Throne of Truth

by Pepper Winters

  Tears wobbled in my gaze, making my office dance and Sage turn into a gray blob. Belle Elle suddenly wasn’t a tower of servitude but a pillar of strength. This was my core asset. This company had made me rich and powerful.

  It’s time I used that wealth in other ways—freeing innocent men ways.

  Larry chuckled with pride. “He made do. He’s a resourceful lad. He stole—he’s not innocent on that account—but he only did it to survive. The second charge was betrayal by a so-called friend and the result of bad luck, bad timing. He got time for theft and for knocking out the house owner and molesting his wife.”

  I gasped. “That can’t be true. He would never—”

  “Of course, he wouldn’t,” Larry snapped. “He was framed.”

  My fingers tightened on my phone, falling more into the tangled tale of Penn’s past. “How?”

  “Penn happened to be walking back to his current bed for the night when he saw his so-called friend entering the house in question. He followed. Tried to talk some sense into him, only for the wife to get confused and think it was Penn who’d touched her and the man to wake up groggy and brain-bruised and accuse him. The real perp had run before the police arrived. By the time Penn was processed, he had heard the news and personally oversaw Penn’s arrest. By that point, it was too late.”

  Chills scattered down my spine. “He?”

  Larry made a hate-thick noise in the back of his throat. “Arnold Twig.”

  The name alone made me shudder with anger and the need to scratch out his eyes for being the cause of Penn’s misfortune. “And who is Arnold Twig?”

  “Sean Twig’s father. Penn’s nightmare.”

  * * * * *

  I couldn’t stop replaying the strange conversation over and over.

  Larry had been forthcoming but cryptic at the same time.

  How had this Arnold Twig got away with framing Penn?

  Why had nothing been done about it?

  Why hadn’t Penn himself been a whistleblower and shouted to the world what had happened?

  Why had I never been contacted to testify about the rape and assault charge the night he was stolen from me?

  The man in the hoodie from the alley had honor and backbone. He didn’t let me get raped because he morally had to help. That strong ethic code would stand up for himself, too, surely?

  With my questions keeping me constant company, the day passed like all the others.

  But it didn’t feel like the others.

  It was different.

  Strange.

  However, the calendar hadn’t changed.

  I had.

  The second I’d wandered into Belle Elle after heading downtown with David and Dad to answer police questions and provide my statement about Greg, I’d had no mental capacity to work.

  Even Fleur had frozen in shock and demanded to know what I was doing there.

  I’d given her the socially acceptable response that I was head of this empire and I’d already had a few days away. I wouldn’t miss more.

  That was a lie.

  The real reason was I couldn’t sit at home on my own anymore. I couldn’t raid Penn’s safety deposit box and stare at the handsome passport photo of a slightly younger man with aged wisdom and persecution in his gaze.

  The same prettiness that had beguiled me now broke my heart that I couldn’t pick up a phone and call him or knock on his door and hug him.

  He was untouchable, unreachable, and it hurt so damn much.

  The only good thing was the knowledge that Greg had been questioned. He was under arrest pending discharge from the hospital. On the flip side, Greg had submitted his own statement about Penn’s treatment and wanted him punished to the fullest extent possible.

  It’s a damn racket.

  Greed had caused this and greed could kiss my ass.

  My stomach never stopped roiling at how vindictive Greg had become. How a boy from my childhood could become such a conniving, jealous asshole.

  I had no idea if he’d end up in the same prison as Penn or what it would mean for Steve’s future at Belle Elle, knowing his best friend’s daughter had sent his only son to jail.

  But it wasn’t my fault, and I was too tired to worry.

  * * * * *

  Six p.m. rolled around, and instead of having a productive day, I couldn’t remember where the time had gone.

  My website browser had court processes and information on what happened to reoffenders. My history painted research on how unlikely a release was when the victim was pushing for full penalty.

  Greg had not only tried to take Belle Elle away from me, but he also had the power to take away Penn.

  The fermenting anger inside threatened to boil over. Nothing was simple all because of him. All because Greg thought he deserved something for nothing.

  He can’t get away with it.

  I wished I had more knowledge on how to argue cases that weren’t just black and white. But I was sheltered in that respect. I just had to hope Larry knew what he was doing—which drove me nuts, as I needed to do something to help.

  Another kernel of loathing layered on top of my anger as I Googled Arnold Twig: chief of police, part-time volunteer at the soup kitchen, father to one son, and all-a-round good citizen. The scarce photos of him online depicted an older gentleman who preferred crisp ironed clothes and sensible shoes.

  I couldn’t see why he would be such a threat to Penn.

  A knock raised my head.

  I glanced at the door, yanked from my scattered thoughts. “Come in.”

  I expected Fleur. I smiled with kindness and welcome—grateful to see my helpful assistant and friend before she left for the night.

  The true visitor turned my smile to marble. I hid my grimace behind it. “Steve...what a surprise.”

  I had no desire to see him. He’d done nothing wrong, he’d showered me in apologies, but I couldn’t separate my fondness of him against the dislike of his son.

  Steve lingered on the threshold. “Elle, I wondered...can I have a minute?”

  My heart raced, noticing for the first time the similarities between Steve and Greg. Matching jawline, the way their mouth formed certain words, even their nose shared the same genetics.

  It had never bothered me before, but that was before Greg punched me and drove me across the state to try to do what exactly? Rape me into falling in love with him? Arranging someone to marry us under duress and believing the marriage certificate would’ve held up against the lawyers I would’ve hired to bury Greg under litigation?

  Idiot.

  I stood, planting my hands on my desk. “I think you’ll need more than just a minute to explain what the hell Greg was thinking, Steve.” Nothing but swift authority was in my voice. No gratitude for his guidance over the years or friendship toward a father figure I’d grown up with.

  I was his boss.

  He was my employee.

  He was also the father of the man I never wanted to see again.

  He tugged on the bottom of his blue blazer, striding into my office. Wisely, he didn’t close the door. Already I felt trapped, and the sounds of departing staff echoed in the hallway, inviting me to run with them.

  “You have a point there.” He stopped in front of my desk.

  Sage, picking up on my vibes but not sure why, did what she always did and jumped to the carpet to wrap herself around his ankles in welcome.

  He smiled sadly, his eyes welling with tears and more apologies. “Shit, Noelle. I’m so goddamn sorry.” His gaze trailed over my bruises—the black eye of pain and memories of the short hostage situation I’d endured. “I never thought he’d do something so terrible. He’s Greg.” He shrugged. “He’s never been violent. Greedy and spoiled, yes, but...” He spread his hands. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Tell me where he is.”

  “Still at the hospital. I think he’s being discharged tomorrow.” He looked at the floor. “Then he’ll be transferred to the police station, I g
uess.”

  Tomorrow.

  On the one hand, I was glad he would be dealt with so soon. On the other, it didn’t give me much time to threaten him to drop the charges against Penn.

  Whoa...you’re going to do what?

  The plan had come from nowhere, but...it made sense.

  It’s ridiculous.

  But so what?

  I had no other skill or way of helping Penn.

  I have to do something.

  Even something moronic.

  Who better to help Penn than the woman who had power over the man accusing him? If I wanted to use that power, I had to be quick.

  Steve didn’t notice my hastily forming, crazily stupid plan, or the rush of heat over my skin at the thought of kicking Greg where it hurt and making him suffer for a change.

  “I’ve arranged with human resources to create the necessary severance packets. He won’t be coming back to Belle Elle.” He ducked to pet Sage before she wandered off with her tail high.

  “Thank you.”

  I was glad he’d taken care of it but annoyed that we had to tiptoe around contract clauses and fulfill our end of the bargain with vacation pay and remaining sick leave.

  I didn’t want to give him a penny more than he’d already squeezed out of me. But I wouldn’t give Greg any reason to come after me again—suing me for incorrect dismissal or otherwise.

  “Do you know what time he’ll be collected by the police tomorrow?” I delivered my question void of emotion. However, it held two sides. One innocent. One plotting.

  I wanted Greg behind bars.

  But not before I had a few moments alone with him.

  Don’t do this...

  It could backfire royally.

  I told myself to hush up.

  For three years, I’d done nothing to help Penn. There was no way I could do that again. I could never live with myself.

  I kept my body stiff; my secrets hidden. Ever since I’d found Gio’s driver’s license in Penn’s box, a seed had been planted. I didn’t know what that seed had been or what actions it would have me take, but now it had sprouts, straining for truth like a flower strains for sunlight, giving me a blueprint of a plan.

  I knew what I had to do.

  Penn was Nameless.

  Nameless was Penn.

  That put me in an uncomfortable situation.

  Nameless, I owed a debt. That debt was still unfulfilled and never paid. Penn, I owed thanks for repeating history and saving me, but it didn’t wipe his behavior clean. If we were to have any chance at fixing this, I had to know the real him...not the many faces he hid behind.

  Nameless—I’d fallen for him in a lightning strike of adolescent stupidity. Penn—I’d fallen out of love with every lie he’d told.

  It looked as though the same had happened to him with me.

  We both had grudges.

  Perhaps, a third chance would fix everything that went wrong.

  “No idea. Probably early afternoon?” Steve said. “I think he has a final check up in the morning.”

  It’s now or never.

  I picked up my turquoise fountain pen, tapping it against my palm. “I want to see him.”

  “What?” Steve gripped the back of his neck. “I don’t think that’s wise.”

  “Too bad. I want to.”

  His face scrunched up. “Uh, okay. I’ll come with you and act as a mediator to ensure you’re safe.”

  “No. I want to be on my own.”

  “But—” His skin turned a sick pallor. “Elle, you have every right to hate him. I know you gave your statement this morning, which you have every right to do. But please...you’re better than he is. You’ve always been so much gentler and smarter than all of us.”

  His tone switched to begging. “I’m outraged with him and don’t know how to call him my son after what he did, but I’m begging you on our friendship, please don’t send him to jail.”

  A cold smile slipped over my face. “Do you honestly think I have any power over that? He has to answer for what he did.”

  His head hung. “I know. I just...shit, it kills me that it ended this way.”

  “It kills me that the man who came to my rescue is now in jail because of Greg’s statement.” I cocked my head. “Would you say that’s fair?”

  He gulped. “No. That’s not fair.”

  “If David had been the one to knock a little sense into Greg in order to save me, do you think he’d be rotting in prison right now with no bail?”

  He sighed heavily, air expelling from his body, knowing that whatever pleading he’d come to do had backfired. “No. He’d be justified.”

  “Exactly.”

  My hands curled as my temper worked through me thick and fast. “Greg has to pay for locking up an innocent man—not to mention answer for what he did to me.”

  Steve flinched. “As you have every right to do.”

  “You keep saying I have a right to do these things, yet your voice says otherwise.”

  He looked away, unable to keep eye contact. “It’s hard for me, Elle. I love you both. I hate everything about this. I hate Greg for what he did, but I still have the inherent need to protect him.”

  “Just like I have the need to protect Penn.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m going to talk to your son, Steve.” I leaned forward, my wrists aching from hovering my weight over my desk. “But like you just said, I’m better than he is. He’s a greedy little bastard who thought he could take from me. I won’t stoop to his level. I want Penn’s freedom, and Greg will give me what I want. He owes me, Steve. I’ll get what I want, one way or another, so if you can’t handle that, I can arrange human resources to give you a comfortable retirement package and sever our relationship right now.”

  He held up his hands. “No, I can keep this separate from work.” He lowered his voice. “I love your father almost as much as I love Greg. If Greg gets taken away from me, I need to have someone to support. Your father’s heart—I’ll watch over him.”

  I twitched a little at his audacity saying I couldn’t look after my own father, but I knew the bond the two older men shared. He wasn’t answerable to his son’s actions. I had to remember that just because blood made family, family didn’t necessarily share the blame.

  Penn didn’t share Larry or Stewie’s blood, but they were family, and they would stand by one another regardless.

  Just like I will.

  Tomorrow, I would give Greg a little visit.

  And just like I’d told Steve, I would get my way—one way or another.

  Chapter Twenty

  Penn

  TWO & A HALF YEARS AGO

  “YOU HAVE A visitor.”

  I looked up from where I was reading. The Department of Correction’s library had come a long way since the previous visits I’d enjoyed, but it still needed some TLC. The torn linoleum was ugly, and a lot of the books had missing pages from bastards not handling them with care. But at least, the government required certain books to be accessible to inmates.

  For the past six months on my third stint here, I’d read most of the heavy volumes on law, company structure, and other mind-numbing jargon. Most of the time, they put me to sleep, making me wonder why I fucking bothered.

  It wasn’t as if I’d ever get out and have the money to either trade the same companies I’d researched or somehow build a community out of nothing for the homeless kids I’d met along the way.

  But I never stopped reading because of that one chance in a million that somehow I’d win the lottery of life, and all of this would change.

  It sucked ‘cause a few months before I got locked up, I’d been introduced by accident to Gio’s younger brother, Stewie. We’d met one night behind a pizzeria that donated their end-of-night waste to alley kids.

  Gio and I didn’t get along—mainly thanks to his friendship with the fuckwit Sean who used me as his ‘get out of jail free’ card, but Stewie was too young to get caught up in their world.r />
  I had no idea how Sean and Gio became such idiotic friends. The son of a police captain and the orphaned, homeless kid. Just like most of us street rats, the young ones had no family to turn to.

  Gio had successfully hidden Stewie and provided for him through crime. Sean was looking for kicks, and encouraged it.

  I didn’t approve, but I did approve of the love between the brothers and almost wished I had a sibling to care for like he did.

  I liked Stewie. I enjoyed his juvenile naivety that life would get better.

  But then I cursed myself for wishing such a shitty existence on anyone—even if it would mean I wasn’t so damn lonely.

  “Did you hear me?” The officer kicked the leg of my rickety chair. “Visitor.”

  I closed the book on truth and justice and what the court of law was supposed to do and not how it’d failed me, and looked up. “I don’t have any visitors.”

  Any I wanted to see, anyway.

  Sean I definitely didn’t want to see. And Arnold Twig? Hell, fucking no. They were as bad as each other.

  “Too bad. You have one, and they’re not leaving.”

  I contemplated making a fuss, hitting this douche-bag over the head with the book to be reprimanded and not allowed visitors for a month. But I had eight years this time. I had nowhere else to be out there, but I was slowly fucking dying in here. I needed fresh air. I needed grass. I needed baseball fields and chocolate kisses with some girl who made my insides change owners and leap to belong to her.

  Fuck...that girl.

  She’d been a saving grace for me the past six months. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had something good to think about...but that kiss? Man, it warmed me on the nights I was coldest. The feel of her breast in my hand...wow, it gave me good dreams while I lived this fucking nightmare.

  The officer rapped the table with his fist then walked away, pulling the proverbial leash that his uniform dictated over my prison overalls.

  Reluctantly, I pushed the book away and followed.

  Sean would be sorry if he ever showed up here again. Rules or not. I’d punch his motherfucking face in and screw it if it cost me an extra few years.

  Punch Sean, and you’ll earn life.