Chapter 3 - The Five-Minute Encounter
The visitor booth was cold, divided by a thick pane of bulletproof glass. On one side sat Evelyn Vance, her hands neatly folded over her handbag. On the other side, the heavy metal door unlocked, and Julian Ross was led inside, his feet dragged by heavy ankle shackles.
He sat down across from her, keeping his eyes glued to the metal counter. He refused to lift the phone receiver hanging on the wall beside him.
Evelyn picked up her receiver and tapped gently on the glass with her ring. "Julian. Please."
Julian hesitated. Slowly, he reached out his bandaged hand and lifted the phone to his ear.
"You shouldn't have come here, Mrs. Vance," Julian said softly through the speaker. "This isn't a place for someone like you."
"I came here because I owe you my life, Julian," Evelyn said, her voice rich with maternal warmth. "The doctors told me that if that truck had struck me at forty miles an hour, I would have died instantly. You took the brunt of that fall for me. Look at your face, your hands... you're severely bruised."
"It doesn't matter," Julian said, his expression completely flat. "I'm fine."
"Why did you do it?" Evelyn asked, leaning closer to the glass. "The warden told me about your conviction. He told me you were serving time for a hit-and-run. But a man who leaves people to die on the side of the road doesn't sprint into oncoming traffic to save an old woman. Who are you really, Julian?"
A shadow of intense, agonizing pain flickered across Julian’s eyes. For a fraction of a second, his stoic mask cracked, revealing a deep reservoir of grief.
"The warden told you the truth," Julian said, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "I was convicted because I am responsible. I killed someone, Mrs. Vance. I destroyed a family. What I did today... it doesn't change anything. It doesn't wash the blood off my hands."
"Did you do it, Julian?" Evelyn pressed, her eyes searching his face with terrifying sharpness. "Did you drive that car?"
Julian went completely silent. His jaw clenched tightly. He didn't answer "yes." He didn't say "no." He simply stared at her, his dark eyes brimming with unspoken secrets.
"Time's up!" a guard's harsh voice boomed from behind Julian. The guard grabbed Julian by the shoulder, forcing him to stand up.
Julian set the phone back on its hook without another word. As he was led away, he turned his head back once, looking at Evelyn through the thick glass. In that final glance, Evelyn saw not the eyes of a cold-blooded killer, but the eyes of a man protecting someone else at the cost of his own soul.
Evelyn hung up her phone, her decision made.
She walked out of the visitor center to the parking lot, where her son Richard was waiting beside his sedan, making calls on his cell phone.
"Richard, cancel your afternoon meetings," Evelyn said, her tone leaving no room for argument as she opened the car door.
Richard paused, lowering his phone. "Why? What's going on?"
"We are going to your law firm," Evelyn declared, looking out at the looming grey walls of the prison. "You are going to pull the complete case file of State v. Julian Ross. I am hiring you as his appellate counsel."
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Richard nearly dropped his phone. "What?! Mom, are you insane? I represent multi-billion-dollar corporate clients! I don't do criminal appeals for convicts who have already been sentenced!"
"You do now," Evelyn said coldly. "Because if you don't, I will hire every top defense lawyer in this city using your father's estate trust. That young man saved my life today, Richard. And my heart tells me he is taking the blame for a crime he did not commit."
