by Lilly Atlas
Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he could hear the prosecutor congratulating the Epleys. He couldn’t risk turning around. One look at Brandon’s self-satisfied face and he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself.
Judge Morrison’s expression was a blank mask, no indication of the reason he had screwed Adam and his father over.
Dread overtook Adam, and he turned around, meeting his father’s cold stare. A tiny, almost imperceptible smirk lifted one corner of the man’s mouth, and Adam knew. This was his father’s plan all along.
Two police officers crossed the courtroom and secured Derek’s hands behind his back. Adam stood by in stunned and helpless silence as though viewing a horror movie in slow motion. His limbs weighed a hundred pounds and his tongue filled his mouth, cutting off the ability to speak.
Derek was gone in seconds, dragged out of the courtroom by the grim-faced officers. His mother’s soul-wrenching sobs cut like a knife into Adam’s heart.
He’d done this. He’d promised his friend they’d be exonerated. That his family would take care of him. And here Adam stood, free as a bird, while Derek, who trusted him, was being hauled off to jail. His life was over. No Marine Corps, no time with his family, no future.
He turned his attention away from the door Derek had disappeared through, in time to see Derek’s mom being ushered out of the courtroom by her sister. Her deep sorrow would haunt Adam for years to come, if not forever.
“I’m sorry, Adam.” His attorney patted him on the shoulder.
Adam didn’t bother to turn around. The scumbag didn’t sound sorry at all. Hell, he was probably in on the scheme from its inception.
In the blink of an eye, the courtroom emptied and Adam found himself alone, staring at nothing.
A throat cleared behind him and he whirled around. His father, no, Reginald—he’d never call the man father again—lingered just three feet away, his eyes alight with triumph. Adam curled his fists against the urge to wrap his hands around the man’s throat.
“Why?” he asked, his voice raw with grief.
“Because he’s beneath you, he’s beneath us.” Reginald punctuated his point by pointing toward the door Derek left through each time he said the word he. “I’ve always told you that. For the past five years, I let him distract you from your responsibilities, from your family obligations. You’re not a child anymore, Adam. Time for silly games with trailer-trash is over. You will assume your position in the family company as I’ve planned your whole life.”
From the doorway of the courtroom, Adam’s grandmother gasped. She gaped at her son with eyes full of disbelief and horror. Adam loved her and her rebel-spirit above anyone else in his screwed-up family. She bought him his first motorcycle and allowed him to keep it hidden at her house. She stuck a condom in the back pocket of his jeans on more than one Friday night. She encouraged Adam to pursue a degree in computer science rather than join the family empire. Reginald had no idea Adam accepted an admission to Harvard for computer science.
He wouldn’t be joining the family company for anything in the world.
“Fuck you and your hotels. Do you have any idea what you’ve done here today?” Venom dripped from Adam’s words.
Reginald just smiled. “I’ll give you a few days to get over your tantrum, but I expect to see you in the office on Monday. School’s out. Time for your real education.” He turned and left the room, walking past his mother as though she wasn’t there.
Impenetrable steel doors slammed down around Adam’s heart, locking his emotions so tight, he was surprised his grandmother couldn’t hear them as they landed. Never again would anyone have the power to betray him as his father just had. Never again would another human being possess his full trust. Adam Wellington was dead. From this day forward, he wouldn’t answer to that name again.
He’d be Acer from now on. And Acer had no father.
About the Author
Lilly Atlas is an award winning contemporary romance author, proud Navy wife, and mother of three spunky girls. For years, Lilly has been daydreaming and plotting characters in her head while driving, showering, and sometimes when she was supposed to be paying attention to something else. She finally decided to get the ideas out of her head and into books.
Every time Lilly downloads a new ebook she expects her Kindle App to tell her it’s exhausted and overworked. She’s been waiting for the pop up asking to please give it some rest. Thankfully that hasn’t happened yet, so she can often be found absorbed in a new book.