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“Let’s go over what happened, shall we?” she asked, putting on her best snooty lawyer façade.
“I wanted my daughter back, so I went to her daycare and asked that bitch, Ashley, to give her to me. She refused and not only called Ace but also called the cops,” Charity said.
“Why now?” Trinity asked. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.
“Rooster kicked me out and I’m all alone. I need Arabella back, Trinity. She’s all that I have,” she said.
“You’re all alone because you’ve pushed everyone from your life who ever cared about you. This isn’t about Bella and involving her and her daycare was unfair of you. You need help, Charity,” Trinity said.
“I do not,” her sister hissed. “I just needed a little pick me up. I was at a low spot in my life and needed a little lift, so I took something. No one would fault me for wanting to feel better, Trinity. I’ve lost everything—the man that I love and my kid.”
“Bullshit,” Trinity said. “You threw Ace away for some looser who promised you more. What did Rooster say that he’d give you if you left Ace for him? You do know that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, right?” She wasn’t sure why she felt so angry for Ace. If Charity hadn’t left him, Trinity wouldn’t have met him and have the kind of life that she had always wanted, even if she couldn’t admit that to him. He was the man she could see herself spending her life with, she just needed to find a way to tell Ace that.
The guard popped his head back into the room, “Ms. Gaines, you are up next,” he said. “I’ll escort the prisoner into the courtroom—you know the drill.”
She did know how things worked but this time, she felt like she had more to lose than she had during her other court appearances. Her sister’s life was about to change for the worse unless she found a way to convince a judge to put Charity into a rehab program. It wasn’t what her sister wanted, but Trinity didn’t care. It was the only way to help Charity and she was there to do just that.
Charity stood and looked across the table at her, and for the first time, in a long time, Trinity saw her sister. She was still in there and if she had her way, she was going to get her the help she needed, so she’d stick around. The woman standing in front of her was a stranger and if she didn’t get help, she’d remain that way to Trinity.
“When we get in there, Charity, let me do all the talking. When the judge asks how you plead, tell him that you’re guilty,” Trinity ordered.
“I will not,” Charity spat. “I’m guilty of nothing.”
“You’re guilty of being under the influence of cocaine when you tried to pick up your daughter, among other things. I have your blood toxicity report and the judge will have the same information. You want to spend a few years in prison or do as I tell you to do, for once in your life, and possibly get the help that you need?” Trinity asked.
Charity looked down at her cuffed hands and back up at Trinity. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll do as you say—but this better work.” She watched as her sister was led out of the room and sat back down in her seat.
“You okay?” Beck asked.
“No,” Trinity breathed. “She’s so angry—I didn’t expect things to go down quite like that.”
“We better get into the courtroom,” Beck said.
“I just need a minute,” Trinity said. She honestly needed more than a minute, but the judge wouldn’t wait for her to catch her breath. She had to get in there and defend her sister and she wasn’t sure that she had a defense. Hell, she wasn’t sure that her sister was worth saving, but she had to try. Not trying would feel as if she was failing Bella, and that wasn’t an option.
“Okay, let’s go,” she said, standing and pushing her chair back under the metal table. “Time to get this shitshow over with,” she grumbled.
* * *
Trinity walked into the courtroom and saw her sister sitting up at the front of the room. Charity looked just as nervous as she had just moments ago when she left the interrogation room. Trinity had to admit, she was feeling a little nervous herself. Usually, the people she defended were paying her and she didn’t have a personal connection to them.
The judge walked into the courtroom as Trinity took a seat next to her sister. “All rise,” the guard said. He called the courtroom to order and announced Charity’s case. The judge sat, as did the rest of the room, and Trinity took a deep breath and let it back out. She listened as the judge read the charges against her sister, and she worried that the mountain of charges she was facing wouldn’t be easy to fight.
“How do you plead, Ms. Gaines?” the judge asked. Trinity and Charity stood and when her sister didn’t answer she nudged her. “Ms. Gaines,” the judge said. “Do you understand the question?”
“I do,” Charity said. “And I plead guilty,” she said. It sounded like she wanted to choke on her words but Trinity had to hand it to her, she followed instructions and that surprised the hell out of her.
“Your Honor,” Trinity said. “May I speak?”
“You may,” he agreed. “I’m assuming that you are Ms. Gaines’s lawyer?”
“I am, your Honor,” Trinity said.
“And, am I to assume that you are related, given your identical last name, or is that merely a coincidence?” he asked.
“Yes, your Honor,” Trinity said. “Charity is my sister.”
“Are you sure you want to represent your sister, Ms. Gaines?” he asked.
