was hard to tell whether it was happy or unhappy. Maybe it was both. To have another child in middle age was actually a very happy thing.

Especially since William came from the large landowning class. For the large landowning class, children represented wealth. This had nothing to do with whether they were rich or not; it was a very traditional cognition.

He actually wanted this child in his heart, but he was also a little worried, because his work would gradually become busier, and he was a little at a loss.

Lance looked at him. After a long while, he finally asked, “Why are you worried about this?”

“If you have it, then have it. This is a good thing,” he set a tone for Emily’s pregnancy. “And this kind of thing might not happen again in the future.”

“Although Pat is already grown up, I believe she will also be very happy to have a new younger brother or sister.”

“And you know, after we get married, that new life will take her place to fill the emotional void for you.”

After getting married, Lance did not plan to have Patricia move out with him. His “work” was relatively busy, and there were also many dangerous situations. In addition, he could not be with Patricia at all times like a normal husband.

So letting Patricia continue to live with the Lawrence couple was the best choice.

But she was getting married after all. Federation people are sometimes very sensitive to changes in identity. They will respect the socially independent Patricia more, instead of continuing to treat her as a child.

Many parents feel sad and even empty after their children become adults and independent, because a spiritual sustenance that has been with them for more than ten years has left their lives.

But this newborn will fill this gap.

William actually wanted this child himself. It was just that he needed someone to convince himself. “You have a point. I will consider it seriously.”

Lance emphasized again, “What you need is not to consider whether to have it or not, but to let Emily give birth to the child with peace of mind, and to give this new life a beautiful name.”

A lot of smiles appeared on William’s face. He nodded vigorously. At this moment, he was full of energy.

Actually, he had an idea that he hadn’t told Lance. He hoped this would be a boy.

Because only a boy could inherit all his legacy. Not just his house, savings, insurance, and the like, but also his political legacy.

In fact, he had thought about these things before. If he could go very high in the future, but had no one to inherit these things, how regrettable would that be? He had even wanted to urge Lance and Patricia to have a child first.

In the future, this child would inherit everything he had. He didn’t expect that before this idea could be realized, Emily had given him a surprise. Before William left, Lance asked him, “Does Pat know about these things?”

William shook his head. “I haven’t told her yet. I’m afraid she might… need some time to accept this.”

Lance thought for a moment. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

After William left, Lance considered for a moment. If the couple had confirmed the pregnancy, then the child was at least a month old.

Emily was still young. She still had her period. Her period might be delayed, but at least it should come.

In addition, they had to verify it privately and discuss it. It might have been a month and a half or even two months. In a little while, she would start to show.

So it was indeed time to tell Patricia. After all, that was also her home.

Lance directly called for someone and went to Patricia’s workplace.

His colleagues were very enthusiastic and greeted him when he arrived. They had also heard the news that Patricia was going to be engaged to Lance and all sent their blessings.

William was now a municipal councilman, and Lance’s fame was so great that no one would be stupid enough to cause trouble for their family.

Even the supervisor, who seemed “impartial” and “rule-based” in the eyes of foreigners, also gave Patricia a break with a smile.

The two young people came to Lance’s car. Patricia was very happy. “Don’t tell me you missed me.”

Lance had a shocked expression. “How did you know?”

“I just haven’t seen you for a few days and I’ve been dreaming about you. The longing has taken control of my body, making it impossible for me to think. I couldn’t wait to come and see you.”

Patricia wrapped her arms around Lance’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. “So sweet, darling. I miss you too.”

Young people are always more emotional. After the two had whispered for a while, Lance brought up the real reason for his coming here.

“There’s something William and Emily don’t know how to tell you, so they entrusted me to pass it on.”

“Actually, I think… this is a very ordinary thing, but I also feel that it might make your emotions fluctuate a bit. you have to be mentally prepared.”

Patricia’s expression immediately became different from before. She was also a little nervous and uneasy. “Is it bad news?”

“No, strictly speaking, it’s good news.”

She sat up straight and even took a few deep breaths. “Come on, I can take it.”

“Emily is pregnant. There’s a high probability they will have this child.”

Patricia’s eyes instantly lost focus. She was clearly lost in subconscious thought. After a long while, she covered her cheeks and let out an “unbelievable” feeling.

“I mean… I don’t know what to say. She’s actually pregnant.”

Lance put his arm around her. “We should have all had this premonition and cognition, right?”

This made Emily’s face turn visibly red. Lance was saying that sometimes Emily’s voice was very loud. Although their bedrooms were separated by a room, sometimes at night when it was quiet, you could still hear Emily’s voice.

“They hope you can accept this child. This is what I think. After all, this is a life, and it’s either your younger brother or your younger sister.”

Patricia was a kind girl. She accepted the arrival of this new life without much “struggle.”

“This is the fruit of their love. We will have one in the future too. As a future mother, I don’t think I should resist the happening of these things.”

“I’m already a little impatient to go back. Can you give me a ride?”

Lance did not refuse. No one stopped Patricia from taking leave. Soon, they saw Emily, who was directing the maids to clean, in the new villa.

Seeing Patricia suddenly come back with Lance, she showed a very embarrassed expression. “I told William not to say anything about this for the time being.”

Seeing that the mother and daughter were about to have a private talk, Lance did not stay long. After instructing the maids to be careful, he left.

This was an interesting experience, and at the same time, it could bring him a little, indescribable feeling.

A person related to him was about to be born.

When people face the birth of a new life, they will have a kind of shock, just as when they face the disappearance of a similar life for the first time, it will give people a very strange feeling. The coming, the going, the cycle of life, the greatness of the universe.

People will always feel a sense of insignificance when they look up at the starry sky, just as when they face the arrival and departure of life, they will have a sense of awe for the world.

These past two days, the lawsuit against the Liji Group had reached the trial stage. In fact, there wasn’t much evidence that needed to be collected and sorted.

A friend of Roben the lawyer had taken this case. He had also taken the last one and had won the lawsuit.

Sometimes, winning a lawsuit doesn’t mean you’ve really won. And losing, naturally, doesn’t mean you’ve really lost.

Not many people attended the trial. The lawyers for both sides submitted their respective evidence and reasons, stated their own views, and their respective demands.

There were no “suspicious points” in this case. The judge announced the verdict in court, ordering the Liji Group to fulfill its responsibility for breach of contract according to the terms stipulated in the contract and to pay the penalty.

The Liji Group’s lawyer stated in court that they would continue to appeal and believed that this was not a simple breach of contract lawsuit, but might involve contract fraud.

As the asserting party, they needed to collect enough evidence to support their assertion before the next hearing. Otherwise, the verdict of this time would still be upheld.

“So, will there be any other twists and turns and risks in this lawsuit?”

In Roben the lawyer’s office, in front of Roben the lawyer, Lance and the lawyer who had represented this case talked about this topic.

Roben the lawyer’s friend gave a positive answer. “There might be some problems.”

“In this trial, I tried my best to separate these problems into independent problems. That is, this is a problem between Garden Trading and the Liji Group, and the problem of the wheat sprouting in the warehouse.”

“I had the judge accept the idea that these are two independent cases. Then our obtaining the penalty has no direct relationship with the sprouting of the wheat. These are two independent events.”

“If they want to pursue the issue of the sprouting wheat, they have to file a new case, investigate, provide evidence, and then find a defendant.”

“But their lawyers are trying to lump these two cases, which should be independent, together. Once they succeed, the lawsuit may drag on for a long time.”

“There is a lot of evidence that needs to be supplemented, investigated, and there are many other problems that need to be solved. And I hear that they may use some public relations means.”

“After all, this is a lot of money.”

Roben the lawyer also nodded and said, “I have a… friend, who told me that the Liji Group’s public relations team is contacting the court of appeals.”

“Once the court of appeals accepts the case’s appeal, then the announcement of the verdict of this case will be postponed for at least about six months, or even longer.”

“It depends on how much money they are willing to spend on public relations.”

When an individual or organization is not satisfied with the trial result of a local court, they can file an appeal with the court of appeals.

If the court of appeals believes that there is indeed a problem with the trial result of this case, then they will accept the case and conduct a new trial.

But if they believe that there is no problem with the trial result of the local court, then they will reject the appeal.

The court of appeals plays a very important role in the Federation’s judiciary. Each court of appeals corresponds to a different judicial district, not necessarily a state, but an entire judicial region.

Likalai State belongs to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the court of appeals is in the capital of Likalai State. It was reasonable that Roben the lawyer could get this news.

Lance had always suspected that he might have some connections in the Department of Justice, otherwise how could the entire state’s judicial system more or less give him some face? The Federal Bureau of Prisons is subordinate to the Federal Department of Justice. Roben the lawyer can even arrange things in the public prisons managed by the Bureau of Prisons. This can only mean that he has at least someone in the Bureau of Prisons, or even in the Department of Justice.

Lance didn’t know much about judicial matters. “What is the most appropriate thing for us to do?”

“Or should we also conduct public relations with the judges of the court of appeals?”

Roben the lawyer shook his head. “I don’t think it’s necessary, nor does it have much meaning.”

“Your request is to get the judgment down as soon as possible, to have it judicially determined that they should compensate you with a large sum of money.”

“So even if we go to do public relations with the court of appeals, as long as we can’t win the support of all the judges, then our public relations will become a bit meaningless.”

“It’s like the relationship between destruction and construction. We need to let all the judges think that this case does not need to be retried, so that it can be rejected by the court of appeals.”

“But as long as they do public relations with two or three judges who think it needs to be retried, then it will inevitably be retried.”

“So we discussed it and decided to change our strategy.”

“Before, our idea was to insist on separating the ’cause’ and the ‘result’ of this case, and then conduct a lawsuit and a verdict that is favorable to us based on the result.”

“But now the situation is a bit different. We can consider another method.”

“If someone takes the blame for the ’cause’ part, and it has no direct relationship with the ‘result,’ then even if they do public relations with the court of appeals, the court of appeals will also reject their appeal request.”

Lance found this a bit confusing. “I don’t quite understand. Put it simply.”

“Find someone to take the blame for the sprouting problem,” Roben the lawyer pointed to the core.

He didn’t know if the sprouting of the wheat was operated by Lance, but this matter was definitely related to Lance.

The Liji Group had never had this kind of thing happen in so many years. For it to suddenly happen inexplicably, plus Lance’s lawsuit, how could there be no causal relationship?

But as a lawyer, even if the person he needed to defend was a devil, when he was working, he could only be an angel in his eyes, not to mention that Mr. Lance himself was not a bad person.

Lance understood. “If someone takes the blame, how long will they have to sit?”

Roben the lawyer and his friend discussed for a while, and finally gave Lance a relatively simple answer. “If they can afford to pay this money, then they can get out in about three years.”

“If they can’t afford to pay this money, it might be more than ten years.”

“This is indeed a very long prison term. Even if we intervene later, they will still have to be imprisoned for five to six years before they can get out.”

Running someone over with a car and killing them, actively compensating, and you can return to society after a year and a half.

But causing a huge loss to a capitalist that cannot be compensated, you have to spend a small half of your life inside.

Everyone tells people “life is an incomparably precious life asset,” but no matter how precious it is, in the face of money, it is not very valuable.

Currency, the visible wealth, is the real wealth.

So-called life, a person’s life, an independent individual, is actually not worth much at all.

Lance nodded noncommittally. “Let’s go with this plan.”

“I will make the arrangements.”

Neither of the two great lawyers had any surprise at this. For ordinary people, “taking the blame” might be a very unfamiliar and unsettling term.

But for the big shots, for the gangs, taking the blame is as common as eating with someone.

As for whether it’s the truth, it’s not important at all. People just want to see something bloody, not the truth.

Someone has been duly punished for their actions, the judiciary has gained the reverence of the people through the trial, and the victims have also been comforted by the result. This is enough.

No one cares if the person who stabbed the girl with a knife was a glamorous socialite or political figure, or the “burglar” who was about to be imprisoned.

Lance had Elvin and Bolton go and ask if anyone was willing to take the blame, for $2,000 a year, paid annually. It could be given to their families, or it could be settled in a lump sum when they got out of prison.

He would also have Roben the lawyer arrange it so that they would absolutely not suffer during their sentence, nor would they be bullied. Everything would be arranged properly.

As soon as the news was released, Lance originally thought that not many people would sign up. After all, this would take five years of someone’s freedom. But to his surprise, there were a huge number of people. $2,000 a year is equivalent to nearly $200 a month.

Many people have never saved up $2,000 in their lives, but now they can have it by sitting in prison for a year. And it’s for five years. After five years, they can get $10,000. This is already the amount of money many people can earn in their lifetime. For a time, the people responding had to line up to compete for these few spots…