Chapter 8 The Recording

Suddenly, Jemma felt a revelation strike her.

A colleague mentioned this morning that Kaelyn had rescued Caiden last night.

She also said that Caiden recognized Kaelyn as his savior because of a pearl earring, which led to her unexpected promotion.

Gently, Jemma brushed her earlobe. She recalled wearing her pearl earrings during her encounter with the President last night. Yet, this morning she noticed one was missing, and now both had disappeared.

However, Kaelyn had never owned such earrings. As Kaelyn's close friend, she knew Kaelyn's taste well; pearls were certainly not her style.

A suspicion dawned on Jemma. Could it be that she was the one who had actually helped Caiden?

It was true, wasn't it? Hadn't she helped Caiden recover from being drugged and even bandaged his injury last night? Surely, that was the real act of saving him.

Yet, it seemed Kaelyn had claimed the heroics as her own.

A memory flashed through Jemma's mind-during their scuffle that morning, she had felt a sharp pain in her ear. It must have been then that Kaelyn stole her earring.

Such actions were beneath contempt.

Regardless, Jemma was sure that once she explained the situation, Caiden would believe her.

With a heart full of resolve and bursting with excitement, she dashed towards him, exclaiming, "Mr. President, it was actually me who..."

If Caiden knew it was she who had saved him yesterday, would he repay her by postponing her father's trial or even clearing his name?

But as Jemma approached, Caiden retreated a couple of steps. He had noticed she had been watching him, and now, it seemed she wanted to embrace him, perhaps even using the moment to advocate for her father.

Disgusted, he blurted out, "Stop!"

Jemma stopped in her tracks, staring at him in shock. The contempt in his eyes was impossible to miss. But why? What had she done? Did Kaelyn say something to turn Caiden against her?

"I think there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here, Mr. President. I'd like to clarify it."

Caiden looked at her coldly. "Go ahead. I'll give you a chance. Tell me your side of the story."

At this moment, Brent, realizing that the man before him was the President often seen on TV, felt a jolt of shock mixed with excitement. He saw this as his moment to shine.

"Yes, go ahead. Tell everyone how you seduced me, pushed me to bribe a judge, and urged me to help your father with his case."

Jemma paused, taken by surprise. She had intended to bring up what had happened the night before, but with the crowd around them, it didn't feel like the right moment.

She decided against discussing last night for now, focusing instead on dispelling the allegations Brent had just made. It appeared Caiden believed him, and she needed to correct that impression swiftly.

Jemma unfastened the brooch attached to her blouse.

"Contained within this brooch is a recording device. I captured my earlier conversation with Brent. Mr. President, Judge Clarke, please go ahead and listen to this to understand the kind of lawyers we have in our country."

Panic consumed Brent. The thought of Jemma using such a strategy had never occurred to him.

He made a desperate move to snatch the recorder, but it was already too late.

The recording started echoing through the bar. "With the weather so warm, why so covered up? You should wear something a bit more revealing."

...

Once the playback ended, the bar fell silent until Brent shouted, "Mr. President, Judge Clarke, that voice isn't mine. She must have edited that recording to frame me. That voice is clearly altered. Jemma, was framing me your objective today?"

With clarity and composure, Jemma retorted, "You're delusional. Framing you? You're not worth the effort."

Jared shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Miss Martin, you sounded quite dignified in the recording. Kevin's daughter is really something else."

The expression in Caiden's eyes was unreadable, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts.