Chapter 111: The judge’s decision

The following morning, the military tribunals retired to debate their decision on the case, and Neil who was free through millions paid as bail, returned to his house where he did nothing but angrily begin to scatter every single object he set his eyes on. He had known that a day would come when his mistake two years ago would come to light. He had looked forward to that but he had thought he would at least be able to avenge his parents before he would pay for that.

He would have willingly accepted his crime if he was only accused for the incident two years ago, but how could he accept the crime he hadn’t committed? If he had wanted to kill them, why the heck would he write his own name on the wall and give himself away? If he had been the one to kill them, no one would even link their death to him because he was good at hiding his tracks when doing things.

However, what bothered him the most was the words he’d heard in the courtroom about some innocent woman being killed in Whispering way. Who was she?

Neil ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had known the day his face was revealed on the live show that his enemy was going to get at him, and thanks to his identical looks to his late father, the person would immediately know him and bring him down. They couldn’t have chosen a more effective strategy than bringing up the incident from two years ago, portraying him as a monstrous figure, which he believed he truly was deep down.

When it came to the military, no amount of money could save him from this predicament. But then who the heck murdered those three? Neil asked himself the same question Kelvin Rodrigo was asking himself when he saw that Elizabeth, who he had left two days ago was killed along with the two students in Ivy Grove. The only thing he was responsible for was bringing out the incident two years ago to light. However, he didn’t care because he was satisfied with the outcome, and whoever killed those people did him great.

His laughter echoed through out the room as he watched the news that had been talking only about the infamous Neil Wayner. Too bad his identity as Xavier Galverra wasn’t brought to light and dragged down to the mud as well.

"Goodbye, Wayner. With you out of the picture, my business will strive even higher!" Kelvin laughed in satisfaction as he watched Neil’s cold face on the television where he was being questioned.

By the next morning when there was a knock at the door of Neil’s house, frustration and suspense had twisted every muscle of his body into knots. He yanked the door open and frowned at the only friend he had ever trusted ever since he joined the military.

Neil hadn’t seen Liam at the trial because the young man had traveled along with his father for some business meeting after their operation failed in Ivy Grove. However, he had been thankful for that. Probably because he was humiliated and probably because he didn’t want the tainted image he now carried to rub off on the famous Thomas household.

Now, Neil took one look at his friend’s grim features and knew that he’d already discovered the news and had obviously flown to Zen because of it.

"Don’t look so happy to see me," Liam said dryly, walking into the room. He always had a friendly and bubbly personality but now he looked all grim and serious because he knew where this would end in. Though his father had warned him not to be seen with Neil, he had still come here to be with him as none of the others were willing to stand by him after learning the truth of that incident.

"I told you there was no reason to come here, Liam. You would only drag yourself into this like that pussy, Jason had said." Neil countered, closing the door with a resounding bang as he was so furious at the mere thought of Jason Wallace. "My lawyers are working to solve the case right now. Everything is going to be fine."

"In which case," Liam replied, undeterred by Neil’s unenthusiastic greeting to his presence, "we can while away the hours drinking and playing some cards." He shrugged out of his suit jacket, glanced at his friend’s haggard features, and reached for his phone. "You look like hell, Neil." he said as he ordered an enormous breakfast along with drinks for them.

Few hours later, Neil and Liam sat down on the couch of his living room playing cards and drinking, with Liam trying his best to lighten up Neil’s mood.

"Do you remember when my heartless father brought me to the military for the first time?" Liam began, reminiscing with a smile. "He thought he was making me into a man because I played with dolls instead of guns and cars as a boy. I used to be really shy in the camp until I met you. You inspired me to stand up for myself instead of hiding away." He clicked his tongue, "I also remember the times when you used to yell to my face by saying, ’Stop fucking following me around or I will break your head. Go and look for friends and stop being my tail!’ you were so mean then. But I still chose to stick with you anyway. And just like before, I will always be there for you. In sickness and in health; in peace and in trouble."

Neil raised an eyebrow, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Are you trying to be my wife or what?" Despite his sarcastic remark, Neil was grateful to have a friend like Liam who cared more than his own uncle. He couldn’t help but wonder how Liam was able to stick around him even after Neil had lashed out and slammed the doors in his face many times.

"I can be your wife if you want," Liam replied cheerfully, shuffling the cards. "All you have to do is Just get down on your knees and ask me to marry you. I’d be honored to be the one to thaw your cold heart. Who knows, maybe we can both try being gay just to be together since you don’t want to ever give love a good try." Neil scoffed at Liam’s comment, however Liam continued to speak just so he could distract Neil’s mind from wandering back to the punishment that would be decided on him.

"This is like the good old days in camp when we used to steal the commander’s cards and hide them under our buck so we could play. Except it was always nighttime we get to do that then."And Neil’s life wasn’t hanging on the balance... The unspoken thought swelled in the heavy silence, broken by the loud ring of Neil’s phone.

Neil picked up, listened to what the caller said, and stood up. "I am being summoned back to the courtroom. I have to go."

"I’ll go with you, we can use my car." Liam suggested while reaching for the car keys in his jacket pocket.

"It’s not necessary," Neil declined, fighting down his panic. "My lawyers are picking me up." He said as he walked over to a desk in his house office space. "But I have a favor to ask of you." He took out a few formal documents from the drawer and handed it to his friend.

"I had this prepared just in case something goes wrong. It’s a power of attorney granting you the absolute right to act on my behalf in the Galverra Enterprise. You have the right to everything I own until I come out of this. And do me another favor, I want you to assist Mia Harrison with everything she would ever need with her studies."

Liam looked down at the documents and his color drained as this proved that Neil obviously thought there was a chance he’d be convicted for this crime.

"It’s just a formality, a plan B. I’m sure you’ll never need to use it," Neil lied.

"So am I," Liam said just as untruthfully and took the documents with slightly trembling fingers, which he masked by plastering an encouraging smile to his friend.

The two men looked at each other, nearly identical in their height, build, and in their matching expressions of false confidence. As Neil reached for his suit jacket, Liam cleared his throat and reluctantly said, "If ... if I were to need to use this, what do you want me to do apart from sponsoring that girl?"

Looking in the mirror, Neil knotted his tie and said with a shrug and a lame attempt at humor, "Just try not to bankrupt my company until I’m back, that’s all."

Hours later, in the military courtroom, Neil stood next to his attorneys and observed as the military judges reached a conclusion for his crime. Eventually, the head judge raised his gaze and announced, "This morning, we received documents regarding Mr. Wayner’s mental health, revealing that he has been suffering from a mental illness since his teenage years. This illness has occasionally caused him to act without awareness. The recent killing occurred during one of these episodes. However, this will not exempt him from facing justice..." The judge’s voice trailed off as he glanced up at the camera.

Neil remained motionless upon hearing the judge mention his mental illness. He wanted to speak up and argue his innocence, but he knew it would be futile, because not even his lawyers were able to do so. As if the judge’s words were distant echoes, he continued, "Guilty of first-degree murder..." Following a brief trial to determine the punishment, Neil received an even more agonizing verdict, "The punishment is a fifty-years sentence to be served in Novaria’s Military, mental prison justice detention... Bail pending appeal is denied due to the sentence exceeding sixteen years... " Neil refused to wince or panic, he refused to do anything that might reveal the truth.

The prison he was being sent to was known to have many Military men with mental health issues, they would receive both treatments and punishment for their crime.

Internally, Neil was screaming. But he maintained a rigid posture, even as someone forcibly grabbed his wrists, pulled them behind his back, and secured handcuffs around them. It was over.

***

*Author’s Note*

Hello Readers,

I want to talk to you about something that might happen in the story. You might get worried when the main character ends up in prison for a bit. I know it seems strange, but please trust me on this.

Everything that happens in the story is planned out carefully, including this twist. It’s all part of the main character’s journey and helps them grow.

So, even though it might be tough to see the main character in a tough spot, please keep reading. I promise it’s all going to make sense later on.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure.

Warm regards: Ash20

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read