The Billionaire CEO Betrays his Wife: He wants her back-Chapter 42: Focus. Work

"Hello," the voice said over the phone, yet Ethan’s mind was elsewhere, he should have just punched the man who took Mara with him. Now he was worried about where she could be.

"Where the hell have you been, Ethan? they found the murder weapon," the client yells, panicking over the phone. Ethan had not spoken since he answered the call, making the man’s voice startled him a little, especially the way he spoke on the phone. He had the case under control as always, it was not his place to ask his clients if they were guilty or not.

But he had one rule, don’t lie to him. They were sure the murder weapon wouldn’t surface in the trials, but here it was magically, the murder weapon showed up, and the client was nervous, meaning he hid something from him.

"It changes nothing, Mr. Copeland," Ethan said softly.

"It does. It changes everything. It has my fingerprint on it," the man nervously said.

"You lied to me! You lied! You said you never saw the weapon!" Ethan’s anger only increased, but he tried to calm down, he was talking to an important figure in the country after all.

"I didn’t mean to, I didn’t know how that would look if I had said I touched the weapon. I panicked, and I touched it by mistake," the man pleaded. It was a first-degree murder case and when found guilty, he will be sent to the electric chair.

The prosecutor had made that clear right from the beginning. He was confident because he had Ethan as his lawyer. The best of the best, but now, with such concrete evidence, he got nervous.

"I will send a driver to get you," Ethan said, trying to calm down. It was closing hours, but unfortunately, everyone who hadn’t closed for the day would have to work overtime.

"Why?" The man asked. He drives his own luxurious car. Why send a car for him?

"Because I need you at the firm right now, and you can’t drive your car, it’s too flashy. You need to win the public sympathy. Don’t avoid the cameras, and don’t look too sad or overly confident. Keep a neutral face. Can you do that?" Ethan asked as he strode back to the office, ending the call.

"Get everyone working on the Copeland case in the conference room and get any hand you could get. It’s going to be a long night." Ethan said to Lucy and then to Steph, "Get the driver to pick up Mr. Copeland from his residence and check if she ..." Ethan paused. If Mara was taken to the Shepherd’s residence, he must be the one to get her.

"Never mind, get the driver," he said, focusing on his steps back to the office. Ethan was already exhausted by what transpired from last night, this morning at the office and this moment with the Shepherds, now he has to work overtime for a case he made a three days trip to Paris only for it to be in vain, with a murder weapon in the picture who will pick a witness’s statement. A murder weapon is more convincing. It was going to be a long night.

"Yes, sir," Steph responded, picking up his phone to call the driver.

Ethan stepped into his office, running a hand through his hair in frustration. His mind was a battlefield, caught between his crumbling marriage and the high-stakes murder case that just took a dangerous turn.

His phone buzzed again. Lucy’s voice came through. "Everyone is in the conference room, Ethan. We’re ready." Ethan grabbed the case file and stalked out.

As he entered the conference room, all eyes turned to him. Lawyers, associates, interns, everyone was waiting for his direction.

"Alright, listen up." His voice was cold, controlled. "The murder weapon surfaced, and it has Copeland’s prints on it. That means the prosecution is coming for blood."

A murmur spread through the room. Some looked worried. Others intrigued.

"We don’t have time to panic," Ethan continued. "We have time to fight. We need to find out where that weapon has been all this time and who ’found’ it."

Lucy nodded, already taking notes. Steph entered a second later. "The driver’s on his way to get Copeland."

Ethan gave a tight nod. "Good. The moment he gets here, I want a full debrief. We’re tearing apart every angle of this case."

Steph hesitated for a split second before adding, "And... about Mara. She was taken to the Shepherd estate."

Ethan stilled. His jaw clenched. He had expected it, but hearing it confirmed made his blood boil. Ethan gritted his teeth and turned to the team. "Get to work. I’ll be back." He needed to handle this case. For now, he has to trust that Mara is safe, even if that trust feels fragile.

The office buzzes with activity as the team gets themselves busy, with files spread across the table, while the evidence boards are constantly updated, the tension in the room is thick. Ethan takes a deep breath, steeling himself for the hours ahead.

Ethan walks around a bit to clear his mind before joining the team back in the conference room and he knows the odds are against them, but he’s built his reputation on turning impossible cases around. This one will be no different.

Ethan clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay present. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted, the walk wasn’t much of a help since Mara’s face lingered in his mind, her cold, distant gaze cutting deeper than he cared to admit.

He shook it off. Focus. Work. Win. He turned to the whiteboard and began outlining the defense strategy. "What do we have?" The team hasn’t been able to find anything useful.

"Alright, let’s break this down. The prosecution has the murder weapon fine. But where was it before? Why did it suddenly appear now?" His voice was sharp, and calculated. "We need to prove that evidence was either planted or tampered with."

Lucy tapped her pen against her notepad. "The weapon was found in an abandoned warehouse outside the city. That’s what the reports say."

Ethan scoffed. "Convenient."

Steph leaned forward. "We should check who had access to that location. If the police got a tip, we need to know who gave it."

"Exactly." Ethan nodded. "Also, we need to focus on jury perception. Copeland’s reputation is already damaged. His only chance now is creating doubt, making them question if the weapon was planted."

An intern hesitated before speaking. "But... if his prints are on the knife, doesn’t that mean he at least held it?"

Ethan’s eyes darkened. "It means he was careless. But holding a weapon and using it for murder are two different things. That’s what we’ll prove."

The room fell silent, everyone hanging on his words.

"Start digging. I want the backgrounds of every single person involved in this case. Find me something, anything we can use."

His team scrambled into action once again, phones ringing, laptops clicking. Ethan exhaled, rubbing his temples. His body was here, but his mind? His mind was with Mara.