Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 52643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“He’s not an abuser,” I say. “He’s the love of my life.”
“Yes, well…” she avoids my gaze. “I won’t take up more than twenty minutes of your time.”
My mother forces the door open from behind.
“Thank you, Miss Bradley,” she says. “Can I get you a cup of coffee or some tea perhaps?”
“Black tea would be great!”
“When exactly did the relationship become sexual?”
“I don’t recall.”
“Miss Edwards, you’re under oath.”
“I don’t remember,” I say. “I don’t have it marked on my calendar.”
“But the relationship did become sexual?”
“Yes.”
“Did this ever happen on school grounds?”
“It’s a blur,” I say. “I don’t remember all the specifics.”
She nods and picks up a sheet of paper. “This is an essay you wrote two weeks ago, which gives vivid details about your last few months at school. You brag in the opening about having a photogenic memory.”
“Yes, we fucked on school grounds.”
“Thank you. Now—”
“I enjoyed every second of it,” I say. “I wanted us to do it a lot more, and I wanted to marry him and have his children. I still want that, because no man I’ve ever dated has ever loved me the way he loved me.”
“Miss Edwards…”
“I will lie if you put me on the stand,” I say. “I’ll act like I never met him, or do whatever I have to do to prevent him from getting in trouble because he didn’t do anything wrong. He even left me in the end because he found out that I was lying about my age…” I stand to my feet.
“If you lie, you’ll be committing perjury and you might get a prison sentence for yourself, Miss Edwards.”
“Prison sounds like the only place I can find freedom these days.” I grab my coat. “Looking forward to it.”
I storm out of the house and make my way to the garage. I slide behind the wheel of my car and drive with no destination in mind.
11A
Harvard Professor Fired Over Rape Charges
Liam Donovan Peterson Dropped from Chair Position
Brett Shaw Holds Press Conference, Vows to “Prosecute to the Fullest Extent of the Law”
12
GENEVIEVE
The courthouse is quiet at sunrise. The only signs of life are the pigeons pecking at the steps.
Pushing the doors open, I pace outside the assigned courtroom and watch lawyers, judges, and witnesses file through the hallway.
Mid-morning, Brett strolls through the doors, flanked by two suits.
“Hey!” I jump off the bench. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Brett?”
“Why are you doing this to Liam? To me? Do you really think this is necessary?”
He keeps walking.
“Are you really this spiteful of a person? Thanks for showing me your true colors.”
He stops and turns around. “I loved you. I loved our lives before he came back to wreck it and I know you did too. Maybe he’ll plead this out and I’ll forgive you and take you back.”
“What?”
“I’d have to fuck him out of your system though.” He steps back. “Maybe even get you a therapist as well. You clearly need help.”
I slap him far harder than Lauren slapped me.
He grimaces, looking like he wants to return the hit, but he steps back.
“Mr Brett?” A suit calls from down the hall. “They’re waiting for us upstairs.”
“Not showing up to court tomorrow will be a felony and I’ll definitely have you arrested.”
“Brett, please.”
He turns away from me without another word.
13
LIAM
The “best lawyer in the country,” is apparently a guy named Damien Carter from Hamilton & Associates in New York. He flew here on a private jet and looks more like a GQ model than an esteemed attorney.
I’ve been sitting in this courthouse room with him for all of an hour, and all he’s said is “just trust me” any time I ask a question.
I can’t take this shit…
“Did you read my notes, Mr. Carter?”
“No, I didn’t need to.”
“Are you going to ask whether I committing this crime or not?”
“That’s not my job.” He smiles. “My job is to win.”
“Mr. Carter…” I sigh. “This guy has a personal vendetta against me. Even a public defender would ask me for some information.”
“That’s probably why they tend to lose most of the time.”
“I’m facing ten years in prison.”
“I thought it was twenty.” He looks at his phone and starts tapping the screen. “I stand corrected. Ten years, mandatory court costs, and a spot on the sex offender registry. Sounds pretty fucked up.”
“You’re planning to help me get out of that, correct?”
“I don’t know yet,” he says. “Is there coffee in here?”
What in the…
Me
Thanks for hiring this “fancy” attorney, granddad. I’ll take my chances on a different one.
Brett suddenly enters the room before I can fire him. He sits across the table from me while another suit sits at his side.
“So…I’m feeling generous today and I’m offering a plea deal,” he says. “Eight years, with only half to serve in prison and your client with register on the sex offender registry.”