"What!" Victoria exclaimed, her brows furrowed as she watched the footage on the phone screen.
Aron simply observed from a distance. He didn't interrupt, nor did he dare to look closer—still feeling embarrassed by the sounds he had just heard from the recording.
Victoria stood up. Her hands moved left, then right, as if rearranging pieces of information in her mind.
"He placed a recording device on the vanity table. The first recording was made a week ago," Victoria said, tapping the screen. "That means your client already knew about his wife's infidelity."
She paused for a moment before continuing, her tone growing heavier. "And he also recorded his wife's death that night."
"What!" Aron jumped to his feet.
"See for yourself," Victoria said, handing him the phone.
Aron took the device and stared at the screen. He raised his hand to cover his mouth, his eyes widening—clearly shocked by what he saw.
"Come on, let's go meet your client," Victoria said firmly.
Aron nodded repeatedly before turning off the phone. "Let's go."
*
"You don't need to be dramatic. Do you think I didn't know you felt satisfied watching that recording?" Victoria said coldly.
"Well… I can't deny it," Aron replied casually, pressing the elevator button. "Any man would feel some satisfaction seeing bad things happen to a cheating partner."
"That's not what I meant—the sex recording," Victoria clarified.
"Oh… hey. I didn't mean to open it, okay?" Aron said.
Victoria smirked. "If there were no sound, I bet you've already watched all the recordings secretly."
"Please… I'm not that kind of man. But I won't deny that any man would be tempted by a video like that," Aron explained, grinning sheepishly.
Victoria shook her head. "It's not just women who cheat. Men do too," she replied.
Aron nodded in agreement, though his expression wasn't entirely sincere.
"There's just one thing I don't understand," Aron continued. "Why didn't my client help his wife that night?"
At the same time, the elevator doors opened slowly, as if stuck.
"Like you said earlier," Victoria said, stepping inside. "Men enjoy seeing their cheating partners suffer."
"That's very true," Aron replied shortly, following her into the elevator.
*
As soon as the two of them stepped out of the building, Aron, as usual, hailed a Yellow Medallion taxi. The streets were rather congested, as it was lunchtime and workers were heading out to eat, causing the taxi to move slowly.
Throughout the ride, Aron and Victoria didn't speak. Aron's expression, however, was scattered—he was clearly still thinking about the recording they had just watched.
Not long after, the taxi stopped in front of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) building.
At that moment, the entrance of the NYPD was crowded with reporters.
The passenger-side door opened. Aron was about to step out when he suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, shit!"
"What now?" Victoria asked.
"I left the file behind."
Before Aron could even sit back down, Victoria pushed him out of the taxi.
"Hey!" Aron quickly stood up, straightening his suit. "Why did you push me?"
"I didn't mean to," Victoria replied casually. "You already have the evidence on your phone. What else do you need the file for?"
"You never know when it might be needed," Aron said, flicking his pants.
"Come on, hurry up," Victoria said curtly.
The two of them walked side by side toward the entrance. The reporters around them seemed oblivious to their presence, allowing Aron and Victoria to enter without any interference.
Aron walked straight to the main counter.
"James Aron…" said a police officer behind the desk.
"Hello, Officer Robert," Aron replied with a faint smile.
"Weren't you mobbed by the reporters outside?" the officer asked.
"They didn't even know I was a lawyer," Aron said, grinning. The officer chuckled softly.
"I need to see my client for a moment," Aron added.
Suddenly, a woman's voice called out, "James Aron…"
Aron and Victoria turned at the same time. Standing there was Diana R. Weiss, Senior Assistant District Attorney, walking calmly yet keeping her gaze fixed solely on Victoria.
"Oh… Diana. What are you doing here?" Aron asked, slightly surprised.
Diana didn't answer immediately. She stepped closer to them, but her eyes remained focused on Victoria.
"I didn't expect you to have such an impressive partner," Diana finally said.
"Oh, yes… let me introduce my partner, Victoria. She's my assistant and also a criminal analyst," Aron introduced.
"Hi, I'm Diana," Diana said, extending her hand. Victoria shook it, and they exchanged a brief handshake.
"I need to meet with my client for a moment," Aron said firmly.
"No problem. I won't stop you," Diana replied.
"But… you'll have to wait here until we finish our discussion with my client," Aron added, his tone serious.
"Why?" Diana asked, her expression slightly changing.
"I can't explain right now. But I won't force you to wait," Aron answered.
Diana nodded slowly. "Okay… lead the way," she said.
Diana guided Aron and Victoria to a small room—a meeting space for lawyers with clients in custody. Unlike interrogation rooms with large windows, this one was more enclosed and private.
"I don't know what evidence you have, Aron. But I won't stop you from bringing it in," Diana said.
"Thank you, Diana," Aron replied briefly.
"I hope it's worth it," Diana whispered, her gaze serious.
"Don't worry," Aron said, giving a faint smile.
"Okay, you two go in first. I'll have Detective Roland bring your client," Diana said before stepping aside.
"She's attractive," Victoria murmured softly.
"Not bad," Aron replied as he stepped into the room. "But she's older than me."
"Why? You don't like older women?" Victoria asked, a sly smile playing on her lips.
"Not at all," Aron said, settling himself into a chair. "Even if she were younger, I wouldn't be interested."
Victoria's smile widened at his response, clearly pleased by Aron's honesty.
The two of them waited, making small talk to pass the time. Victoria asked mostly about how Aron had become so close to the Senior Assistant District Attorney.
"I've answered your questions repeatedly, Victoria," Aron replied patiently.
"I'm still not satisfied. You said you've had dinner with her?"
"Yes… but it was work-related, not a date," Aron answered calmly.
Victoria huffed, still unconvinced, but didn't press the matter further.
At that moment, the room's door opened. A man in his fifties was brought in by Detective Roland. A faint smile appeared on the man's lips as he looked at Aron.
"When you're ready, let the officer outside know," Roland instructed.
"Okay, thank you," Aron replied.
"Whatever," Roland said casually before leaving them alone in the room.
"Hello, Mr. Hayes," Aron greeted.
"Hello," Hayes replied with a thin smile. His face looked worn, as if a proper night's sleep had never touched him.
"This is my assistant, Victoria."
Mr. Hayes's gaze shifted to her. "Hi."
Victoria merely nodded, cold and distant.
Aron didn't waste any time.
"Mr. Hayes," he said softly.
"Yes?"
"Did you love your wife?"
Hayes nodded without hesitation.
"Even though you knew she was unfaithful?"
The smile vanished instantly. Hayes's expression tensed. "What do you mean?"
Aron took a deep breath. His eyes pierced into his client's face.
"I found your phone, Mr. Hayes. And… actually, my assistant watched everything. I only watched the part where the man… stabbed your wife." Aron shook his head slowly. "Why would you record all of that? Why didn't you try to save your wife?"
Hayes's body suddenly collapsed. His hands clawed at his hair, his breathing erratic. Tears fell uncontrollably. Aron and Victoria remained silent—sometimes silence is its own kind of pressure.
"I… I didn't want to help…" Hayes's voice broke. "But I was afraid."
"Why didn't you sleep that night?" Victoria asked suddenly.
"What?"
"We know about the sleeping pills, Mr. Hayes," Aron explained calmly.
Hayes's face grew paler. "How did you two find out?"
"That's not important," Victoria cut in. "We just want to know why you didn't sleep that night."
Hayes looked down, as if searching for the answer on the floor.
"At first, I didn't notice anything. But over time, it felt strange. Every time after dinner, I became overwhelmingly drowsy." He swallowed. "At work, my mind would drift. I started thinking… maybe my wife was trying to kill me slowly."
Victoria stayed silent, letting him speak.
"I was stressed. So I bought a small recording device. I placed it on the vanity mirror. Too small to be noticed." Hayes gave a bitter smile. "A week before the incident, I kept making excuses, saying I had dinner outside with clients. When I got home, I'd ask her to make coffee. I pretended to drink… but I actually poured it down the sink when she wasn't looking."
"And you pretended to be asleep," Aron interjected.
Hayes nodded.
"I never expected…" his voice trembled. "My wife was willing to be with another man while I pretended to sleep. On my own bed."
"Why did you let it happen?" Victoria asked. "And what was the purpose of the recordings?"
Hayes stayed silent for a long moment before answering.
"I loved her too much. We'd been together for twenty-one years—through hardships and good times. She had always been faithful to me." He took a deep breath. "As I got older, my sexual desire waned. I couldn't satisfy her like before. So… I let it happen."
"For a whole week," Victoria pressed, "you let your wife be with another man, have sex… right beside you?"
Hayes nodded slowly.
"Then why record it if you already knew?"
"I…" he hesitated. "I became aroused every time I watched the recordings. But my wife never refused when I invited her to join me. Sometimes she even seemed surprised—I could… do it several times a day."
Aron shook his head slowly, his tone turning cold.
"Even so, you didn't protect your wife that night."
"If I had helped," Hayes replied in a low voice, "I would have died too."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"What difference would it have made? It all happened in an instant. After the man stabbed my wife… I went back to pretending I was asleep. Because he suddenly headed to my room."
Aron leaned back.
"You know that man used your fingerprints on the knife, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you clean it after he left?"
"After he left… I did intend to clean the knife handle," Hayes's voice trembled. "But at that time, my wife was still alive."
He swallowed, struggling to continue.
"I panicked. She was crying, apologizing over and over. She spoke to me in pain… regretting what she had done." Hayes closed his eyes. "That's when I called 911. The operator talked to me throughout the call. My wife still spoke… until I forgot about the knife."
"Why did you hide the phone?" Aron asked, his tone returning to professional. "It had evidence in it."
"When the ambulance arrived… my wife was already gone." Hayes opened his eyes, red and empty. "I felt guilty. Too guilty for not helping her sooner. I hid the phone under the bed. I didn't want anyone to know the truth, the reason she died. But the knife… I forgot."
Aron pressed his lips together.
"When you asked me to be your lawyer," he said, his voice rising slightly, "why didn't you tell me about the phone? Did you think that with all the other evidence against you, I could just get you off?"
Hayes lowered his head.
"I admit… it was all my fault."
"If Aron hadn't found that phone," Victoria spoke softly, as if reading the client's mind, "you never would have told him, would you?"
Hayes nodded.
"Honestly, I never intended to hire him at first. I just needed time," Hayes said honestly. "I used him to give Stonebridge Legal Group the chance to prepare to take over my case."
Aron shook his head slowly. His face remained calm, but his disappointment was clear.
He stood from his chair.
"Fine," he said coldly. "That doesn't matter now. You still have to pay for my services—whether you're acquitted or not." He paused. "I will hand the phone over to the prosecutor."
Hayes nodded, still not daring to meet Aron's eyes.
"Let's go, Victoria."
Aron turned and walked out with Victoria, leaving Hayes alone—
with the truth that could no longer be hidden.