“Attorney Quinn, I need to emphasize this one more time,” Adrian said with a solemn expression and an unusually serious gaze.
“Illegal or criminal acts are things I simply do not do.” Lena raised her eyebrows, planted both hands on her hips, and looked at him in confusion.
“So…
you’re not going to steal the child anymore?” Adrian immediately frowned as though she had said something ridiculous.
“How is that possible?
Of course we’re stealing the child.
If circumstances force us to, we might even have to snatch him away.” After saying that, Adrian turned back into the reception room, sat down on the sofa, and looked at Lena again.
“Besides, why are you so convinced that stealing a child is illegal?” Lena almost wondered whether such a question even required an answer, because as far as she was concerned, this was basic common sense.
Still, she suppressed her disbelief, sat down opposite him, organized her thoughts for a moment, and answered seriously.
“Eastland doesn’t have a criminal offense literally called ‘stealing a child.’ Conduct like that is generally covered by two offenses: Article 240 of the Criminal Code, concerning the abduction and trafficking of children, and Article 262, concerning the abduction of minors.
Both are directly related to unlawfully taking children, both carry serious penalties, and what you’re proposing seems to fit them perfectly.” What Lena said was reasonable, but Adrian merely nodded before giving her a mild smile.
“You’re right, but let me ask you something.
What is the key subjective element required for the offense of abducting and trafficking a child?” Without waiting for her to answer, he continued, “Intent combined with profit.
In other words, there has to be the relevant criminal purpose together with the intention to obtain financial gain from the child.” Since Adrian obviously had no intention of selling the boy or making money from taking him, that particular offense did not neatly apply.
Lena shook her head anyway.
“Even if trafficking doesn’t apply, Article 262 still does.
There’s no requirement that you intend to sell the child, because deliberately taking control of a minor and removing them can still constitute abduction.” “Attorney Quinn, your professional knowledge really is impressive.” Adrian nodded in agreement, but before Lena could decide whether that was genuine praise, he continued, “However, what you’re discussing is primarily the subjective side of the offense.
What about the objective elements?
What does Article 262 actually require?” Lena paused, and years of legal training immediately brought the relevant wording to mind.
“Article 262 defines the objective element as abducting a minor under fourteen and removing them from their family or lawful guardian.” If there were a profit motive, the conduct could fall under trafficking; without one, it could still amount to abduction.
No matter how she looked at it, Adrian’s proposal to “steal the child” sounded dangerously close to the statutory definition.
However, the moment Lena finished speaking, Adrian followed seamlessly.
“You said it yourself.
Objectively, the offense requires removing the child from their family or lawful guardian, so let me ask you something very simple: are Walter and Martha Pike the child’s lawful guardians?” “Of cour—” Lena was about to answer automatically, but the words stopped halfway out of her mouth as something suddenly occurred to her.
Adrian watched the realization spread across her face and calmly supplied the answer.
“They aren’t.” He leaned back slightly and continued, “Under Article 27 of the Civil Code, the parents are the primary guardians of a minor.
Close relatives such as Walter and Martha may stand within the statutory order for succeeding to guardianship under certain circumstances, but the important word there is succeeding.
They do not automatically become the child’s guardians merely because they’re his grandparents.” In other words, the grandparents could only claim guardianship if the legal conditions for succeeding to that role were actually met.
The problem was that only Ethan Pike was dead.
Clara Hayes was still alive.
“So right now,” Adrian said firmly, “the child’s lawful guardian is our client, Clara Hayes.” Lena’s thoughts immediately began racing.
Adrian continued before she could fully organize them.
“Now go back to the objective definition of child abduction under the Criminal Code.
If we take the boy away from Walter and Martha, are we actually removing him from his lawful guardian?” Lena remained silent because the answer was obvious.
No.
More importantly, Adrian was not finished.
“Don’t forget that the custody case has already been decided, and Clara won.” He leaned slightly forward, his voice becoming more deliberate.
“That means Walter has neither custody rights nor guardianship rights.
From a legal perspective, Walter and Martha continuing to keep the child against Clara’s wishes is already inconsistent with the rights recognized by the court.” Those words landed heavily enough that Lena’s pupils contracted slightly.
The more she thought about it, the more Adrian’s reasoning appeared to make sense.
Walter and Martha were blood relatives, but they were neither the lawful custodians nor the legal guardians, and yet they were still physically preventing the child from being returned to the person who held both rights.
After a long moment, Lena finally found another objection.
“But Article 262 also refers to removing a child from their family.
Walter and Martha are still his close blood relatives, and that relationship is an objective fact.
Even without custody or guardianship, the law can’t simply pretend they aren’t family.” Adrian answered immediately.
“First, I have no criminal intent in taking the child away.
Second, Walter and Martha’s house may be one family home, but does that somehow mean Clara’s home isn’t also the child’s home?” He looked at Lena with exaggerated disappointment and shook his head.
“All we would be doing is taking the child from a residence where the people keeping him have neither custody nor guardianship and bringing him to another home where his lawful custodial parent and guardian lives.
Legally speaking, I haven’t removed him from his family at all.” For a moment, Lena could only sit there as every counterargument she had prepared seemed to dissolve one after another.
Her common sense kept insisting that stealing a child had to be illegal, yet the legal framework Adrian was laying out was pointing in a very different direction.
Adrian smiled.
“This isn’t abduction.
It’s the exercise of lawful custody and guardianship.” He clasped his hands together and leaned forward slightly.
“You know, no one understands how to avoid breaking the law better than I do.” The statement sounded arrogant enough to be absurd, yet Lena found herself unable to refute it.
She had spent more than twenty years studying, had attended lectures by nationally recognized legal scholars, graduated from one of Eastland’s best universities, and learned under professors whose names carried real weight in the legal field, but this was the first time she had ever heard someone seriously explain how to “legally steal a child.” The most shocking part was that Adrian was not simply making things up.
Lena stared at him for a long moment before asking, almost from the depths of her soul, “Is…
is this really right?” “What’s wrong with it?” Adrian replied.
“Besides, Clara already won the custody case, and the court ordered that the child be returned to her, yet Walter and Martha have continued delaying and refusing to hand him over.” His tone became more dissatisfied as he continued, “Strictly speaking, we’re the ones taking the child legally and in good faith, while they’re the ones maliciously refusing to return him to his lawful guardian.” Lena stared at him as though an entirely new door had just been opened in front of her.
So words could actually be arranged like this.
Was this really something a normal person could say with a straight face?
Seeing her expression, Adrian looked rather pleased, almost as though he had just successfully guided a promising student through a difficult problem.
“So, do you still think I’m committing a crime?” Lena’s lips moved, but she could not immediately produce a convincing objection.
Even if this argument were dragged before a judge and prosecutor, they might stare at Adrian in disbelief, but finding a clean criminal offense that matched what he proposed would be another matter entirely.
After struggling for a while, Lena finally gave up on that question and moved on to the more urgent one.
“So…
when are you planning to steal the child?” Now that she could no longer confidently call the plan illegal, Martin’s approaching trial became her main concern.
“You know the first hearing is almost here,” Lena said, gripping the edge of her chair slightly.
“If we don’t get the child back before then, the outcome of the trial is still going to be extremely uncertain.” She had clearly—and entirely accidentally—overheard Derek say that the court summons had already been issued.
Martin’s trial was scheduled for November 10th, only five days away, so if Adrian intended to use the child as leverage, Lena naturally assumed they would have to act immediately.
She was already wondering whether Adrian planned to move today, tomorrow, or perhaps the day after when he raised an eyebrow.
“Steal the child before the trial?” Lena looked at him.
Adrian spread his hands.
“When did I ever say I was going to steal him before the trial?” Her expression froze.
“If you don’t take him before the trial, then what’s the point?
Once the first hearing is over and the court has already reached its decision, what use is that bargaining chip supposed to be?” From Lena’s perspective, this was obvious.
The child was supposed to increase their leverage before the court reached a result; waiting until after the decision would make that leverage meaningless.
“Naturally, I’ll use something else instead,” Adrian replied as though the answer should have been obvious.
“Remember, the child is our bargaining chip against Walter and Martha.
That has nothing to do with the arguments we’ll use in court.” His expression became slightly more serious.
“To deal with the judge and the prosecutors, we need a different trick.” Lena stared at him, suddenly feeling as though the man sitting across from her had become unfamiliar.
Adrian reached into his briefcase, removed a document he had spent the past several days preparing, and placed it on the table.
“You didn’t seriously think I spent all this time working only on the plan I explained to you in a few sentences, did you?
This is what I’m actually planning to use at the first trial.” He pushed the document across the table.
Lena immediately lowered her gaze, but the moment she read the opening sections, her entire expression froze.
Several lines stood prominently on the page: [1.
Regarding defendant Martin Hayes’s conduct in intervening to stop a human trafficker and protect the safety of police officers, which was in the nature of a courageous intervention in defense of others, the defense hereby submits the following opinions concerning the facts and application of law in this case…] [2.
Regarding the deceased Ethan Pike, who died as a result of injuries sustained during his own attempted intentional assault, with said death bearing no criminal causal relationship to the defendant, the defense hereby submits the following opinions…] Lena’s eyes widened as she continued reading, and for the first time she genuinely understood the expression that words carried weight, because the arguments in front of her felt like a one-ton hammer had just landed directly on her head.
The trial was only five days away, and if Adrian actually brought these arguments into court, Lena could already imagine the expressions on the faces of the judge and prosecutors.
After reading several more lines, she slowly raised her head and stared at him in disbelief.
“Wait…
what do you mean Martin voluntarily surrendered, and what do you mean he was performing a courageous public act by protecting armed police officers?” Her voice carried a mixture of shock, confusion, and something approaching despair as she finally asked the only question that seemed appropriate.
“Adrian, what on earth are you trying to do?!”