by King, Deja
“Isn’t it true, Mrs. Morgan, that you gave Ms. Vasquez $10,000 to give you the room key to the penthouse suite Mr. Stone was staying in the night he was murdered?” you could hear loud gasps circulating the courtroom after Mr. Anderson hit Chantal with that question. “Isn’t it also true that you continued to pay her $6,000 a month after the murder so Ms. Vasquez wouldn’t go to the police and tell them that it was you; who murdered Sway Stone and shot your own daughter?” Between Mr. Anderson’s questions all I heard was objections from the prosecutor, Justina crying out for my attorney to leave her mother alone and the judge basically telling everybody to shut the fuck up but the ruckus continued until we were all silenced by Chantal’s words.
“It was all an accident. I would never hurt Justina. It was Precious and her spoiled brat of a daughter Aaliyah that were supposed to pay. Precious took the man that I loved away from me and Aaliyah was trying to do the same to Justina and I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“Your Honor, if possible can we have a break at this time?” the prosecutor requested right when Chantal’s testimony was getting good.
“Don’t interrupt me . . . I would like to continue,” Chantal stated in an eerie way. A craze glaze seemed to come over her as if she wasn’t quite herself.
“Your Honor, I believe the court would like to hear what Mrs. Morgan has to say,” my attorney said what all of us were thinking.
“I agree. Mrs. Morgan, continue.”
“It all started when I met Lorenzo and we fell in love.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Chantal was seeing Lorenzo too. I shook my head praying that what I thought was about to happen wouldn’t. I listened as Chantal continued. “We began seeing each other. We would meet twice a week sometimes more at the Mandarin. It was there I began talking to Jessica. At first it was casual but then it became much more frequent.”
“At what point did you ask Ms. Vasquez to give you a key to Sway Stone’s hotel room?” Mr. Anderson asked wanting to skip over the long version and get right to the point but Chantal wasn’t having it.
“If you want the truth then let me tell my story. This is so much bigger than Sway Stone.” Chantal’s defiant tone and shameless facial expression made her appear as if she was going over the edge. It made me reflect back to the story I had read a few years ago. She had tried to run over her ex fiancée with her car after he left her at the altar for that movie star Tyler Blake. For whatever reason she got off but clearly the crazy was still there.
“By all means continue,” Mr. Anderson said realizing it was counterproductive to try and reason with an irrational person.
“As I was saying I began somewhat of an unintentional friendship with Jessica because I was frequenting the hotel often. Then Lorenzo broke off our relationship and I found out he had been seeing Precious Mills.” My head dropped, as the one thing I was praying wouldn’t be revealed, had been.
“What in the hell is she talking about?” I heard my dad ask my mom. Even in a calm tone his anger made his voice loud.
“Supreme, this isn’t the time,” I heard my mother reply. Although I hated the fact she had an affair with Lorenzo I never wanted her to get busted like this.
“Everybody quiet,” the judge ordered banging his gavel. “If you can’t be quiet I will have you escorted out of my courtroom. Now continue Mrs. Morgan.”
“Lorenzo didn’t even tell me why he broke things off between us. It wasn’t until Jessica called me because Lorenzo came to the hotel with another woman and she thought I should know. I told her if they came in again to take a picture of the woman because I wanted to know who she was. I was stunned to find out it was Precious. I thought she was supposed to be happily married to Supreme. Then she shared a daughter with Nico who was in business with Lorenzo but I guess that didn’t matter. Like mother like daughter, if they see something they want they take it no matter who it might hurt. And when Justina called me hysterical about catching Aaliyah trying to seduce Amir I knew it was time to teach mother and daughter a lesson and at the same time win back Lorenzo,” Chantal smiled with that loco look plastered on her face.
“See during those months I was seeing Lorenzo he told me how much he despised Sway Stone because he was responsible for the death of Dior, the only woman he ever loved, that was until he met me. He said no matter what he had to do Sway would pay for Dior’s death. I thought it would be my gift to Lorenzo to kill Sway and a gift to myself to take away what Precious loved the most . . . her daughter.”
“So how did your daughter Justina end up shot?” Mr. Anderson asked. I guess he wasn’t interested in hearing Chantal’s soap opera story although everybody else in the courtroom seemed to be.
“Don’t rush me. I haven’t gotten to that part yet,” Chantal snapped, tossing her hair to the side. She then sat up extra straight and began fidgeting with the big ass diamond ring sitting on her wedding finger. I didn’t know what was going on with Chantal but the screws were definitely loose and we could all see it with our very own eyes. The woman was in the middle of having a nervous breakdown.
I could hear whimpering coming from behind me and I turned around and saw Justina with her head down leaning on her father’s shoulder. If I didn’t hate her so much I would’ve felt sorry for Justina.
“I’m not trying to rush you, Mrs. Morgan.”
“Then stop interrupting me. That entire night is still a little blurry for me. Jessica had informed me weeks prior that Sway Stone would be having a party at the hotel but it wasn’t until that day did I decide he would die and so would Aaliyah. Once I made up my mind I popped several pills, you know to calm my nerves. I already had the gun. All I needed was for Jessica to call me once Aaliyah arrived at the hotel.”
“Did Ms. Vasquez know you were coming to the hotel to murder Sway Stone and Aaliyah?”
“Of course not, nobody knew but me and honestly I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go through with it.”
“But you did go through with it?”
“It didn’t exactly work out. I mean Aaliyah is still alive,” Chantal said in a sinister voice as she eyed me. “But . . . ” There was a long pause and Chantal started rubbing her hands together and then she exhaled.
“But what, Mrs. Morgan?” Mr. Anderson questioned after an extended period of silence.
“I have nothing further to say. I’m exercising my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. So we’re done here.” Just like that out of the blue Chantal shut it down.
“I have no further questions for this witness,” Mr. Anderson said, walking back to the table.
“I have no questions for this witness,” the prosecutor added sounding as if all the life had been sucked out of her.
“Your Honor, based on the testimony of Mrs. Morgan I ask that all the charges be dismissed against my client.”
“Court is adjourned until two o’clock. I would like to see you both in my chambers . . . now,” the judge ordered.
“I’ll come speak with you as soon as I know something,” Mr. Anderson said before the officers escorted me out. I looked around and thought that there was a very good chance I could walk out of jail a free woman today but at what cost. The chaos had already ensued. My mother was chasing after my father but it seemed all he wanted to do was get out of the courtroom. Genesis was standing between Lorenzo and Nico who appeared to be ready for a twelve round boxing match. But the most bizarre part was as I turned the corner to leave I caught a glimpse of Chantal who had a menacing smile on her face. That bitch was truly crazy or she was the devil. Either way the damage was done and I knew this was just the beginning of the worse kind of nightmare erupting.
Precious
“Supreme wait . . . I can explain,” I said, grabbing his arm as he was trying to leave out the courtroom.
“Is what Chantal said true?” I waited for a few moments because I didn’t know how to answer Supreme’s question. I was fighting whether to tell the truth or lie. “Answer the question,” he insisted. It didn’t he
lp that Supreme was being so calm yet direct.
“Yes, but we were having so many problems. I was only . . . .”
“Save it,” Supreme said cutting me off. “I don’t need an explanation . . . you’re dead to me.”
“You don’t mean that.” The expression on Supreme’s face, after all the bullshit we’d been through he had never looked at me this way before. It was if he was looking through me like I no longer existed. “Supreme, please say something. We have to talk about this.” But my words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears because he said nothing else to me and instead walked out the courtroom doors.
I stood there frozen. For so many months I felt my marriage was over that Supreme and I were done but it wasn’t until this very moment that it hit me, I was still very much in love with my husband and to be without him was a reality I couldn’t face. My determination gave me the strength to move swiftly and go after Supreme. My once frozen body was now in motion as I headed in his direction.
“Not so fast.” My body jerked back from a strong force pulling at my shoulder.
“Nico, you need to calm down!” He pulled me so hard for a second it felt as if my shoulder had been dislocated.
“I need to calm down . . . no, Precious, you need to calm it the fuck down. What the hell were you thinking carrying on with Lorenzo!”
“Nico, we share a child together not a bed. The only person I owe an explanation to is my husband . . . the man you’re keeping me from right now. So excuse me I need to get to Supreme.”
“That man doesn’t want you. Supreme is done with you and I don’t blame him.” When what Nico said registered with me I thought I was about to choke to death. It felt as if somebody repeatedly kicked me in the stomach while punching me in the chest.
“How can you say something so cruel?”
“How? very easily. You’ve been fucking a man I do business with.”
“This isn’t about you. I didn’t set out to have sex with Lorenzo because I knew you all did business together . . . it just happened.”
“You’re a grown woman and you still haven’t learned any self-control. And you wonder why Aaliyah is in the fucked up predicament she is now. You’re her role model.”
“So now what happened to Aaliyah is my fault? What about that crazy bitch Chantal and her daughter who both clearly set Aaliyah up . . . what about them? None of this is their fault? You’re so pissed at me for sleeping with Lorenzo that you’re hitting way below the belt. But I’m not dealing with this shit from you right now.”
I hurried off not waiting to give Nico the last word. It didn’t matter because he said enough. That man doesn’t want you. Supreme is done with you and I don’t blame him. Those words kept replaying in my head. For a moment I thought I was going to run in a corner and vomit. I had to get some fresh air and headed outside to catch my breath.
“My poor sister, things aren’t going well for you today, are they.” As I stood on top of the stairs holding on to the rail my first thought was to kick Maya down them when she walked up on me talking that bullshit.
“Maya, this is not the time.”
“I know. Under the circumstances I’m sure you don’t want to talk to anybody. I mean Chantal called you out for the whore you are in open court. Supreme is finally done with you and Nico sees exactly what type of baby mama he has. On the bright side as least Aaliyah will be getting out of jail. But what is the poor girl coming home to, certainly not a mother and a father. That home is irretrievably broken. And poor Xavier, his daddy will end up marrying another woman, starting a family with her and forget all about his first-born son. You have truly fucked up now, Precious.”
“If we weren’t standing in front of a courthouse surrounded by police officers I would kill you right now. But that’s the beautiful thing about life; God willing there is always another day. So lucky for you Maya, you have one more day to live. But start counting the days down because the clock is ticking.”
“Is that my clock you hear ticking or is it yours,” Maya laughed before walking off. As much as I despised Maya I was glad she approached me because I needed a reminder as to why I couldn’t pity myself and get weak. I constantly had to watch my back, which meant there was no time for slipping. As I thought about what my next move would be I saw Genesis walking in my direction.
“Fuck, I’m not in the mood for another round of this bullshit,” I moaned. If Genesis wasn’t already staring directly in my eyes I would’ve tried to find a way to get ghost but I had no other choice but to deal with yet another confrontation.
“How are you?” I was expecting Geneis’s voice to have an attack tone to it but it didn’t. It actually sounded full of concern, which I welcomed.
“I’ve been better.”
“I’m sure. Listen, we have a couple hours before court resumes. How about we go have some lunch.”
“That sounds good.”
“Let’s go, I’ll drive.”
When Genesis and I got to the restaurant we sat at a table in the back. I was relieved it was practically empty. The tranquil environment put me at ease and at the moment that’s what I needed. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“Thanks for coming. I could tell by the look in your eyes when you first saw me, you weren’t interested in having a conversation.”
“It wasn’t that. I thought you were going to rip into me like Supreme and Nico. I didn’t feel like dealing with that.”
“I have no right to judge you, Precious. Every day I make choices that most people wouldn’t agree with. But it’s what I choose to do and I’m willing to accept whatever consequences come with it. Although you have that same right, I don’t believe you thought about the consequences before you acted.” I glanced out the window while taking a sip of my wine pondering what Genesis said.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done but this isn’t all on me. Our marriage has been shaky for some time now. Supreme seemed to have checked out a long time ago. I really believed our marriage was over but I wasn’t ready to give up. Especially when everything happened with Aaliyah, I wanted to fight for my family. I do love Supreme but the thing is I love Lorenzo too.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“Why?”
“Because that makes everything much more complicated.”
“I thought once we got Aaliyah exonerated we could be a family again and get our lives back to normal. Who knew clearing her name would destroy any chance of that,” I said, shaking my head. “All because of Chantal’s crazy ass. It’s wasn’t enough she set my daughter up but she needed to take me down with her.”
“I was certain that Aaliyah didn’t kill anybody but never in a million years did I think Chantal was the real killer.”
“And all because of her sick obsession with Lorenzo. Did you know they were seeing each other?”
“No I didn’t. But Lorenzo is very private when it comes to his personal life. I believe the only reason he spoke to me about you was because the relationship got serious and he had his reservations because of the Nico factor.”
“Nico,” I sighed, reflecting on the harsh words we exchanged. “Nico seems to believe that he deserves an explanation. Supreme is my husband and Nico is the father of my oldest child. Yes, because of our history I’ll always have love for Nico and respect him for being Aaliyah’s dad but he tried to crucify me today.”
“I’ve known Nico for a very long time now. We’re not only business partners but also he’s one of my closest friends and I believe he always thought you all would get back together someday. It’s easier for him to accept you’re married to Supreme and a certain loyalty comes with that but to find out about Lorenzo, it crushed him. I knew it would and that’s why I never told him about it.”
“That had to be difficult for you. I mean I know you’re close to both of them.”
“It is. Lorenzo is a good man. Like myself, he’s been dealt a lot of tough blows in life but he soldiers throu
gh them. To be honest with you, Precious, I was hoping it would be nothing more than a fling between the two of you and both of you would move on, that way nobody would get hurt. But this is a nightmare come true. No matter what happens between you and Lorenzo the damage is done.”
“I know,” I admitted putting my head down. “The only thing that makes it worth it is that my baby is coming home. If it took Chantal airing out my dirty deeds to set Aaliyah free then so be it.”
“True indeed. I hate what happened to Aaliyah. You’re going to have to be patient with her, Precious. After spending all those months in jail I hope you realize that she’ll never be the same again.”
“What do you mean?”
“I spent the majority of my teenage years locked up in a juvenile facility and it stole my innocence. Aaliyah has been in prison for months for a crime she didn’t commit surrounded by real criminals. That would harden anybody.”
“You’re so right and every time I think about that all this anger that’s built up inside of me just wants to explode. All I want to know is at what point did Chantal and Justina begin conspiring together. I believe they both belong in jail.”
“And they could both very well end up there although I’m sure T-Roc will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“After that show Chantal put on in the courtroom T-Roc should handcuff her himself and personally deliver her to the women’s prison facility.”
“T-Roc and I go way back and I know how he moves. Trust me, he’s already been on the phone with the best criminal attorney in the state of New York who’s advising him on what to do next.”
“Chantal admitted to shooting Sway Stone and her own daughter because in her sick mind she wanted to prove her love for Lorenzo and punish me. Why would T-Roc waste a dime trying to get her off?”
“In a nutshell . . . ego. Chantal has embarrassed him enough. T-Roc is not going to allow it to continue.”
“If T-Roc knows what is good for him, he’ll make sure Chantal goes to jail and stays there. Because if he gets that nutcase off I’m putting her on the same list Maya is on.”