AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let me explain. We don’t want Ben to be aware that we’re conducting a full investigation of that night. He’s a powerful man. If we sued him, he may interfere and mess up the investigation. By the time he hears the results, it’ll be too late for him to do anything negative. We’ll see how he’ll react.”
“Thank you. I can’t wait to hear your findings.”
When Madison returned from her flight to Rome, Rick related the latest news.
Not as pleased as he would expect, she frowned. “Do you think they’ll come to a conclusion before Sunday?”
“I doubt it. Why? Sunday is our wedding day. Are you having second thoughts?”
“Absolutely not. But ...” She bit her lip.
He grabbed her shoulders. “What bothers you, babe? Tell me. We promised each other there’d never be secrets between us.”
She met his gaze. “Your mother called me. Denise is in labor, and the baby is coming tonight or tomorrow. I told Arlene we’d gotten engaged and had bought the ring. Before I could finish, she blasted my ears, saying she missed your first wedding. If we dared get married without her, she would never talk to us again. So I don’t know ...”
He caressed her cheek with a soothing hand. “We can postpone the wedding by a few weeks.” Now that Madison lived with him, it didn’t bother him to delay the official ceremony until he resolved his problems.
“Yeah ... But in that case I will have to invite my parents, too.”
“Of course. And my mother and sister.”
“And my brothers and sister,” Madison added.
“And our friends, neighbors, and colleagues.” Rick burst out laughing.
“Rick, I don’t know what to do.” She rubbed her naked finger. “You haven’t given me my ring yet.”
“Oh, sorry ... I put it in the safe. You’ll get it on our wedding day.” He wasn’t ready to spoil his surprise. “About the wedding date. Let’s take it one week at a time.”
“So no wedding next Sunday?”
“Too close. I need to get a new suit.”
“Right, and I didn’t have time to buy a white dress.”
Two weeks passed with several pleasant events. Denise gave birth to a baby girl, and Arlene went gaga over her first granddaughter. Mark and Michael went back to school, bonding with their new friends and enjoying their after-school activities. Maria had passed her driving test and got her American license—a big relief for Rick when he was stuck at work and Madisonwas traveling. Best of all, Madison had made herself at home in his house and now occupied three-quarters of his closet.
Yet, they hadn’t set a wedding date.
On the Friday of the third week, Heron called. “My place or yours?”
He sounded so jovial, Rick laughed. “My place for sure. I want Madison to hear your good news.”
Meeting in Rick’s office, Brian showed them a video of the hearing they’d held a few days earlier. He and George took turns explaining the results.
“We’ve subpoenaed all the kids—now adults—who attended the party. Under oath, many recalled they were drunk and hadn’t seen nor heard of you, Rick, doing anything reprehensible. Several agreed they heard Ben shouting that Rick had assaulted and raped Chloe, and they repeated it.” Heron paused, his gaze shifting from Rick to Madison. “None of their testimonies can incriminate you, Rick. Ben’s previous girlfriend testified that he dumped her because he wanted to befriend Chloe,a girl more suitable to him.”
“Next, we served a subpoena to Chloe,” Brian continued the report. “She swore under oath that you’d never hurt her or forced her in any waybefore that night. She was shocked and terrified when she was attacked by a masked man. At first, she never thought it could be you. She was calling your name for help, but when she heard so many people repeating that they sawyoucoming fromherroom, she was desperate. In her recent deposition, she said she was convinced now it couldn’t be you, because you’d never acted in such a vicious way toward her, but during their marriage, Ben had.”
Madison gasped. “Wow, she said that about her husband?”
“Her mother testified she heard Ben verbally abuse her daughter several times. In the past, Mrs. Powell had often urged her to leave him. But Chloe had refused for her son’s sake,” Brianexplained.
“Finally, we sent a subpoena to Ben. Ironically, he insisted he was one of your best friends, Rick. He claimed he’s eager to renew his friendship with you and ready to apologize for any misunderstanding.”
“He can keep his apologies and friendship,” Rick snapped.
“Wrong.” Heron tapped his fingers on the desk. “Written apologies published in the newspapers wouldn’t hurt. I agreed on your behalf.”
