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I felt the two shadows behind me. Like I promised, I called Dmitriy right away. He and Mateo joined me and Dmitriy brought Vlad and Viktor as my own personal bodyguards to protect me while I set everything into motion. I went nowhere without them. At night, when I went to bed next to Jaime, new security stood outside our door. If they wanted to keep Liam in jail, they’d want to come for me because I was what stood between them and their goal. Every move I made was handled with caution and vigilance. Including being here today.
“Shit. They didn’t say it was her.”
“Aw fuck.”
“They can’t be seriously pining siblings against each other. Especially her.”
The murmured whispers weren’t surprising. I knew my brother was the one who was representing the city against Liam. I’m sure my father thought it’d intimidate me into not being present today. They should’ve done their research better. Those people didn’t sound nervous for me. They were nervous for my brother.
Vlad opened the door to the courtroom for me while Viktor led the way. The room was already busy and the low murmur of voices only rose when I showed up. I lifted my chin and marched down the aisle past the swinging door to the defendant’s table. Mariana appeared beside me. She volunteered to assist me through this whole thing and she’s been invaluable. She kept everything organized and made sure we had everything I asked for before we started. She set to work setting up all the documents while I turned to face Jo who was sitting behind us. She was pale and nervous, tears filling her eyes.
“Don’t worry. It’s going to be alright.”
Someone snorted behind me. “Didn’t they teach you not to lie to your clients?”
Flattening my expression, I turned to face my brother. “Hello, Elias.”
He sneered at me. “Nice to see you again.” It was a veiled remark and the look in his eyes said he was thinking about our last interaction. His face only fell when I shot him a bored look.
“All rise for the Honorable Judge Bara.”
Flashing a smirk at Elias just to mess with his head, I stepped up to my table and waited. I’d refused to let them bring Liam out in handcuffs and put up a hell of a fight so when they brought him out, he looked like he always did, suit and tie and a surly expression. He knew the rules though and when they called us to our feet he stood politely and waited for the judge to sit and allow us to follow suit. I met with him in jail and even though it felt like a stupid idea, I coached him through how to behave in court. He needs to stay quiet and trust me in order for this to work.
“Your honor, I’d like to motion for dismissal of all charges.”
“On what grounds?”
“On the grounds of perjury. None of the complaints set against my client hold an ounce of honesty. The entire complaint is built on lies.”
The judge frowned while Elias protested. “Objection, there’s no proof of that.”
Turning towards my brother, I raised my eyebrow. “You want proof? Your complaint states that my client was directly involved in the murder of an ‘Officer Winston’. Not only does my client have an alibi and evidence to prove it, I looked into it. There has been no record of an Officer Winston in the city of Chicago or the surrounding area until two days ago.” Pulling out a document, I handed it to the bailiff so he could take it to the judge. “I went back two years, your honor. It’s strange that the officer that the plaintiff alleges my client murdered didn’t exist in the system untilafterthey’d arrested my client.”
“That’s impossible,” Elias shouted.
“I also looked into the hospital records provided by the opposition. Why would they skip an autopsy on an officer if they were doing a thorough investigation?”
My brother bared his teeth. “He was killed in cold blood! It wasn’t necessary!”
“And where’s your proof of that? Because you’ve got a witness statement and a blurry picture by an outdoor security camera. I’ve got direct video evidence of my client’s whereabouts on the night in question. If the investigation had been done properly, he wouldn’t have been brought up on charges in the first place.”
I could feel the fury coming off Elias but I wasn’t done yet.
“I’d like the court to dismiss all charges with prejudice, your honor. I’d also like to look into the legitimacy of the opposition in this case. Since his family has outright stated their intention to hurt Mr. O’Connor and his family, I believe this whole thing was a set up.”
The judge looked surprised. “Do you have evidence of that allegation?”
“No, she doesn’t! She’s lying! You–”
“This is what O’Connor gets for screwing with me. I’m going to ship him the pieces one by one and then I’m going to ruin his family. He wants to steal my daughter from me, I’ll steal his whole life from him.”
The room went quiet and Elias’s mouth gaped open and shut. Turning my attention slowly to him, I pressed play on the recording again.
“Gavin almost killed me! I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with him but I’ll never marry him! Never!”
“You’ll do your duty. You’re obviously fine, he didn’t actually hurt you. After everything you’ve put him through, I wouldn’t blame him if he did. He’ll be a mafia don one day, he’ll need a strong hand. I already promised to take him under my wing. With his family and mine together, we’ll be unstoppable and the O’Connors will be nothing but dirt beneath our feet.”
Turning back to the judge, I sucked in a breath. “That was a week ago, your honor. My father, Elias Sloan the Second, openly made threats to the O’Connor family after an attempt on mine and my boyfriend’s lives. My opposition was present that day. His legitimacy in this and any future proceeding needs to be called into question. If anyone has ties to the mafia, it’s him.”
