enjoyebooks Chapter 597 - 568: Mrs. Fu
Chapter 597 - 568: Mrs. Fu
The judge asked both sides to come to the chamber for a discussion.Zane Forrester was temporarily taken away from the courtroom, and before the bailiff led him away, he gave Sienna Thornton a thumbs-up and smiled at her cordially.
Sienna gave an awkward smile back, then glanced over her shoulder at Simon Forrester sitting in the observation area, nodded at him, and followed the lead attorney to the judge’s chambers.
Once the door was closed, the judge removed his robe, took a seat, and invited everyone to sit as well.
The judge looked at the prosecutor: "Would you consider re-evaluating the evidence for this case?"
The prosecutor initially stayed silent, obviously caught between a rock and a hard place, and after a while, said, "We’ll discuss with the defense lawyer later."
The judge glanced at him and nodded: "Alright, let me know the result before tomorrow afternoon’s court session."
"Understood, Your Honor."
The group was about to leave the chambers when the judge suddenly called out to Sienna Thornton: "Tang, please wait a moment."
Sienna turned back, pointing at herself: "Are you referring to me?"
The judge nodded, and the lead attorney closed the door for them.
Sienna sat back down, feeling something special—no one had called her Tang in years.
In the United States, women tend to take on their husband’s surname after marriage, so by American customs, people should rightly call Sienna Thornton Mrs. Fu, but since the practice doesn’t exist domestically, Sienna retained her maiden name "Teng" after marriage. Thus, upon arriving in Los Angeles, people just directly call her by her surname, and those closer to her call her Teng, while formally she is addressed as Mrs. Teng.
Now, the judge suddenly called "Tang," which made Sienna a bit unaccustomed to it. Initially, she wasn’t sure he was addressing her, but her English name during her time studying in the United States was indeed Tang. Actually, she should have chosen a more formal English name back then, but found it troublesome and didn’t know what to choose, so over the years, her classmates simply called her Tang because her name written abroad was Tang Xien. According to the American tradition of placing the surname first, everyone habitually took Tang as her name, and it stuck for years.
The judge smiled kindly at her: "I heard that after graduation you returned to your country, and now you’ve come back to Los Angeles as an attorney?"
Sienna was surprised: "Do you know me?"
The judge, though kind-faced, was always quite stern both inside and outside the courtroom, however, he now wore a constant amicable smile: "You turned down my offer back then, which made me upset for quite a while."
Sienna was startled for a moment, finally recalling the third year at Harvard Law School, the judicial clerkship offer from the California Court. She didn’t expect that after all these years, the judge would still remember her.
"Your abilities are far beyond just being a second-chair attorney," the judge lamented. "If you don’t mind the low court salary, how about reconsidering to come back as my clerk? When the time comes, you might become a judge. In California, there aren’t many female Chinese judges, you have the potential to become a great one."
These words greatly excited Sienna.
She had just missed out on the deputy director position for the Treaty and Law Department, feeling frustrated and regretful, and now, the judge’s affirmation was like infusing fresh water into her barren career field.
She was surprised and deeply moved, composed herself, stood up, and bowed to the judge: "Thank you for your appreciation, but I already have a job in our country, and the reason I am here as the second-chair lawyer for this case is because the defendant is my family."
The judge was a bit surprised by her words but didn’t press her further, simply nodded with a smile: "You are excellent, and you’ll shine wherever you are; you’ll become a great legal professional, trust yourself!"
"Thank you!"
"Once this case is over, if you have time, let’s grab dinner together," the judge smiled and pointed towards the door behind her, "The prosecution team is still waiting for you, hurry along."
Sienna pursed her lips and smiled: "Goodbye!"
After closing the door, the lead attorney was still waiting outside, and together they went to the prosecutor’s office.
The prosecution presented a plea agreement, stating if Zane Forrester pleaded guilty now, he’d face a five-year sentence, which, with deductions for holidays and parole, would result in only three years in prison. If he didn’t plead guilty, and the jury found Zane guilty, the sentence would be over 20 years.
In fact, everyone knew in their hearts that the prosecution offered the plea agreement now because they had lost confidence in the case. Thus, Sienna and the lead attorney were inclined to reject the plea proposal, but procedurally, they still had to discuss it with Zane Forrester.
By the time they left the prosecutor’s office, it was already late. Zane Forrester had long been taken back to the holding facility. Sienna and the lead attorney finalized plans for the next morning and then returned directly to the hotel from the courthouse with Simon Forrester.
She had been mentally tense all day and now only wished to relax and unwind, even dining out seemed tiring to her. Returning to the hotel, she took a shower, ate the dinner delivered by the hotel, then lay back in bed to rest.
Simon Forrester finished some work, showered, then entered the room, and in the dark, his warm hand groped over the flat belly she had when lying down.
She sensed his interest, turned to embrace him, and silently let him proceed.
...
Afterwards, she snuggled into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist, her hand gently stroking his slightly stubbly cheek, asking softly: "You seem to be in a good mood today?"
He held her with one arm, his large hand caressing her smooth shoulder, while he took a few sips from the mineral water on the bedside table with the other, and smiled: "The baby is almost four months now, I’m happy."
She knew he was actually pleased because there was progress in Zane Forrester’s case, but she didn’t want to burst his bubble, as even if Zane were acquitted, there would still be follow-up troubles.
She turned to tell him about what happened in the chambers earlier that evening, and after listening, he too felt quite sentimental, asking her: "Do you regret it?"
"Of course not!" She nestled into his warm embrace, assuredly, "because I love you, I only feel fortunate and no regret at all."
He sighed, hugged her tightly, burying his face in her fluffy hair, taking a deep breath: "The sacrifices you’ve made for the Forrester Family, I will remember forever..."
Although she hadn’t mentioned missing out on the deputy director position to anyone, how could Simon Forrester not know? He hadn’t brought it up, simply because he didn’t want her to have to comfort him.
He understood her so well...
He hadn’t stopped her from coming to the United States this time because he knew preventing her was pointless—she would come anyway. Her sense of responsibility towards him and the Forrester Family was crystal clear to him.
Sienna nestled in Simon Forrester’s arms, almost asleep, while he held her, ready to close his eyes and rest as well... Around them was a peaceful, warm atmosphere filled with love.
Suddenly, the urgent vibration of a phone broke the night’s tranquility.