The Keating One

Part 1. She's Going Home

Song of the day: Circles Out Of Salt - Snow Ghosts

NEW YORK CITY, 8.00 PM

It had been a very long and tiring day for Alex who had been busy promoting the new case record campaign of her law firm, paying all the visits to the DA'a office, all the judges, other corporal law firms, reporters and the governer's office. At the end of the week she found she was exhausted when she finally crawled into bed in her Upper East Side apartment.

She had been working hard lately, throwing herself into her job which was literally running one of the most prestigious law firms in Manhattan as a managing partner.

"I have so much work to do tomorrow," she sighed to herself as she removed the buckle from her blond hair and finally let her body relax under the puffy comforter. She was just about to fall asleep when her phone buzzed. It was an email from her boyfriend, Evan.

"Are you related to this guy?" he asked in his email and attached two videos.

Alex curiously opened one of the videos. It was a clip taken from a news report.

"The human remains were found one week ago at the landfill. And although police have yet to come forward with a public statement, our sources tell us the body belongs to Middleton University professor Sam Keating, reported missing by his wife on December the 13th. Mr. Keating is also wanted for questioning in the murder investigation of Lila Stangard. Right now, police are still trying to determine the cause of death."

"Oh my god!" Alex gulped. Tears blurred her vision as she tried to focus on the screen. She couldn't help herself but fell hopelessly into an old unwelcomed flashback.

**FLASHBACK**

NINE YEARS AGO, PROFESSOR KEATING'S HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA

"Let go of me!" Alex shouted as she tried to push him away from herself, "You're disgusting!"

"No, Alex baby, listen to me!" Sam pleaded.

"Don't touch me!" Alex yelled backing up until her back was up against the wall.

They were standing just a foot away from the stairs which led to the second floor. The house was silent like a graveyard. Alex could smell the liquor is Sam's breath.

"Come on, Alex!"

"You're drunk! Let go of me! She will hear!"

"Don't worry. She's asleep like a baby. You know, drugs... She won't hear us. You're so beautiful." Sam smiled like a pervert as he reached to touch her waist.

Alex jerked herself from the wall yelling, "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU PERVERT! YOU'RE MY FATHER FOR GOD'S SAKE. I'M DONE. I'M LEAVING! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!"

With that, she grabbed her briefcase from the floor and stormed out of her father's house, slamming the door as she went. And she never came back...

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Alex wiped the tears from her eyes and looked straight at the wall with haunted green eyes full of pain and fear. Then she turned her attention to her phone again and opened the second video clip.

"An arrest has been made in the death of Middleton University professor Sam Keating. The suspect in question, former Philadelphia Police Detective Nate Lahey, who has been romantically linked to Annalise Keating, the wife of the murder victim. Detective Lahey was let go from Philadelphia Police Department late last year though sources say Lahey's former involvement with the department will in no way affect treatment as a suspect going forward. Authorities are not releasing specifics but we're told the arrest comes after the discovery in incriminating physical evidence found in the wooded area."

For a moment, Alex thought she should pretend she hadn't seen these videos and continue her life as usual. He was a bastard and he was dead to her anyway. She looked around the room as if she was trying to convince herself, her eyes harder than ever, but then her face softened and a strange expression crossed it. It was longing. Her stepmother Annalise's face appeared in her mind. The woman was the closest thing to a mother Alex ever had in her life. She trusted her completely. Annalise Keating was the reason she was who she was today: a successful lawyer and a managing partner of a law firm in New York. And Alex had left her, okay not her but well anyway, without any explanation nine years ago. And she had never visited or never called since.

Without further thought, Alex grabbed a backpack and started stuffing some clothes and some other necessities in it. Hurriedly, she changed into a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, picked up her jacket and car keys and headed for the door.

She was going home.

TBC...