Just To Be Loved

by Lee, Vivian Rose

  When DA Caldwell entered the office, Rodger stood to his feet.

  “Sit down Mr. Collins,” he said impatiently. “I hope this is important, I’m a very busy man.”

  “Yes Sir it is,” Rodger answered.

  “Well get on with it,” he said, taking a seat behind his desk.

  Rodger placed a folder on his desk. “This is the case of Mya Trent, conspiracy to murder.”

  “Oh yes, she attempted to put a hit out on Henry Trent. Open and shut case if you ask me. The evidence is all there,” he stated self-righteously.

  “No, Mr. Caldwell, the evidence I have gathered proves her innocence,” Rodger replied just a self-righteously.

  The DA opened the folder, and after scanning the contents, he looked up at Rodger.

  “Every piece of evidence in that folder, from the recording to the photo, was proven to be false. I had the tapes taken to the crime lab and after an extensive voice analysis was done, the tapes in evidence that you gave me, and the actual voice of Mya Trent do not match. Even the photo that shows her alleged paying David Harris had been modified to appear that way. I also know from the young man in the photo they only talked about classes. Unfortunately, David Harris has disappeared, but I don’t need him. The crime lab also pulled fingerprints from the tapes.” Rodger looked down at his notes. “Clayton Harris’ fingerprints were all over the tape and photos, and I suspect that he was the one who turned all this alleged information over to the police after the framing of Miss Trent was complete. We are willing to go to trial and prove this to a jury.”

  After stating the facts, Rodger could see beads of sweat roll down the side of DA Caldwell’s pasty face. Sitting upright, Caldwell tugged at the collar of his shirt.

  “So what do you want?” He demanded.

  “Three things. I want the charges dropped without prejudice, I want Miss Trent acquitted immediately, and I want her record absolved.”

  “Very well, I’ll have the papers drawn up,” Caldwell replied apathetically.

  “Sir with all due respect, Mya Trent, an innocent person guilty of nothing more than being Mya Trent, has been imprisoned unjustly for five months and living in hell. I would hate for her to make this injustice public.”

  “She will be released within twenty-four hours. That’s the best I can do.”

  Rodger rose to his feet. “Thank you Sir,” he said calmly, trying his best not to gloat. Feeling ten feet tall, he closed his case and left the office.

  “Sarah, get Henry Trent on the phone right away.”

  “Mr. Trent, DA Caldwell on the line,” his assistant said.

  Henry quickly put him on speaker. “Yes Arthur,” he spoke.

  “Hello Henry, how are you?”

  “Fine, why are you calling? Has she been sentenced yet?”

  “Henry I think we need to meet. Can you come to my office right away?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I think it best that we do this in person.”

  “I’ll be right down,” Henry said, and hung up. He then got on the intercom. “Martha, is Hunter in?”

  “No Sir, he’s down at the site.”

  “Get in touch with him and tell him to meet me at the DA’s office immediately,” he ordered.

  “Yes Sir.”

  Henry and Hunter sat in the DA’s office while he spoke on the phone. He had arranged for Mya Trent’s release right away. Henry Trent was a powerful man in Little Rock, and he hoped he didn’t retaliate for his daughter’s unjust incarceration. He was glad that her mistaken arrest was kept out of the press. If news of this mess were ever made public, it would have destroyed him in the next election. He hung up the phone.

  “What is this all about Arthur?” Henry asked. “Has something happened to your prisoner?”

  Henry had stopped acknowledging Mya as his daughter a while ago. Because of her, he has lost wife and his mother barely speaks to him. As it stands right now, only his four sons remain loyal.

  “Henry, there is just no easy way to say this,” Caldwell began.

  “Just say it man!” Henry pushed.

  “Mya Trent has been found innocent of all charges. There is proof that the evidence used to accuse her was tampered with and false. Whoever did this must really hate her to set her up like this.”

  Henry came to his feet swiftly and the blood seemed to drain from his body. Suddenly feeling cold, he sat back down. Mya was innocent.

  “Suffice it to say, we did manage to lift a fingerprint off of the evidence that was quite possibly left from the last person who handled it,” the DA stated.

  “But-but the tape…,” Hunter stammered.

  “The tape was altered and edited to make it sound like Mya hired the hit and the photos were doctored as well. We are trying to locate the man we believe responsible for all of this right now.”

  “How was this discovered?” Hunter asked

  “Let’s just say she has a determined lawyer who believed in her innocence.”

  Hunter flashed back to the visit he had from that public defender Rodger Collins. He said he would prove Mya’s innocence, and even implied that Hunter may have had something to do with her being setup.

  “What I don’t understand is just who could have hated this woman so much that they would go through such extreme measures just to be rid of her?” Caldwell continued to say.

  “When will she be released?” Henry spoke up finally.

  “I’m sorry Henry, but that information is privileged at Miss Trent’s and her attorney’s request.”

  “But you know?” Hunter pushed.

  “Of course I know, but I am bound by law to honor the clients request, sorry.”

  Henry slowly stood to his feet. What has he done? He suddenly felt very tired. Who would do this to his family?

  Hunter felt responsible for all that had transpired these past few months. His suspicions and mistrust of Mya only escalated her arrest. This was entirely his fault, and he had to do something to fix it. He needed to know when they released Mya.

  Later that evening, Hunter found his father sitting in a dark study. “Dad?” He called out.

  “Yeah son,” Henry answered lifelessly.

  “Are you alright?”

  “I’m sitting here wondering how I’m going to tell your mother that she was right to believe in Mya and wondering how to ask her if she could ever forgive a stubborn, heartless old fool. I lost my wife and I’m ashamed to admit that I accepted my daughter, but I never trusted her. Tell me son, how do I even begin to get them back?” Henry slowly rose from the chair. “I’m tired son… I’m going to bed.”

  Early the next morning, Hunter rang Ghani’s doorbell. His mother had recently moved in with her when his father forbade any of them from helping Mya. The news he was about to share with his mother and grandmother was either going to help them or make things worse.

  “Hello Son,” Sylvie warmly greeted, stepping aside for him to enter.

  “Morning Mom,” he replied, kissing her cheek. “Is Ghani home?”

  “Come on in here Hunter and have breakfast,” she called from the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong Son?” Sylvie asked.

  “Mom, I have news that you and Ghani need to hear.”

  Sylvie nodded leaving the front room while Hunter followed her into the kitchen.

  Ghani handed him a cup of coffee. He sat and sipped it.

  “Okay what’s this news you have,” Ghani asked.

  “The District Attorney told us that all the charges against Mya were dropped and that she was proven innocent. The evidence against her was false; she was framed.”

  “Thank you Lord,” Sylvie prayed as tears flowed down her face.

  “Thank you Jesus for bringing my grandbaby home,” Ghani praised.

  Sylvie wiped away her tears with her napkin. “When will she be released?”

  “We don’t know. The DA said that that information was privileged.”

  “I don’t understand,” Sylvie repli
ed.

  “She doesn’t want anyone to know,” Hunter explained.

  Sylvie exhaled sadly. “She’s not coming back.”

  Ghani shook her head forlornly. “Can you blame her?”

  “I’m worried about Dad,” Hunter admitted.

  Sylvie stood. “I know he is torn up about this, probably blaming himself too, I bet.” She shook her head. “Who would do this to her?”

  Hunter shook his head. “I don’t know, but I mean to find out who tried to destroy our family.”

  When Sylvie arrived at the home she left a few weeks ago, she called out for her husband and found him still lying in bed, something that he never did. The first thing she thought was that he drank himself into a stupor, but when she moved over to the bed, she saw that her handsome husband was simply sleeping. She noticed that he aged some these past few months since all this began, and his once dark hair now had threads of gray that actually made him look very distinguished. He hadn’t shaven in weeks and deep, dark circles had settled beneath his eyes. Sylvie gently stroked his forehead, and Henry’s eyes opened bloodshot red.

  “Sylvie?” He whispered.

  “Hello Henry,” she smiled as tears ran down her face.

  Henry tiredly sat up in the bed and studied his wife’s beautiful face. God he missed her so much. “I’m sorry baby. Can you forgive a heartless old fool for not listening to you?”

  “Henry, there is nothing for me to forgive you for. It’s Mya whose forgiveness we must seek right now.”

  “Hunter told you and Mama?”

  Sylvie nodded.

  “I need to see her, Sylvie,” Henry replied emotionally.

  “No honey, she needs time. If she wants to see us, she will.”

  “What if she never…” He didn’t want to complete the thought.

  “We just have to pray that she does. You know I’m not going to let you wallow in this misery, Mya will come back.”

  Henry pulled his wife into his arms and held her tight. “Don’t ever leave me again. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Heather cursed when she read in the paper about the exoneration of all charges against Mya Trent and about her release, but it didn’t matter. She hoped Mya had enough pride to stay away and realize that she was not wanted. She also had to keep a close eye on Hunter. He was obsessed with Mya, and now that she was free, he could become even more obsessed. She had to get rid of Mya Trent for good this time. Hunter was going to marry her and nothing and no one was going to interfere with that.

  Chapter 10

  Six months later

  An exhausted Mya unlocked the door to a small cottage. It wasn’t in the best part of Little Rock, but it was home. She was grateful and beholden to Rodger Collins for so many reasons, but mainly because he was still working her case. He promised her that he would find whoever did this to her and have them brought up on charges, and he also helped her to get on public assistance by moving her through the system quickly. She didn’t have to wait years to get Section 8 housing; it was already there waiting for her when she was released. She didn’t know how he managed to pull that one off. She had $250 in food stamps and a $350 a month welfare check, minus $100 for rent. The people in the welfare office insisted that she give them the name of the father of her sons for child support purposes, but she gave them some ridiculous excuse about being drunk and having a one-night stand with some guy whose name she never knew. She was able to find a job cleaning offices for $375 a week, and Mrs. Thompson, the widow next-door who was a retired schoolteacher, watched her twin boys Henry and Benjamin at night while she worked.

  Removing her coat, she had a couple hours before she had to pick up the twins, and she used the time to clean the house and catch up on the twins’ laundry. Her sons were her main concern and the loves of her life, and she was extremely grateful to Rodger and his wife Vera who let her stay with them after her release from prison. Rodger promised her that her location would remain hidden as long as she wanted, and they offered to help her in other ways, but she refused. She wasn’t sure if she could ever pay them back. One thing she did realize about herself was that she was a survivor. When the boys were older, she would go back to school to provide them with a better life than she had, but for right now she had to do the best she could with the resources she had available to her for the sake of her sons. Rodger was constantly badgering her to get in touch with the Trent’s, and each time he brought the subject up, she’d ask him why she should. The last time Rodger brought it up was his worst rant yet. It was so bad that she remembered it clear as day.

  “I don’t want anything from them Rodger. They showed me their asses to kiss and I’m done. I will not go begging for anything from them.”

  “Well, Hunter came to my office demanding that I tell his family about your whereabouts.”

  “I don’t care Rodger.”

  “Okay fine, well then let me ask you something.”

  “Yes?”

  “Why do the twins look so much like him?”

  She had never told Rodger who the father of his godsons was, but after he saw Hunter, he knew. She started to deny it that day, but he stopped her dead in her tracks.

  “Don’t bother to deny it Mya; I have seen Hunter Mason, remember? I have also seen your sons.”

  “It happened one time… maybe two. We argued and somehow ended up in bed together. I don’t know… I don’t remember.”

  “Do you have any idea much money he would have to pay in child support? You could move out of this neighborhood, go back to school, and…”

  “No, stop it Rodger, just stop it! I don’t want anything to do with them, so don’t lay this guilt trip on me. I won’t give them the opportunity to hurt my sons when they get tired of them like they did me, so stop it Rodger, please.”

  Rodger backed off and changed the subject. She knew how he felt about her lifestyle, but what he couldn’t understand was just how much her family’s betrayal hurt her. She thought that she belonged, but she never really did, and this entire ordeal only proved that her father never really trusted her from the start. As far as she was concerned, it was no longer an issue. She would raise her sons alone and make them her sole reason for living. It indeed was a sad thing that her sons would not know the prominent Trents of Little Rock, but that was the Trent’s loss. She didn’t need them, and she had more than enough love for her babies. Her past was once again where it should be and she planned to fight hard to leave it there. She still had nightmares, but she was confident that they would fade over time. If Hunter knew about his sons, he would see just how beautiful they are. The boys are identical twins, and share their father’s bronzed coloring and dark hair. Hunter’s hair hung past his shoulders, and right now Benji and Henry’s hair held large whorls of soft curls. They also shared their father’s dominant Native American features. The only thing they inherited from her was her light amber eyes. They were indeed beautiful boys, and she’d gladly admit that to anyone proudly.

  After finishing her chores, Mya looked through the mail and hesitated when she saw a letter from the housing authority. Wondering what it could be about, she opened it and began reading it carefully. “No… no,” she muttered.

  The owner of the house had sold the property and given her ninety days to vacate the premises. She plopped down on the sofa in the small living room. What was she going to do now? She didn’t have any place to go. They offered to put her back on the list, but this time they couldn’t promise her a house right away, and she had her babies to consider. She didn’t have money for a place and on top of that if she moved away, she would probably lose Mrs. Thompson watching the boys while she worked at night.

  Tears built up in her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly. Tears were not going to fix the problem, so instead she grabbed a pen and some paper, and started calculating her funds. She had three months to move, and three welfare checks would be $1050. Add to that twelve weeks’ worth of pay, and the numbers came to a total of $4500
. It looked like she might be able to pull off a down payment on rent after all, but the bigger question was would she be able to pay rent monthly? With her welfare check and the little she made from her job, the answer was yes. Yes, she could do it. If her rent wasn’t more than $1000 a month, she could pay the utilities and childcare while she worked, and her food stamps would feed the boys. She could do it easy enough; she just had to find a place first. Feeling better about things, she slipped on her coat and got ready to bring her boys home. She would start searching the paper as soon as the boys were down for their afternoon nap.

  All week long Mya looked for an apartment, and each one she inquired about was either unavailable or would not be ready for six months. She turned the page and it opened to the society section. She usually skipped this part of the paper, but this time something caught her eye.

  Senator and Mrs. Clarence Burton of Little Rock are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter Heather Marie Burton to Hunter Trent Mason, son of the prominent businessman Mr. and Mrs. Henry Trent of Little Rock. The bride…”

  The article went on about Hunter and Heather’s attributes to the community and said that the couple planned to have a grand wedding in August. As her eyes scanned the photo, there was a picture of the both sets of parents with the couple, and her eyes immediately drank in Henry and Sylvie. They didn’t smile as broadly as the Senator and his wife, and as one would expect, Heather showed all of her teeth. Hunter, on the other hand, looked as if he always did; portentous.

  Look at her. It had been six months and those people still affected her. She missed Ghani and Sylvie and didn’t know if they supported Mr. Trent in his beliefs about her or not, but all the Trent men could go to hell. Rodger let her know each time that her father had contacted him and made inquiries on her whereabouts, but to his credit, each time he’d put him off. So Hunter was going to marry Heather. She briefly wonder what they would think if she showed up with Hunter’s sons in tow, and turned the page.