Chapter 176

Chapter 176Chapter 176 Insanity defense
“Hey, Mrs. Maxwell…” A cute nurse said in a sweet tone as she walked into Peach‘s room. “How are
you feeling?”
Laying on the bed, Peach turned her head to stare at the nurse, saying, “I am good.”
“That‘s great. We love when our patients are good.” The nurse replied as she took the clipboard that
sat next to the bed. “Okay. Dr. Harry will be in soon. Today is the day we do your BPP. It‘s normal like
all the other ultrasounds. Doctor Harry just thinks you need a BPP because of the injury to your back
from your fall.”
Then she looked around slightly, and blurted out softly out of curiosity, “Is your husband still here?”
“No. He flew out of the country yesterday.” Peach stated flatly before looking back down at her hands.
Suddenly the room door opened and Doctor Harry walked in with a smile on his face as he said, “Hi,
Peach! How are ya doing today?”
“Better,” Peach responded with a small smile as her doctor pulled over a chair and sat down beside her
bed.
“Okay… then. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Fear ceased her heart, but Peach kept a smile, knowing that it would show in her eyes that she
was afraid, and she didn‘t want to worry any of them. A moment later, Peach was lying on her back and
a technician held the ultrasound wand against her belly, and after that test got done a while later,
Doctor Harry put an elastic band with two sensors around Peach‘s belly to pick up her baby‘s
heartbeat.The last test lasted twenty minutes, and then the room went silent for a moment, making Peach grow
worried because they were not saying anything for a long while. Finally, Doctor Harry looked at her and
then said, “Mrs. Maxwell, the result isn‘t good. Your score is five… To give you a clear understanding, a
score of eight to 10 means your baby seems healthy. Scores lower than eight usually mean that you
need retesting… A very low score could indicate your baby is in distress, and I will have to recommend
early delivery.”
Finally Peach allowed herself to show emotion and a tear slipped down her cheek as she nodded and
said, “I want my baby to come out of this okay.” Smiling at her even though he was worried, Doctor
Harry said, “ We are going to do a retesting, and if we get the same result, we will have to go with
induced labor… We will give it one more month, and if the result is still this bad, that’s our only less–
risky option.”
Biting on her lip to stop herself from crying again, Peach slowly nodded as Doctor Harry continued to
give her a reassuring smile. “Can you not tell my husband?” Peach whispered, trying to hold back
tears.
“Mrs. Maxwell, I don‘t think he would like that very much.” Doctor Harry answered truthfully.
“It‘s not just him. I don‘t want anyone to know… Please, can it just be between us in this room.” Peach
begged, her voice shaking with every word she spoke.
The room grew cold, and all the medical staff seemed to look at one another, their faces full of hesitant
and yet pitying expressions.
Reaching for the bottle of Russo–Baltique Vodka, Senator Landon
smiled at Dean‘s confused expression as he looked from Deacon to him and then back to Deacon,
saying firmly, “So your so–called boss that wanted to talk with me is Landon Donovan, and that‘s why
you cornered me and drag me here?!” “Chill,” Landon snapped, glaring at Dean through the corner ofhis eye.
Sighing, Dean let his shoulders sag a bit and crossed his arms on his chest, muttering under his
breath, “What do you want from me, Donovan?”
Settling a half–filled glass of vodka on the table between them both, Landon took a sip of his drink and
began to speak again,” What are your plans right now, Dean? What does your heart so desperately
crave?”
“To put a fucking bullet in the left side of Elijah Maxwell‘s chest, and gosh, I wish I can walk into that
courtroom with a gun and just penetrate his heart with every single bullet in it!” Dean hissed as he
clenched his fists tightly.
Both Landon and Deacon immediately share a glare, looking at each other silently. Finally turning back
to Dean who had a determined look on his face, Landon leaned forward and whispered, “Don‘t you
think telling a senator such a premeditated plan can get your ass in prison?” “Do I look like I give a
damn? You asked, and I answered truthfully. I am alive, but I am in hell, and all I want to do is take
Elijah with me when I finally send myself to the actual lake of fire.” Dean spat back in a venomous tone.
It grew silent between both men with a tense aura filling the air, and Landon burst into a mirthless
laugh, saying “And here I thought I would have to bribe you! Deacon, you got the right guy!”
“What shit are you up to now, Senator?!” Dean asked in frustration as he pushed back his chair angrily.
Taking another sip of his drink, Landon shrugged off the comment, saying, “I can get you into the
courthouse with a loaded gun, and all I asked is that you take one more person to hell with you.”
“And who may that be?” Dean inquired, cocking an eyebrow as he stared intensely at Landon.
novelbin“Bryan Checks,”“Why him?”
Silence once filled the air again as both men intensely stared at each other, neither of them wanting to
make the first move and break this deadly quiet tension.
After several seconds passed, Dean finally broke the silence, saying, “Fine. If I get to kill Elijah, then I
am down with it.”
“Great!!” Landon said. “I will get in touch with a couple of folks at the courthouse and make sure that
your heart desires will be fulfilled along with mine.”
When Peach‘s eyelids slowly opened again, she quickly shut them, squeezing her eyes tightly because
of the bright lights that were shining straight at them, but the familiar smell filled her nostrils,
immediately alerting her, and she opened her eyes slowly.
“Hey,” Elijah‘s soft and gentle voice sounded near her, and she turned her head to the side, seeing him
sitting in a chair beside her bed, staring at her, concern etched in his eyes. “I stopped at Golden Bird
restaurant, and got you lasagna and chicken nuggets with ice tea.”
Groaning softly, Peach tried to sit up, but Elijah suddenly grabbed her shoulders and helped her so she
could do so, supporting her as Peach sat upright and leaned back against the pillow, and then a small
smile formed on her face.
“You can‘t be moving around too much,” Elijah said in a worried voice.
“I feel like a chicken egg, fragile and weak…” Peach said in a teasing tone, even though shed meant
every word.
“You are not fragile and weak… You are carrying another human in you, and that‘s one of the strongest
things any woman can do.”“Yeah?”
“Yes,”
After a brief moment of silence, Peach looked at the glass window at the night sky and then asked,
“When did you get here?” With calm eyes, Elijah smirked, glancing at his watch, and said,” Not too long
ago.”
Looking at the equipment in the room, Elijah felt uneasy even though they have always been there, and
then asked, “Did anything happen while I was gone?”
The way he said those words, the concern lace in his voice, and the tenderness with which he looked
at her, made Peach‘s heart ache with guilt, but she smiled weakly and lowered her eyes. “Nothing
serious,” She said quietly.
“Oh…” He responded, frowning slightly at how her words lacked reassurance.
Silently staring ahead, Peach knew that she didn‘t know how to lie to him very well, so she sighed and
said, “How did the trial go with Jewel?”
As Elijah moved his lips to speak, the room door opened suddenly, and then doctor Harry walked in,
carrying a clipboard and a few papers in his hand, followed by two nurses. “Mr. Maxwell! You are here!”
Doctor Harry blurted out in shock,
looking nervously at Elijah, who seemed confused by Harry‘s high pitch tone.
“Is everything okay with my wife?” Elijah asked concernedly.
Doctor Harry‘s eyes widened slightly as lie and the nurses stared at each other before answering, “She
is doing fine.” “That‘s it?” Elijah asked, reading the room and not liking the energy that seemed to becrackling about the room. Nodding hurriedly, Doctor Harry replied, “Yes sir. Her vitals are normal and
everything.”
An awkward silence fell between the five of them as Elijah stared at doctor Harry who gazed at Peach
with an easy expression and then said, “Well, we were just doing our hourly check–in on you, and I am
glad Mr. Maxwell is here, so we will take our leave now.”
Then without waiting for an answer, Doctor Harry and the nurses started to leave.
Once the doors closed behind them, Elijah turned to face Peach, meeting her eyes, and asked
hesitantly, “Are you sure alright?” “Yes.” Peach said quickly, hoping to avoid the subject she glanced
away. “Now can you please tell me about the trial?”
“Well, Jewel and her lawyer have nothing, no evidence to prove her innocence or witnesses, and now,
they are pleading insanity as the reason for her crimes. Her lawyer claims that they have medical
reports that her mind is mentally unhinged, and she is mentally deranged.” “But doesn‘t that mean if
she successfully pleads the insanity defense, then she would not receive the normal jail sentence for
her crime? Instead, she will be committed to a state mental hospital.”
“Exactly,”
A sense of rage had Peach lost of words and then she finally mumbled, “She can‘t do that… Not after
all the crimes that she has committed. No, she can‘t win the case.”
“Right now, I can‘t say for sure if she wouldn‘t or will… But Rayn is doing his best to win this case,”
Elijahi assured her.
Seeing how devastated she looked, Elijah felt glad that she didn‘t know about the video about her
grandfather‘s death because even to this point he was still haunted by the old man‘s cry for help.After a couple of silent minutes, Elijah stood from his seat and said, “I should allow you to rest.”
“You are leaving?” Peach asked, feeling her heart drop as he turned to walk off, and then she grabbed
his wrist.
When Elijah turned to look at her, he raised his eyebrows, smiling gently as he said, “Yeah. You need to
rest.”
“Sleep here with me tonight, please.” Peach pleaded in a low whisper, patting the space on her
bedside.
Silently, Elijah stared at her for a while before asking, “Are you sure?”
When she nodded hard, he then smiled, and then she let go of his wrist, watching him as he took out
his coat, and then his shirt before walking on the other side of the bed and climbing onto the mattress
beside her.
“Thank you,” Peach whispered as he pulled her closer, kissing her forehead.
As she snuggled into his embrace, Elijah stroked through her hair with affection, and then she hesitated
for a moment before whispering, “How long do you think it‘s going to be before the verdict?”
“A month from now. That‘s what the judge said.” Elijah mumbled,
looking down at her eyes that seemed a little distant. After keeping silent for a while, Peach sighed and
then asked,“ Your first choice is always going to be me, isn‘t it?” “There‘s no other choice above you,
Peach.” Elijah mumbled, knowing exactly what she was talking about.
Looking down at her stomach, Peach let out a slow breath as she thought, The verdict is around the
same time I am scheduled for an inducing labor… That‘s good then. I don‘t want him to be here when
it‘s happening just in case something goes wrong.‘