Falcon leaned in. “Then you withheld the fact, when you knew that we had nothing to do with her rape. You said nothing. You let this entire facility and everyone in it almost lose their jobs and careers to hold onto your lie. And how much did they pay you?”
“Was it thirty pieces of silver?” Hiram asked.
“You’re not Christ.”
“I’m not Satan either,” Hiram shot back. “But guess where I’d like to see you burn on Friday.”
“You didn’t give a damn about us,” Christopher said and the vein throbbing at his temple showed how angry he was. “So now we’re supposed to care about you?”
“That rape could’ve resulted in her death,” Ryan said. “Detectives turning all of our lives and every single one of us inside out because you lied, and you got other people to go along with that lie. Shows who the real criminals are. And you were going to let one of the men take the fall for it. All for you to please a man who is using you. So, don’t try to play on our emotions, sister.”
Hiram claimed a seat at the head of the table. “Hope that money keeps you warm at night, because the minute Curtis found out you had to testify against him to save your own neck, he was riding out for the next victim. You don’t matter to him, money does.”
“You might get another job,” Falcon said. “But it won’t be in this field, and it certainly won’t be like this.”
“Second chances,” Hiram whispered, shaking his head. “You had that along with the rest of us. So, don’t be going around saying that we did you wrong. Own up to your shit.”
Jai waved her toward the door. “Security is going to see you out.”
“No sir,” Falcon said and he nodded to the rest of the Knights. “We’ll escort them all out on this walk of shame. They did this on our watch, so we’ve got this.”
CHAPTER 37
Temple, Jai, Curtis, Sharon, and their respective counsels had been in the judge’s chambers for nearly an hour. The air-conditioned room was gloomy from the wooden panels and the dark décor.
Pat Breedlaw, the judge who had landed the case on the first day she’d moved from housing court back to family court, had a weary expression that spoke to the fact that maybe she should’ve stayed in the area of law that had a lot less drama.
Curtis and his lawyer, Travisa McGlothin, had used every device at their disposal to keep things dragging in an effort to force Jai to shell out the cash they wanted to “make this all go away”.
Shaz’s lawyer friend, Maya Gervais, managed to have the case brought before an Illinois Judge only because the Iowa judge caved after the media became aware of the case. The judiciary regulators had paid close attention to the Iowa attorney’s attempt to stall, and not for the purposes of resolution. So, after a little pressure from up top, he granted a change in venue, stating that because the child and mother resided in Illinois, that was where the case should be heard.
“About damn time,” Jai muttered to himself when that ruling came down.
Grumbles and threats from the Burnside attorney about greasing the wrong palms, fell on angry ears and the Iowa judge said, “You tried it. You failed. Back to Illinois with the lot of you.”
Both sides presented arguments for and against allowing Curtis— who was well on his way to becoming a popular visitor of the Illinois penal system—to force Temple to bring India for visits to a prison that was a four-hour drive in each direction.
Now her mother’s efforts and his at trying to get Temple to marry him so quickly became clear. Neither of them realized that her testimony wasn’t needed for the state to move forward with the case. The timing of her pregnancy brought lack of consent to the table, and served up other avenues for the prosecutor to levy for a long-term sentence.
“Even now. Even after what you did to me, and the fact that you’re going to see the inside of somebody’s jail, you still want me to pay,” Temple yelled, and Maya tried to grip her hand to calm her down. “You don’t want our child,” she said in a calmer tone, grabbing Jai’s hand and looking into his eyes.
“Our?” Curtis folded both arms over his chest like a petulant toddler and sent Jai a glare. “It’s my child, too. And I have rights.”
“Not in Illinois,” Judge Breedlaw said in a matter-of-fact tone that brought Curtis’ attorney to her feet.
“But he still has to be convicted before his rights are terminated,” Attorney McGlothin said with a haughty lift of her chin and a slight smirk on her round face.
The woman was getting paid from Sharon’s pockets because she was certain that keeping up this legal action was going to result in a big payday at some point.
Jai was all for giving up the cash to keep his wife from having to go through all the madness.
Temple Maharaj was not having it, and Jai resigned himself to the knowledge that their life would be in turmoil until the judge tired of it, or the criminal case ended and whipped Curtis off to the place that would be his residence for the next twenty-five years and possibly more since public outrage was weighing heavy on the outcome.
“How do you even sleep at night?” Temple snarled at attorney McGlothin, ignoring Jai’s attempt to keep her silent. “This man sexually assaulted me while I was in a coma. No way in hell could I have asked for that. And you—a woman—decide to represent him. What kind of vacation is your conscience on right now?”
“Damn,” Shaz whispered and Maya Gervais nudged him into silence.
Jai nodded, because he had also wondered the same. “Let’s just cut the bullshit,” he said, then altered his tone when he added, “Sorry, Judge.”
“No offense taken,” she said.
“You want money. That’s the bottom line, and has been all this time,” he said. “How much will it take?”
Curtis shifted his gaze to Temple. “How much is still in that trust fund of yours?”
She shook her head and scoffed. “I was so right about you.”
“No.” Shaz’s harsh word cut through the negotiation.
Attorney McGlothin stood and faced Shaz, who had been included as an advisor on the proceedings from day one. “What?”
“No,” Shaz repeated. “I agree with Temple. You don’t get to profit from your ugly deed.”
Curtis sighed, then a sly smile graced his lips. “Then it looks like we will be tied up in court for a while.” His gaze locked on Temple. “You’ll never be rid of me.” An evil light shone in his eyes and he taunted Jai with, “Don’t forget, I hit it first.”
“Don’t forget she couldn’t tell.” Jai’s stinging rejoinder made Curtis flinch.
Temple gasped, then narrowed her gaze on Curtis. Seconds later, she gave a scornful laugh. “He’s right. I’m sure if there was an orgasm involved, it might’ve brought me back to life.” She stood, facing Curtis head on. “Even comatose, a woman can tell when a man’s six inches short of giving her any kind of pleasure.” She paused, as if racking her brain. “Yes, I do remember that. Three grunts and straight to the finish line. Long on intention, short on delivery. Thank God I married a man who totally makes up for what you’ll always lack.”
Those words yanked every sound from the room. All heads turned in Temple’s direction.
Maya coughed and averted her gaze.
Judge Breedlaw parted her lips to speak, then clamped down.
Shaz nearly slid from his seat.
Jai almost joined him.
Curtis’ pale skin turned dark.
Sharon Liscell blinked twice and clutched at her chest as though a heart attack was coming on.
The judge cleared her throat, but didn’t say anything to rein Temple in, or keep the court reporter from recording every word. This, Temple having her say, was long overdue.
“You took something from me because you were unwilling to wait until it became a special thing for me,” Temple said, brushing off Jai as he tried to make her sit. “Always what you wanted. Your needs came first, which was why I put off marrying you in the first place. I never wanted to marry you.” S
he flickered a gaze to Sharon. “Then you somehow hooked up with my mother. Her hatred of me and your need to take what you wanted made you do something vile. Greed. Straight-up greed. So y’all just planned for me to have this baby, die during the process, use her to invoke that beneficiary clause in the trust, and then just run through that money, huh?” She flicked her wrist in Curtis’ direction. “Well, good luck with that. You gets nada. Zilch. Zero. Not a damn thing.”
Jai moved in, prepared to intervene when Curtis rose to his feet, but Temple held up her hand to hold off Jai’s protest. “It’s not about the money. We’ve got plenty of that. It’s the principle of what you did; the principle of what she did when I was a little girl. And then what you’re still trying to do—screw me over.”
Temple then recounted the experiences that night in Virginia and the actions her mother and stepfather had taken that caused her brother and sister to do whatever it took to get her to safety. When she was done, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Well, except Sharon who had to be told by the judge to be silent several times. And Curtis, who was a narcissist of the highest order.
Taking a deep breath, Temple nodded in Shaz’s direction. “I’m with my brother-in-law on this one. They don’t deserve to profit off my pain. He’s going to jail at some point, and my mother will be in charge of that money. They both can take a ringside seat right next to Satan himself.” She looked at Judge Breedlaw and said, “I know you wanted to see where we were at with this, but today will not be that day. It’ll settle itself when he’s in jail and you finally get tired of this case being dragged and come to the same conclusion—he gets nothing. And I get my daughter without any entanglements from him.”
Temple faced Jai, her face still set in stubborn lines, and he was proud of her stance although he wanted to wave a financial magic wand and make it all better. This was in Temple’s control, and all he could say was, “I support whatever you feel you need to do.”
“Thank you,” she whispered into the wall of his chest. “That means the world to me.”
Judge Breedlaw said, “Settle down everyone. Mr. and Mrs. Maharaj, please take your seats. I’ve read arguments, listened to both sides, read up on cases that are similar, and what both counsels don’t realize is that I can basically issue a bench ruling and be done.”
Curtis and his attorney stood, panicked as she said, “But you can’t do that. At least not until—”
The judged arched her brows in outrage. “Can’t I?”
“Well, well …” his attorney sputtered, then slumped into her seat and Curtis tried to ask a question but Judge Breedlaw shut him down. “My ruling is going to be simple,” she said. “Contrary to the argument you submitted, I don’t have to wait for a conviction when the evidence has been supplied by the district attorney for decision-making purposes, but even more telling is his little admission in my office today.”
“Admission?” Curtis shot back. “I didn’t admit to anything.”
“I hit it first,” Judge Breedlaw said. “You weren’t talking about a smack on her bottom. You ego just helped you admit that you sexually assaulted and feel pretty good about it.”
“Your honor, we can appeal if—”
“You can try,” she said, her expression darkening. “But, my ruling is … you don’t get a dime and Temple Devaughn Maharaj and Jaidev Maharaj have sole custody of this child.”
“But—”
The judge held up her gavel and pointed it at Curtis, who promptly plopped down so hard he almost slid out of the chair and onto the carpet. “I’ll have my clerk write the order and I’ll sign it.”
Sharon Liscell stood and said, “This is an outrage!”
Judge Breedlaw put a stony gaze on Sharon. “You know, thanks to the agreed motion that was put in that I could hear all matters related to Ms. Devaughn and Mr. Burnside, I think I need to right another injustice. Sit down.”
Sharon complied and put a frightened glance on Curtis, who looked ready to shit a brick.
“His bail was set at three million and the judge required one million be put up, right?”
Curtis nodded, then looked to his attorney who shrugged.
“One million,” Judge Breedlaw mused. “And you were the one to put that money up to bail him out,” she said to Sharon.
Sharon grimaced, lifted her chin and said, “Yes, I gave the court everything I had.”
“Hmmmm,” the judge said and shifted in her chair. “Well, when he fulfills the terms of the bail, that money is supposed to be returned to you, right?”
“Yes, every penny,” Sharon whispered, lifting her chin.
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” Judge Breedlaw said, and Jai reached out to steady Temple’s hands. “That money is going to Temple Devaughn.”
Sharon was on her feet. “You can’t do that!”
“I certainly can.”
“I don’t want a dime of his money,” Temple said through her teeth.
“Technically, it’s your money,” Shaz said and Jai nodded as he took a quick look at his vibrating phone. “They ran through all of yours while you were at Chetan.”
“Oh, well,” Temple conceded when Maya Gervais also agreed. “When you put it that way. It’s been sitting in the court’s bank account and should be pretty clean by now.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Carry on.”
Judge Breedlaw put her focus on Sharon once again. “There is no statute of limitations on getting justice for what you did to her when she was a child, but I can do whatever I can to right that wrong as best I know how. I’m contacting the authorities in Virginia. It might not be much, but this will be fully investigated since this crime has been brought to my attention.”
“So now you’re going after my husband and my money! You’re taking away everything I have,” Sharon cried.
“You took away my innocence, so we’re even,” Temple shot back.
The moment Sharon, Curtis, and his attorney, stood and gathered their things, Temple dissolved into a fit of relieved tears and was met with the comfort of Jai’s broad chest, and Shaz’s arms about her as well.
Jai checked his phone again and the judge said, “Now, Mr. Maharaj, you remember what I said about phones in my courtroom, I—”
“Your Honor,” Jai said, passing his phone to the judge so she could check the screen. “That right there is information that Alejandro Reyes and my employees uncovered and sent to the police.”
“What does this mean?” Judge Breedlaw asked and passed the cell back to Jai.
“Curtis Burnside was driving the dark blue car that caused Temple’s accident.”
Temple’s sharp intake of breath eclipsed all other sounds in the room.
“He didn’t even have the intelligence to get rid of it. It’s been stashed on the lower level of her parking garage all this time that the police were searching for it.” Jai graced Curtis with a smile. “The police are now about to add attempted murder to his plate.”
Shaz and Jai were out of their seats the moment Curtis ran for the door. They blocked his exit as Judge Breedlaw picked up her desk phone and called for the sheriff to come and detain him.
Temple rushed into Jai’s arms, and he locked eyes with the judge over Temple’s shoulder, let out a relieved breath and said, “Thank you.”
EPILOGUE
One year later, Jaidev guided the salt-and-pepper haired man into the university’s classroom.
Grant waited, with India squirming in his arms trying to get to Daron, who plucked her from his hold.
The man froze at the top of the landing when he saw the image on the screen behind Temple Maharaj, whose back was turned to the class. The image was one that had been printed as the cover of The Miracle Woman, which was an inspiring memoir and life lessons she had written to tell of her troubled childhood and the triumphs she had experienced over the past year.
“My real name is Siobhan Liscell, but after several tragic events in my life I had to take the name Temple Devaughn.” She paced in front
of the screen. “I chose the name because the first verse that I found comfort in was from Psalms.” She inhaled, reciting from memory. “Do you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.”
She paused, allowing the words to echo around the room. Then she gestured to the screen and said, “This particular painting has been my guiding light and the one that has made the artist famous. But it has a personal meaning for me.”
Her gaze lingered on the imagery for a moment before she inhaled and faced the class, reading from an unpublished article that Daron had been able to uncover on the web. The piece had been archived somewhere from material that had not been officially published.
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