CHAPTER 140: CHAPTER 139: COMPANIONSHIP

Early on the third morning, a sudden urgent doorbell rang.

Simon Forrester, who was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, went to open the door, glanced through the peephole, and saw it was Thomas Reed. He turned and asked Sienna Thornton, who had been working all night: "Thomas is here, should I let him in?"

Sienna Thornton’s pen stopped momentarily, then she nodded a few seconds later.

So, Simon Forrester opened the door.

Seeing that it was him who opened the door, Thomas Reed froze for a moment, then lowered his voice to ask, "What are you doing here?"

He didn’t even bother to maintain his demeanor.

Simon Forrester swung the door open, nodding inward with his chin: "Come in first, we can talk inside."

Seeing him in his most ordinary home outfit, being in the same room with Sienna Thornton early in the morning, Thomas Reed instantly understood.

Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still felt very unwilling.

But now Sienna Thornton was in trouble, and he had no time to argue with Simon Forrester about these matters. He entered, not even bothering to remove his shoes, and immediately strode to sit in front of Sienna Thornton.

He said nothing, just quietly watched her, and a moment later, softly called, "Sienna."

Sienna Thornton didn’t lift her head, continuing to write something with her head down.

Simon Forrester didn’t disturb them, quietly preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He could see that because of this case, Sienna Thornton had become somewhat withdrawn.

He deeply regretted that he shouldn’t have let her follow him to the crime scene.

...

He made some porridge, fried three eggs simply, sautéed some salmon, and Simon Forrester brought the breakfast out, placing it on the coffee table in the living room.

Thomas Reed was writing and drawing on a piece of paper while talking to Sienna Thornton. Sienna Thornton went from refusing to discuss at the beginning to nodding repeatedly.

They discussed all morning, not even caring to eat breakfast.

By noon, Thomas Reed went to the balcony to smoke, and Simon Forrester followed him out. After closing the sliding door of the balcony, Simon Forrester tossed a cigar to Thomas Reed and lit one for himself.

Amid swirling smoke, Simon Forrester stared unblinkingly at Sienna Thornton, who was still taking notes on the computer, and asked, "Do you have any strategies?"

Thomas Reed said, "Failing to check the guest’s ID, the room’s smoke alarm system not activated — based on these two points, this case is bound to be lost. But in civil cases, compensation is usually all that is required."

Simon Forrester: "What’s the worst outcome?"

Thomas Reed took a hard drag on the cigar, frowning: "I heard the boy was the only son of some high-ranking official, excellent in character and learning, and had won awards in the World Youth Robotics Competition."

Upon saying this, Thomas Reed, who had been looking at Sienna Thornton, seemed somewhat unwilling and turned away to look at the streets of Brimfield not far away: "The worst outcome is that Sienna will go bankrupt and be unable to continue in Brimfield."

Simon Forrester completely froze, a clenching sorrow in his chest. He knew better than anyone what a fatal blow it would be for Sienna Thornton to lose everything in Brimfield.

"Is there any way to avoid this outcome?" he asked.

Thomas Reed gave a small smile, his voice dimming: "No."

"Could I ask you to do me a favor?"

Thomas Reed stood up straight, looking at him, seemingly not used to his humility, and didn’t respond for a while.

Simon Forrester waited for a while, and when he didn’t get an answer, he became impatient, and his tone turned less pleasant: "Will you help or not?"

"Tell me what you need."

Simon Forrester glanced inside at Sienna Thornton, lowered his voice, and said: "You handle this case, don’t let her face these things."

Thomas Reed: "I’ll try."

Thomas Reed left that night, saying he would return to Vantage to discuss countermeasures with other lawyers.

A week later, Sienna Thornton indeed received a court summons, the deceased’s family suing "Seaman’s Bistro" for liability in the deaths of the two deceased, refusing to settle and proceeding directly to trial.

Judging from the time she received the summons, Sienna Thornton deduced that the case must have been filed immediately after the incident; they didn’t even have to collect evidence themselves, someone provided them with complete and valid evidence right away.

After submitting the complaint, the swift filing, assignment of a judge, and issuing of the summons — procedures that usually take a month or so — were completed within a week.

Sienna Thornton knew then, she would lose this case terribly.

During the fifteen-day defense period, she lived through it bitterly, suffering from insomnia every night, and even when she fell asleep from exhaustion, nightmares would wake her up abruptly.

Simon Forrester watched her growing thinner day by day, feeling as if a knife was twisting in his heart.

The day he learned about the identity of the deceased, he contacted Tobias Blackwood, hoping Tobias could help mediate and privately secure the deceased family’s forgiveness.

Tobias Blackwood first tried to persuade them, but the deceased’s family, overwhelmed with grief, expressed that they wanted justice for their young child even if it meant losing official positions.

This matter was different from the nature of the Wrayhaven village chief’s corruption and extortion of women; even with power, Tobias Blackwood dared not pressure such a matter.

As someone with the same legal education, he naturally understood the trajectory of the case, believing that the outcome wasn’t too bad for Sienna Thornton, as it hadn’t yet risen to the level of imprisonment. Therefore, he advised Simon Forrester to let things take their course.

Everyone thought that bankruptcy was no big deal, there was always a chance to start over, but Simon Forrester didn’t think so. He knew how difficult it was for Sienna Thornton to have what she had today, and he didn’t want it all to become ephemeral. He was afraid she would collapse and never recover.

The whole of July passed like this.

Since the day of returning home from the incident, Sienna Thornton hadn’t gone out again, staying home every day, either reading legal codes and case studies or preparing everything needed for court defense.

Rochelle Linwood occasionally came by to deliver materials and assist Sienna Thornton in submitting everything required by the court.

There were so many matters at the design firm that Simon Forrester tried to handle as much work as possible at home, but he still had to return to the firm occasionally, usually going out in the morning and returning in the afternoon, buying groceries to cook meals for Sienna Thornton, chatting with her, researching the case, and they held each other to sleep at night.

He often couldn’t resist wanting to kiss her, but seeing her heavy-hearted expression, sometimes cooperating with him, also unable to get into the mood at all. Over time, he just felt sorry for her and stopped bothering her, accompanying her with as much chatter as possible to comfort her.

In early August, on a very hot morning, while Sienna Thornton was still asleep, she suddenly heard a man’s continuous curses outside the door, and she jumped out of bed, thinking the plaintiffs from the guesthouse case had come to the door, and she hurried out in shock.

Standing in the living room was a man about the same height as Simon Forrester, dressed head to toe in blinding luxury brands, even his sunglasses perched on a tailored shirt with legs encrusted with diamonds.

The man stood in front of the coffee table, looking down at Simon Forrester who was sitting on the sofa, threatening fiercely: "I spent billions on this project, and you say you have no time, decide not to come? Do you believe I’ll sue you?!"

Simon Forrester lazily replied, "Then go ahead and sue, who’s stopping you?"

"Damn it!" the man was so angry he jumped up.

Sienna Thornton thought he was going to hit Simon Forrester, and hurriedly rushed out, but before she could speak, she saw the man pick up a pillow and start beating Simon Forrester with it, saying as he swung it, "I’m going to tell Leo! You dare to be arrogant with me! You dare to be arrogant with me!"

Yet, how much force can a pillow have? Mugging at Simon Forrester was like a gentle itch.

After a while, Simon Forrester got annoyed, snatched the pillow and threw it back at the man, irritably saying, "Are you done? I’m giving you a way out, and if you keep messing with me, your Northeast project will never happen!"

After saying this, he noticed Sienna Thornton standing at the bedroom door, and his face quickly softened: "Did we wake you? Quickly, go back to sleep."

Sienna Thornton mumbled an "oh," intending to return to the room, but suddenly remembered something, turned back, and said, "Can you give me a dollar?"

"What?" Simon Forrester was stunned.

Sienna Thornton didn’t answer, asking, "Where’s your wallet?"

"It’s on your dressing table."

"Oh." Sienna Thornton went to the room.

A moment later she came out again, holding a hundred-dollar bill in her hand, saying, "Your wallet didn’t have a dollar, so I took a hundred."

Simon Forrester was a bit confused now, walked up, and softly asked, "Do you want to buy something? Write it on a piece of paper, I’ll go buy it for you later, it’s too hot outside, just don’t go out yourself."