I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,77
driving erratically."
It had healed, eventually.
I recount more instances of abuse, my eyes locked on Derek's.
But the real panic doesn't hit until Moira stands to cross-examine me.
"If the abuse was so bad, why didn't you report it?" she asks.
"I was scared," I say. "I also wanted to believe him when he said it wouldn't happen again. I didn't want him to get in trouble."
My excuses sound weak. Lame. But it's so messy when you're in the middle of it. So complicated. It's not as easy to walk away as people think.
"So he was awful and abusive, but you didn't want him to get into trouble? That's odd, don't you think?"
"Objection," Derek says, standing.
"Sustained," the dragon says. "Keep the questions relevant."
"Apologies, your honor," Moira says, refocusing on me. "Why didn't you leave?"
"I did," I say through clenched teeth.
"Why didn't you leave earlier?" she clarifies.
"My brother was dying of cancer. I had no one else to turn to. I was scared, alone, and heartbroken."
"It sounds to me like it wasn't that bad at all," she says, through Derek's objection. Moira smiles. "Withdrawn."
"Jerry didn't just abuse me," I say. "He continued to stalk me after I broke up with him."
Moira cocks her head. "Do you have proof of this?"
"Yes," I say. "I saved screenshots on my phone."
"Can you produce this phone? I'm sure the judge will allow contraband for the purposes of evidence."
Shit. "No, the phone broke," I say.
"How convenient. One final question, Miss Oliver. Isn't it true you're making this up to help your new bosses with their case? That my brother actually broke up with you, and this is your attempt to get revenge for a broken heart?"
"No, that is not true at all," I say, my rage simmering. "Jerry abused his position as my therapist and abused me before I finally broke up with him just before my brother died. Then he continued to stalk me."
I'm shaking. Tears are streaming down my face. I can't breathe as I'm excused from the witness stand and rejoin the Nights at their table.
Sebastian takes my hand the moment I sit, squeezing it reassuringly. His face is hard, his jaw locked as he glares at Jerry and the other Van Helsings.
Derek now presents our case.
We debated about having Dracula testify, but decided against the idea. It could too easily turn against us. Or the count could have another outburst. Instead, Derek calls Liam to testify that he wasn't having an affair with Mary but was actually the doctor helping with her delivery. He calls Elal, the coroner, to testify that it might not have been a vampire who killed her. He calls Leonard to testify that the Dracules had a good marriage, that Dracula was excited about his baby and in love with Mary.
And then he pulls the arguments together. He talks about how this crime was too messy to have been orchestrated by the great Vlad Dracule. How the Van Helsings hold a grudge against the count going back centuries.
He is both persuasive and powerful in his presentation, but the jury doesn't look swayed. In fact, they seem to sneer at Dracula more and more. When the time comes to make a verdict, I suspect they will be driven by emotion rather than logic.
Derek wraps up his speech, and we receive a short five-minute break before closing arguments begin. Each side is allocated thirty minutes. Finally, the end is in sight. Though I dread it more and more. If we lose, and I don’t see how we won’t, Dracula and the Night brothers will suffer for all eternity.
The prosecution goes first. Moira summarizes the facts of the case, reaffirms Dracula’s cruel reputation, and replays the memory from the cat. She fast forwards to the relevant part of Liam’s shoes, and as she does, something catches my eye. Something I hadn’t notice before. As the feline scrambles up an ancient stone gargoyle, I see a speck in the distance, a crop of twigs in the abandoned cathedral opposite of Dracula’s manor. The image lasts less than a second, and the picture is a muddy blur, but I’m sure of what I saw. Someone else was nearby that day. Someone may have seen what happened.
“I need to check on something,” I say quickly, getting to my feet.
“Is something wrong?” Sebastian asks.
“No. It’s about the case. It might be nothing. Or it might help us.”
“I’ll come with you.” He starts to stand, but I gesture for him to stop.