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A Week Later
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Face dull but a hoping heart. 

Those words would sum up exactly how Levi was feeling. 

If the day he was house-arrested was considered a nightmare, the previous week was hell. 

Bail was out of the question - his father couldn't get the money and there was no point since he was only going to be there for a week. It was practical, but only he knew how unbearable every single night was. Evelyn, along with Levi's dad had decided that it was best that she didn't mingle in their personal matter. Why raise questions by paying the bail for a client?

Visits from his father were there but he hadn't spoken much. Levi himself hadn't been able to speak up because he was afraid that his father would discover what he had done to him. The only sliver of hope had been Evelyn's visits which declined after the first two days and eventually stopped. 

She had weariness all over her face but now that Levi saw her - clad in a beige suit and a black, v-neck t-shirt - he saw a new look on her face; determination. 

As their eyes locked, she marched towards him immediately. 

"Mr. Coleman," she regarded, the greying court waiting room filled with a vast number of people. 

"Ms. Turner," he said sheepishly, "when is it going to begin?"

She looked around. Her determined face was coupled with pre-hearing jitters which she tried to shake off as she motioned her team to work the papers. 

"An hour and a half. Best to come here early. Look, I'd love to talk but I have to go through last-minute details with the team," she said. She looked at him solemnly before leaving him by himself. 

With nothing to do, his eyes continued to linger over Evelyn. He looked at her team - a young intern who he recognized as Addy, a lanky, white-haired man who he did not recognize, and a brunette woman, around the same build as Evelyn. He did not know what need there was for more lawyers but they looked promising. 

Levi peeled his eyes away from Evelyn and looked at his watch. It read eight-thirty a.m. He had expected his father to arrive sooner but then again, there was no need for him to arrive so early. At least, that's what he possibly thought. 

His eyes traveled back to Evelyn who was sending Addy out of the room. He tried to listen in on their conversation, hoping to gain some information from the tone of their voice. However, each of them seemed to have mastered the poker face, even Evelyn who was always an obvious liar.

His eyes jerked away as the sound of the big brown door shook him. From the door, his father emerged, looking professional in a clean, black suit. If Levi didn't know better, he'd think that Alec Coleman was his lawyer. 

His father walked towards him - his face seemed unbothered but his feet were urgent. He stopped next to Levi and picked him up from his seat, engulfing him in a tight warm hug. Startled, Levi's eyes grew wide but only for a second. His arms wrapped around his father's torso, relief hitting him instantly. 

His father whispered, "I'm here for you, son. No matter what, I'll always be there."

"That's all I need, dad," he said. 

And he more than meant it. 

⋆ ★ ⋆

"Mr. Harris, you may commence," Judge Davis spoke, his voice carrying throughout the room. 

The judge was an amicable old man, bags under his eyes but a friendly face nonetheless. His stern voice was a stark contrast to his appearance and Evelyn silently cowered away from his intent gaze. 

Instead, she focused on Noah. It was the first time she was seeing him after everything that had happened and facing him was what she had feared the most. Both of them ignored each other's eye contact but Evelyn's mind simply couldn't get away from what he'd said. 

Focus. You know you have to, she told herself.

Noah cleared his throat before addressing the judge and the jury. Then, he began. 

"On 13th August 2022, A fire broke out at the Rotunda building at the University of Virginia. Upon further investigation conducted by the police, it was understood that the fire wasn't an accident. There was a lighter spotted in the chemistry lab which was the origin of the fire. There were residues of wax and kerosene, neither of which was available in the lab. The CCTV camera in the room was broken and no one was spotted in the lab.

"The fingerprints on the lighter were matched with a fellow student, Levi Coleman. The documents for that have been submitted," he said as one of his interns walked up to the judge with Exhibit 1. 

"That isn't all. After investigations conducted by the police, they learned that Levi Coleman was the last person to be seen exiting the chemistry lab after the fire, according to one of the students attending the same class - Rowan Miller. With your permission, I'd like to call him up here," Noah said.

Evelyn took a deep breath. She hadn't expected him to go into all the details so quickly but there was nothing she could do now. She could just stare and hope that this Rowan Miller left loopholes that she could look into. 

A boy about Levi's age made his way toward the podium. His blonde hair was tousled back and as Evelyn's gaze moved to Levi, she saw his jaw tense. Clearly, this was nothing good. 

"Hello," the boy said nervously as he tried to address everyone in the room. 

After receiving a nod from the judge, Noah walked towards him. 

"Good morning, Mr. Miller," Noah greeted politely "could you run us back to what you saw on the eventful day?"

"I go to the same class as Levi. We were called for the economics class on Saturday since we were failing. It was normal at first, no one was really paying attention, and it was really boring. After a while, Levi asked to go to the restroom and he didn't return for a while. I just thought he was bunking the class," Rowan said. 

Evelyn was getting tired of his roundabout way of getting to the point. At the same time, she was afraid of what he was going to say. She knew this was going to come up, it's nothing she hasn't faced previously but her connection to this case made it harder to stay focused. 

"A lot of time passed, I can't say how much. And then, the smoke detector went off and when I ran out of the classroom, the fire had already started to spread. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Levi exit the chemistry lab and he seemed afraid. I mean, who wouldn't be when there's fire all around them?" Rowan finished. 

"This information was given to the police as well. In fact, it was with this that they were able to narrow it done to Levi and look into him further," Noah said. 

"Any objections, Ms.Turner?" Judge Davis asked.

"Yes," she said, exiting her seat. She smiled at Levi reassuringly before taking her position in front of Rowan. 

"Mr. Miller," she said, a patronizing smile on her lips, "so you claim to have seen Levi exit the chemistry lab after you did. The lab is closer to the exit than the Economics classroom, am I right?" 

"Yes," he replied. 

"And you were heading towards the exit, passing the chemistry lab, correct?" she asked. 

"Yes. It was a riskier route but at least I would be in the open space quicker. Also, I wasn't really in the state to think clearly," he said. His face did not betray any of his emotions but Evelyn was sure she could get it out. 

"So, it definitely took you at least twenty seconds to come around the chemistry lab which is when you saw Levi exit, correct?" Evelyn asked, laying everything down slowly. 

"Yes," he said. This time, his voice spiked up, catching himself off guard. 

"If the fire was spreading from the chemistry lab which has proven to be true, wouldn't you think that Mr.Coleman would be the first one to run away? Then why is it that you saw him after everyone else was alarmed?" Evelyn asked. 

"I don't know," he answered sheepishly. 

"Are you definite that it was Mr.Coleman? Perhaps he was running along with you and just happened to be by the chemistry lab because of the number of people trying to escape," Evelyn said. 

"Objection, calls for speculation." Noah's voice reverberated through her ears. The judge nodded at him and he took control of the podium again. 

"There is no way to be certain as to why he exited the classroom late but we do know one thing; it was his lighter in the chemistry lab, found moments after the fire had ceased," Noah said. 

Evelyn spoke up, "I'd like to remind everyone that the crime scene was in a chemistry lab. There are abundant resources that could have caused the fire. Just because a lighter was found with Mr.Coleman's fingerprints does not mean he is the one behind everything."

"That, coupled with what Mr.Miller just said does narrow it down on your client, though," Noah said with contempt. 

"Now, I'd like to speak to Mr.Coleman," Noah said, shooting daggers at him. 

With two burly men only Levi's side, he was escorted to the podium where Rowan had stood before. Evelyn noticed the fear in his eyes and tried her best to comfort him without words. 

He can do it, she thought. 

"Were you at the scene of crime?" Noah asked simply. 

There it was. The only question that really mattered, was one Levi could not lie about. It was too late to do that and going with the flow was the only option. 

Whether it was the best option was debatable. 

"Yes," he said, trying to maintain eye contact even though the prosecutor's gaze was much too intimidating. 

"And do you agree that it was your lighter that caused the fire?" Noah asked.

"No!" he exclaimed, receiving silent rebuke from Evelyn, "I mean, it might be. I promise I'm not sure because I am not the one who did it."

Evelyn stepped forward, not waiting for permission, "tell us, Mr.Coleman. Who else was with you in the chemistry lab?"

"Andrea James," he replied as if this was the moment he had always been waiting for. 

"I'd like to call on a witness, Olivia Hayes," Evelyn said as shock filled the room. 

Who was Andrea James and why was everyone just learning about her?