Innocent Until Proven Addicted

Innocent Until Proven Addicted A Rachel Hart Legal Thriller Ellis Keler Contents Before You Start Reading… Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Extended Story Preview: A Circus of Lies Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Also by Ellis Keler About the Author Before You Start Reading… Did you know that there’s a special place where you can chat with me and with thousands of like-minded bookworms all over the globe?! Join Cobalt Fairy’s facebook group of voracious readers and I guarantee you, you’d wish you had joined us sooner! Let’s connect, right NOW! Just click on the image above! ⇧ About the Book Grief-stricken after her husband's death, Rachel Hart is faced with her toughest challenge yet: a high-stakes murder case. When a young man with a questionable past seeks her help in clearing his name, she takes on the case, utterly convinced of his innocence. However, when she uncovers a shocking connection between the accused and the victim's family, her investigation leads her down a very dangerous path... In a race against time, Rachel edges closer to solving the case. But a pivotal piece of evidence presents the ultimate dilemma: should she consider her client guilty until proven innocent? Chapter One Grief I shut my eyes for the second time since the conversation began. “He’s dead, Mom,” I reminded her. No matter how badly I cried, mourned, or even isolated myself, he wasn’t going to come back. Of course, he was the perfect husband and father to our sons. It had nothing to do with me trying to move on barely a week after his death. “I know that but what do you think people will say? It’s been barely a week since he died and you’re already at the office?” I sighed and scratched my hair. This wasn’t a discussion we ought to have right now and right here but she insisted. “Mom, we could do this some other time,” I told her. “I’m at the office.” “There’s no better time than now. You can’t go to Court like this!” “And who says I can’t go to Court like this? Mom, please.” "You're making a mistake here, baby. I've been here too, I know how this feels but you need to give that wound some time to heal." Here we go again, talking about how we both lost our husbands to tragic accidents. Although I could barely remember what Dad's accident looked like, Alexander's was fresh in my head. He got hit by a drunk driver and didn't make it out alive. The pictures of the accident scene, his body, the car… everything was causing me to lose my sanity and the only thing helping me to be sane was walking into the Courtroom. I've tried explaining this a couple of times but to no avail. I let them make decisions for me but not this time. I knew how messed up I'd be if I didn't get my mind distracted with a case. "Are you there?" my mom asked and I shook my head into consciousness. It only took a few seconds to get lost like this and it sucked. "Yeah, uh—" "Please come home, just come home." "I can't," I said firmly. "I have to do something, Mom, I'll lose my mind if I don't." “You never listen to me. You’re supposed to be mourning Alex. He was a good man and he deserves this last respect.” "I'm paying my last respect to him and you—" The door squeaked and I turned my attention to the door. It was my PA, Annie. “Rachel. I’m sorry to interrupt. There’s a call on the second line.” “I don’t—" “It’s David,” she said before I could ask for the call to be declined. I hesitated for a moment. “I’ll take it,” I said and sighed. “Mom, I have to go now and yes, I’m going to be mourning Alex in Court.” The call ended and I just shook my head. “You can go, thank you,” I told Annie. I lowered my phone to the desk and picked up the call. "Rachel?" David's voice called. I knew that tone and it was one out of many that he gave when there was something up. “What’s the problem, David?” I paused to make sure I was ready for what was coming. "Talk to me." “It’s Hampton’s case. I think there’s something we can get.” "Not that again. He screwed up, David." "I know but… didn't you want to be on that case and defend him?" “Well, I’m not going on that case anymore. Tell him to find another lawyer,” I scoffed. “Are you sure about this?” “Made up my mind 24 hours ago. He lied to me and he keeps lying. How the Hell am I suppose to defend someone who doesn’t want to get help? Screw him, David, I’ve got a headache and I need to rest.” “I can come over if you want. Help the kids with their assignment or something.” I smiled at his offer. He, his twin, and my mom were the only reasons I could still act like I had everything under control. David wasn’t just a colleague, he was a friend and a good one at that. We became close friends at law school and the friendship only got better from there. “That won’t be necessary, you still have some cases to deal with. You need to focus although you've never lost a case." “Says the best attorney,” he teased. “I’ll leave you to get to work and talk to you later. How’s that?” “Sounds like something I needed my mom to say,” I blurted. “She wanted to have the discussion