Cheers To Comeuppance
Chapter 59( Part 1)

Third Person

After Hunter got ready for the day, he went to see Annika’s family and their lawyers. He wanted to see if Jeff’s family had a case against Annika for indirect manslaughter. He had just arrived at the penthouse building when he saw Royce heading out.

“Royce!” he called out to him.

“Hey, Hunter, you hear to talk to Micky and Matt?”

“Yeah. Annika and Leon filled me in on the minor details of everything happening. But I’m still reveling in the fact that Jeff’s family has the nerve to try and sue her.”

“It’s not his whole family.”

“No?”

“Nah, it’s just Jack.”

“Leon made it seem like it was everyone.”

“That’s because the lawsuit they served says Hollands vs. Annika Silverton,” Royce replied, waving it off like it was irrelevant.

“Oh my God,” Hunter grumbled in disbelief and annoyance. “How do you know that it’s only Jack?”

“Jorge has been following him on my order while I followed Ruth and Joey. Jorge witnessed Jack hire a second-hand divorce attorney since Ruth filed for divorce. Jack asked him if he could sue Annika and blame her for the douchebag’s suicide.”

“And the i***t told him yes?”

“Yup,” Royce answered while popping the ending “p.”

“Who is this i***t lawyer?”

“Actually, you know him.”

“Say what?” Hunter asked, stunned. Without replying, Royce showed Hunter a photo of the attorney that Jack hired. “This moron!?” Hunter exclaimed when he saw that it was the worst lawyer at his firm. “Pete Thurston is a f*****g disgrace to my office! He loses every single case he’s ever assigned because he doesn’t give a s**t. I’m surprised he even passed the BAR!”

“Hence why I’m not too worried about anything,” Royce shrugged. “But Leon is being an overprotective helicopter fiancé, so I have to go take care of Baby Bear at watch the clinic in case Jack shows up to harass her.”

“Yeah, they told you were going to be there. I won’t hold you any longer. Take care, Royce.”

“Sure. Head on up. The fam is waiting for you.” They said their goodbyes, and Hunter went up to the penthouse. Sure enough, as Royce had said, security let him in right away, and the Silverton family was waiting for him.

“Oh, Hunter, you’re here!” Madalena greeted him with a smile. “Are you hungry, darling?”

“No, Mama, I ate before coming over,” Hunter respectfully replied.

“Hunter, come sit,” Beau said gently but sternly.

“Good morning, Mr. S. Huxley. Micky. Matt.”

“Mornin’ Hunt. So, I’m guessing Anni and Leon told you everything?” Micky questioned.

“Yeah. I also happened to run into Royce on the way in. He told me that only Jack is trying to sue?”

“That’s correct, Hunter. I don’t think we need to get the family lawyers involved in something this minute; however, we want to ensure that Jack doesn’t have an actual case. What’s your take on everything? I know you’re only a divorce attorney, but I’m sure you know the basics,” Huxley stated.

“Sure, I know the basics. And just based on what I know, Jack doesn’t have an actual case. It’d be different if Anni’s and Jeff’s cases weren’t so publicized that the entire nation knows everything behind their divorce. But since they do, Jack can’t put the blame on Annika for Jeff’s choices to commit suicide.”

“You’re certain?” Beau questioned.

“Yes, sir. I thought about it on the way here too. Kenzie said something that really gives me the confidence that even if this case went to trial, it wouldn’t require a jury.”

“What did she say?” Micky queried.

“She said that Jeff’s choices are what got him to where he was. And rather than take his punishment like a man, he made another selfish choice that left his family in the wake of his karma. Jack is grasping at straws at best.”

“Kenzie isn’t wrong. That boy destroyed his marriage to my baby because he chose to cheat. He got caught because he chose to continue to be disloyal and lied about it constantly,” Madalena added.

“Not to mention the fact that his gaslighting and verbal abuse toward Baby Bear nearly f****d up her psyche,” Micky stated.

“Anni also had multiple breakdowns in my office while we were building her case against him. Jeff also physically assaulted her.”

“HE WHAT!?” the Silverton family exclaimed.

“Oops.”

“THAT FUCKER DID WHAT!?” Beau roared as he stood to his feet and hovered over Hunter. Beau was a terrifying man when you crossed his bottom line. And his bottom line was his family, especially his children.

“THAT PIECE OF s**t HIT MY SISTER!?” Micky snarled in pure rage.

“Hunter, when did this happen?” Huxley asked as he gritted his teeth.

“It wasn’t too long after Annika filed for separation. Leon and Anni’s romance was starting to blossom, at least for Leon it was, and Jeff started becoming jealous. Even though he was still sleeping with Sadie and in a relationship with her, he couldn’t bear the thought of Annika being with anyone other than him. After she kicked him out, Jeff started to stalk her and cornered her in the parking garage one night on her way home.”

“Why did he hit her!?” Matt inquired, trying to keep his anger at bay and rubbing McKenna’s back simultaneously.

“He accused her of cheating.”

“WHAT?!” her family shouted again.

“He had the galls to accuse my baby sister of cheating!?” Micky interrogated.

“Yeah. And, of course, Anni denied it. That’s why he slapped her,” Hunter responded.

“Was she telling the truth?”

“HUXLEY!” Madalena hollered.

“Mama, we have to make sure,” he said softly.

“Your sister is not like that!”

“Don’t worry, Huxley; Anni didn’t do anything wrong. As I said before, Leon’s feelings for her grew, but Anni was hesitant, even if she liked him back. She was too scared of giving Jeff any ammo to use against her in court. However …”

“However?!” they all shot him a look.

“I think I know why Jeff questioned her morals that night, he hit her.” The family looked at him, waiting for him to continue. “Anni and Leon left my office, and I followed not too long after them. When I made it into the lobby, I could see from where I exited the elevators that Annika and Leon were talking privately about something. I waited to give them some space, but one thing led to another, and Leon kissed Anni.” Madalena and Micky’s jaws dropped in shock while the men furrowed their brows. “Unfortunately for them, Jeff was there in his car, and he happened to see them.”

“That’s why he accused her of sleeping with Leon?” Beau asked.

“That’s my assumption. But to be quite frank, Mr. S., even if they did sleep together before the trial, it wouldn’t have been seen as infidelity. They were legally separated. Annika was well more than in her legal rights to have another relationship while waiting for the divorce to be finalized in court.”

“That’s why she went to Dallas with Leon,” Micky stated, looking at her family.

“That’s right,” Hunter responded.

“Wait. If Jeff saw them kissing, then he would have tried to get ahold of the security footage outside of your office to use against her,” Matt indicated while looking at Hunter. Everyone else also turned their eyes to him, but Hunter’s silence at their stares spoke volumes.

“Hold on, Hunter, did you scrub the footage?” Micky asked. Hunter made a quick nod.

“You tampered with evidence?” Madalena asked, shocked. Hunter didn’t reply but looked over at Micky and Matt.

“It’s not considered tampering until after it’s been presented to a judge for court,” Matt explained.

“Evidence is still evidence, though,” Micky added.

“I own the building. So, I have the legal right to look at any security footage whenever I please. I can’t be held accountable for unintentionally dropping the memory card from that night into the toilet when I got home,” Hunter replied while pursuing his lips. Micky and Matt huffed in response and couldn’t stop laughing.

“That’s one hell of a loophole, Hunter,” Huxley directed at him.

“I’m not considered the best in my line of work for nothing, Huxley.” Huxley nodded at him and didn’t say another word.

“There’s one thing I don’t get, though. Why didn’t Anni sue Jeff for bodily harm in court? I mean, that a*****e hit her,” Micky asked.

“I told her she should have, but the evidence would have come out in court, and you guys were all there,” Hunter explained incompletely.

“She didn’t want us to worry and get angrier than we already were,” Beau concluded. Hunter nodded.

“Okay, well, I guess that covers all of that. So, what are we going to do about Jack and his lawsuit?” Matt asked.

“I can’t take this case since I don’t know enough about this kind of lawsuit. But I can ask Counselor Janko, the primary attorney on Leon’s payroll. He’s handling their case against Sadie for the fraud. He’ll probably be dismissed before it can hit a judge’s desk, but I won’t know until I speak to him.”

“We saw the first part of Leon’s case against that wench. “That Janko fellow seems like a decent lawyer,” Matthaeus stated.

“Janko is one the best in the city. He honestly could be the next D.A., but he doesn’t want to be,” Hunter described.

“Why not?” Madalena asked.

“Mama, he works for Leonardo Von Doren,” Hunter told her, and Madalena understood without explanation.

“Hey, speaking of that w***e, does she know what happened to Jeff?” Micky asked.

“Not yet, at least, not that I know of. But I’m sure we’ll know as soon as she does.”