by Aaron, Celia
When I finished, and Mr. Rousseau’s excuses finally died out, I turned to the judge. “The State rests, Your Honor, but we would move for a judgment of guilt as a matter of law, given Mr. Rousseau’s own testimony here today.”
“Mr. Rousseau, you may step down.” Judge Montagnet looked to Mr. Rousseau’s counsel table. “You have anything to say about that?”
The mediocre attorney stood and bumbled with his file. “I, uh, I object and move for a judgment of acquittal.”
“Both motions denied. I’ll let the jury have it.” He peered at his wrist watch.
“It’s quarter to four, Judge.”
“Thank you, Counsellor Vinemont.” He shook his head. “These old eyes can’t quite see how they used to. I’ll go ahead and charge the jury and let them begin deliberations.”
I strode to my table, giving Stella a long look as I walked. She tried to school her features, but it didn’t work. Venom, rage, and pain were writ large across her pale face. I savored every bit of emotion that skittered off her like sparks.
The judge instructed the jury concerning the elements of each charge and how they should go about making their decision. Then he sent them to deliberate. As soon as the last juror left the room, Stella rushed through the swinging wooden door and hugged her father. Dylan followed and put his meaty hand on Stella’s back.
I sized him up again. He was big, but I’d killed bigger with nothing more than my bare hands. The way he touched her set something off inside me. I didn’t know what. It was as if a slimy eel swirled in my stomach. It mixed with the one feeling I could recognize with ease—hatred.
“Come on, Dad. Let’s get some air.”
I smiled. “Yes, take him outside while you still can. He won’t be a free man for much longer.” The elderly people seated behind me mumbled and grunted in agreement.
Stella whirled and took a step toward me. Her fine hands were fisted, and I could sense how badly she wanted to hurt me. My cold blood heated a degree or two, and a flash of me yanking up her skirt and bending her over the counsel table went straight to my cock.
Taking a deep breath, she un-balled her fists and stretched her paint-stained fingers out straight. She must have thought better of going toe-to-toe with me. Too bad. She turned and took her father’s elbow. Dylan sneered as he walked past, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of even looking in his direction.
I kept the image of Stella in my mind, relishing the way her hate kept me warm.
The jury returned in less than an hour.
They filed in one by one, and the foreman handed the judge their verdict. The jurors wouldn’t meet Mr. Rousseau’s eyes. Their verdict couldn’t have been more obvious.
“All rise.” The bailiff’s voice brought the courtroom to its feet as Judge Montagnet skimmed down the verdict form, his mouth moving with silent words.
“I think everything is in order here.” The judge handed the verdict form back to the foreman, who returned to the jury box. “Has the jury reached a verdict?”
“We have, Your Honor,” the foreman responded.
“Please read it aloud.”
The foreman cleared his throat and shot a quick look to Mr. Rousseau. “We, the jury, find Leon Rousseau guilty on all counts.”
Sighs and murmurs of approval erupted from the gallery. Mr. Rousseau sank into his chair, and Stella rushed up and put her hand on his shoulder.
“Daddy, it’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.” Her fervent whisper was a lie. I would make sure of that.
“Would you like me to poll the jury?” Judge Montagnet asked.
“Not for the State, Your Honor.” I buttoned my suit jacket and stepped around the counsel table.
“Defense?”
“No, Your Honor.”
He turned to the jury. “In that case, you all are free to go. Thank you for your service.” Judge Montagnet banged his gavel, and the crowd at my back grew loud with chatter.
The jurors filed out of the box. I shook each one’s hand as they passed and assured them they’d done the right thing. They smiled and nodded, because I was telling them exactly what they wanted to hear.
Once I’d shaken all their hands, I walked into the gallery and received pats on the back and ‘bless you’s’ from the teary victims. I figured I’d have to burn this suit after all the touching. These people disgusted me only slightly less than Mr. Rousseau, but I slapped on what I knew was a pleasant smile and accepted their congratulations and grimy thanks.
The victims eventually cleared out of the gallery and headed toward the courthouse elevator. The room emptied until only the defendant, Stella, Dylan, and I remained.
Stella hadn’t shed a tear even as her father turned into a blubbering mess. Dylan tried to comfort him with nonsense like ‘appeal’ and ‘they can’t do this’. Mr. Rousseau would be long dead before his appeal was ever heard.
I should have left. Then again, I’d never been one to pass up a final twist of the knife. I walked around the table to face all three of them.
“I’ll have Judge Montagnet bump your sentencing up to next week. That way you can start serving your time as soon as possible. It’ll give you a better chance of getting out before you die. Though, sorry to say, that is still quite unlikely.”
Mr. Rousseau’s blubbering increased.
“Do you lack even a shred of decency?” Stella’s accusation missed the mark, given I had quite a bit more decency than anyone on her side of the table.
“I was only trying to be helpful.” I smirked.
She straightened her back, the dark gray of her skirt suit giving her eyes a steely quality. “You’re a bully. A menace parading as a saint. I see right through you.”
“As you keep telling me. But, I don’t think the jury had the same vision.”
“Sin?” Judge Montagnet called through the door to his chambers.
Stella’s mouth compressed into a thin line, and Dylan edged closer to her.
“Coming, Judge,” I called. “I’ll see you all next week. Don’t be late, Mr. Rousseau. You’re still out on bond for now. Just keep in mind that I’ll have Sheriff Wood drag you up here if I have to.” I gave Stella a congenial smile and turned on my heel, walking straight back to the judge’s chambers.
“I see you.” Her voice wafted to my ears as the door swung closed behind me.
Chapter 6
“Can I come?” Teddy plopped down on my bed.
I smoothed my button-down shirt, though it had already been ironed to crisp perfection. “No.”
“Why not?” He tossed a baseball in the air and caught it. Tossed it again, missed it, and it hit himself in the nose.
I laughed as he cursed and rolled back and forth on my bed. “Good one, Ted.”
If there was one bright spot in my dark existence, it was my youngest brother. Somehow, my fucked up family hadn’t managed to erase whatever spark he kept inside. Did I ever have a spark?
“Shut up.” He pinched his nose and winced, his voice coming out as a nasal whine. “Why can’t I go?”
“Because you weren’t invited. Besides, it’s at Cal’s house.”
He grimaced. “Never mind. I’m glad I wasn’t invited.”
“Was I invited?” Lucius strode in and took the ball from Teddy.
“That’s mine.”
“Not anymore.” Lucius threw it up and caught it right above Teddy’s crotch.
“Not cool, man.” Teddy scowled.
“No, what wouldn’t have been cool is if I hadn’t caught it.”
“You two are dicks. I’m going to my room.” Teddy stood and gingerly touched his nose.
“You’re still pretty. Get over it.” Lucius took Teddy’s spot on my bed.
“I’ll see you when I get back, Ted. Okay?” I smiled at him in the mirror. I couldn’t tell if I was faking it or not.
He returned it, so perhaps it had been genuine after all. “Yeah. See you later.”
“Don’t worry, little bro.” Lucius grinned. “I’ll
be here to take care of you, wipe your ass, rub on the baby lotion, hold your dick when you piss—all that.” Teddy flipped him off and walked down the hall.
“You shouldn’t taunt him so much.” I threaded my tie around my neck and began to knot it.
“He needs to toughen up if he wants to hang with us.”
“I hope that he won’t have to hang with us. Medical school will get him out of here. Away from all this, from us.”
“What’s so bad about us?” He tossed the ball up and caught it again.
“He isn’t…” My fingers hesitated on my tie. “He doesn’t deserve this life.”
Lucius shrugged. “I think you’re underestimating him.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.” I finished my tie and checked it. The knot was perfect, the deep blue of the tie setting off the lighter hue of my shirt. “I want him to stay the way he is. I don’t want him to turn into…”
“You?” Lucius finished for me.
I cocked my head at him in the mirror. “There are worse things he could be. You, for instance.”
“He should be so lucky.”
I’d showered and shaved. My dark hair was smoothed down. Nothing was out of place. Perfection was my favorite form of control.
“You think he’ll ever man up and get inked?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter either way. He’s a Vinemont with or without the crest on his skin.”
“I think he will. All the girls in Baton Rouge will be on his dick if he shows up with the vines on his arms.”
I plucked my cuff links from the small box on top of my dresser. “Maybe.”
“Fuck, no ‘maybe’ about it. Chicks love tats. I wouldn’t mind trolling sorority row myself. Get some fresh pussy.”
“They might be interested in him, but I’ve noticed him giving the new cook more than a few looks.”
“You going to let him hit that?”
“No.” I raised an eyebrow at him in the mirror as he continued tossing the baseball. “You know that sort of fraternization isn’t allowed. She’s a peasant. He’s a Vinemont.”
“But, come on, you’ve fucked chicks who aren’t top stock.”
Once my sleeves were perfected, I slid my arms into the jacket. “Not ones who are servants in my house. No.”
“I don’t think it would be so terrible if he got his dick wet with her. That’s all I’m saying.”
“You’d be wrong, as usual.” I chose a pair of black oxfords and laced them while pondering what was in store for me at Cal’s house.
An invitation to the Oakman Estate wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Cal Oakman, as Sovereign, controlled too much, had too many allies, and had grown more dangerous each year of his reign. I didn’t know what the party was for, but I was certain it couldn’t be a good thing. Over the past ten years, he’d left the Vinemonts alone most of the time, only sending word when he decided to increase his cut of our family’s sugar business.
We were living quietly under his thumb until a week ago when his invitation arrived, the wax seal imprinted with the all-too-familiar oak. Dread had spread across my mind as I’d opened the letter. A dinner at Cal Oakman’s house on the eve of the Acquisition trials—nothing good could come of it. I straightened and turned to leave my room.
“You sure I can’t come?”
“I’m sure.”
Lucius followed me into the hall and down the front stairs. “You have any idea what he wants?”
“The same thing he always wants. Too much.”
“Do you think…” Lucius hesitated on the bottom step as Farns, our butler, opened the front door for me.
I stopped and let Lucius ask. The same question had been haunting me from the moment the invitation arrived.
“Do you think it’ll be us this year?” The anticipation in his voice told me he was thinking about it like a business arrangement. Being chosen could lead to wealth and, obviously, position. But there was another side—a much darker side—to it all. One he didn’t know about.
“I’m about to find out.” I squared my shoulders and walked out into the night.
Chapter 7
About twenty cars lined the drive to the overdone Oakman estate. Modelled on Versailles, but even gaudier, it dominated the acres of perfectly-mowed lawn surrounding it. The windows sparkled into the gloom, and a handful of guests climbed the stairs to the front entrance.
Luke, my driver, pulled to the front. The valet opened my door, and I stepped out into the muggy southern heat. I made quick work of the stairs and entered the sprawling chateau. Crystal chandeliers hung in a line down the main hallway as party guests broke into cliques.
“Sinclair, my man!” Cal strode up and shook my hand. “Welcome, welcome. So glad you could make it.”
As if I had any choice in the matter. Turning down an invitation from the Sovereign would result in a myriad of consequences that I didn’t even want to contemplate.
“Thanks for having me.” I smiled at him as a tall, willowy redhead in a light blue dress walked up and linked her arm in his.
“Gretchen, my love, where have you been?” Cal slid his hand down to her ass.
She winced.
“Still sore from our earlier fun, sweetheart?” He slapped her ass and she bit her lip, wetness brimming in her glassy eyes. “That’s what I like to see.” He watched as a tear rolled down her overpainted cheek. “Sin, head on down to the dining room. We’re about to start.”
“Sounds good.” I turned and heard another slap coupled with a pained squeal. Cal had always been a sadist. The redhead didn’t realize it, but she was getting off easy. He was capable of much, much worse.
Another slap and another cry followed me down the long hallway. I smiled whenever it seemed appropriate and shook hands with other party guests.
“They invited the Vinemonts? And here I was thinking this was going to be a classy affair.” Red Witherington scowled at me from his group of chuckling friends.
“Sad to see that the beating I gave you last spring didn’t temper your bad manners any.” I smirked as his face fell. “But I’m always up to try again.”
“You’re lucky we’re at Cal’s place.” He stepped toward me. “Anywhere else, I’d take you the fuck out.”
I laughed. “You’ve always been such an entertainer. I’ll tell your sister about this little show tonight once she’s done calling me daddy. She’s a real screamer. Did you know—”
“Fucking prick!” He lunged at me, but one of his friends held him back. Lucky for Red.
I remained still, even as he tried to surge forward and attack. “See you at dinner, Red. I hope you’ll be on your best behavior in front of the Sovereign.”
“Motherfucker!”
“Maybe after your sister, sure.” I strode past him as his friends tried to talk him down.
I was more than happy to step outside and beat Red unconscious, but I had more pressing matters. Returning greetings, I continued down the hall.
Only select families of the Louisiana elite were in attendance, though I couldn’t tell what the significance of the guest list was. There were other sugar producers, yes, but also bankers, politicians, jewelers, textile manufacturers, and a host of others.
Even without any hints from the assemblage, the timing couldn’t be missed. We were only a week away from the start of the Acquisition. The rumor was that Cal had already chosen and met with the competitors. Perhaps this was simply a party to congratulate them. The unease in the pit of my stomach said otherwise.
My discomfort grew with each step toward the dining room. A few guests were already inside, chatting among themselves.
“Sin.” Sophia glided over, her silvery dress shimmering in the light. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Where’s Lucius?”
I smiled down into her dark eyes. “He wasn’t invited. Besides, am I not enough?”
She let her eyes travel down my body and then back up. “You’re more than enough. I haven’t seen you for a while, thou
gh. How’s the public servant routine going?”
“Fine. I have to deal with the rabble far too much for my tastes, but I’ll live. How about in-house counsel work? Still enjoying it?”
She wrinkled her perfect nose. “I would hate to have to deal with the lower classes on a daily basis. I don’t know how you manage it.” She flipped her smooth dark hair over her bare shoulder, the skin smooth and tan. “In-house work is much more enjoyable, though time consuming. I still manage to travel quite a—”
Cal’s voice boomed down the hall. “Let’s get started, everyone.”
“I’ll see you around.” She gave me a silky smile before retreating toward the other end of the table.
I chose a seat near the far end, the better to observe Cal and the other guests. He walked in, his chest puffed out and his arms spread wide. “Welcome, welcome. Take your seats.” Striding to the head of the table, he motioned for everyone to sit.
Cordelia Shaw sat on my right, Bob Eagleton on my left. We exchanged pleasantries as the servers brought bread and salad to the table.
“What do you think we’re here for?” Cordelia whispered through her crimson lips. She was the eldest Shaw, her blond hair and bright blue eyes marking her as one of the most attractive women at the table.
“No idea.” I speared a piece of lettuce. “But the ball is next week.”
She shuddered at my elbow, her pert breast rubbing against me through her thin dress. “I hope it’s not me.”
I shared her sentiment on most levels, but there was one part of me that wanted to take the crown and all the perks that came with it. Ruling over the nobility would bring me wealth and power beyond anything I could imagine. I considered the row of people, their jewels sparkling, their very demeanors soaked in luxury and privilege. To rule them would be an engaging game, one that would keep me satisfied for the next decade. But the specter of my mother warned me away from any such ambition—her broken mind was a powerful blow against competing in the Acquisition trials.