Slow Burn (Dynasties Seven Sins #7) - Janice Maynard Page 0,57

chance to speak your piece.”

There was no backing out now. Nikki walked on shaky legs to the front of the courtroom. Not once did she cast her gaze sideways to see Jake. She stood at the podium and faced Vernon.

Until this very instant, she hadn’t known what she was going to say to him. But the words came tumbling out as if she had rehearsed them for five thousand empty days. Not a single other person had asked Vernon a question. They had vented, accused, mourned. Now it was Nikki’s turn.

“Mr. Lowell...” She paused, feeling overwhelmed. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to keel over. “Mr. Lowell. You and my father were best friends, colleagues, business partners. Clearly, you both were involved with the destruction of Black Crescent. But tell me this. You got away scot-free. My father crashed his car fleeing the police. Why wasn’t he with you?”

For a moment, emotion broke the stoic expression on Vernon’s face.

The judge addressed him. “Please answer Ms. Reardon’s question. She deserves to know the truth.”

When Vernon spoke, his voice was almost defiant. “Everett wanted to say goodbye to you and your mother. I told him he was a fool. Partway back to the house, the chase started. He had to turn around. He never made it.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Why was she thanking Vernon Lowell? How stupid. She turned to go back to her seat. As she moved, Jake looked at her across the small distance that separated them. He didn’t smile. He was visibly ashen.

Nikki kept on walking, comforted in the smallest possible way that her father had wanted to say goodbye.

Next up was Eve Lowell, Vernon’s wife. When the judge read her name, she shook her head. Like Nikki, she must have changed her mind. The judge didn’t press her. He went on. Oliver Lowell.

Oliver stood and shrugged. “I learned in recovery not to blame other people for my addiction,” he said. “You’re a wretched bastard of a father, and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying not to be like you. End of story.”

Joshua Lowell. Joshua went to the podium and spoke quietly about his regrets. Mostly, he mentioned his mother and his two brothers. He sat down.

Then came the name Nikki had dreaded hearing. Jacob Lowell. Surely, Jake was the last one. It was almost noon.

Jake walked to the podium, his shoulders stiff, his eyes blazing with strong emotion. When he reached the designated spot, he stood there for a moment. The courtroom was completely silent. Hushed. Waiting.

Outside, the noise of New York City was audible, but muted by the thick walls and closed windows.

Even Vernon seemed affected by the somber atmosphere.

Jake shoved his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “I’m not going to address you as Father or Dad,” he said. “You gave up that right long ago. But I will say that I have hated you for far too long. I’ve let your shadow hang over my life, blighting it. Constraining it. I told myself I traveled the world because I loved the freedom and the adventure. The truth is that I’ve been afraid to come home. What you did nearly destroyed me. Not because I was destitute or on the run from the law. But because you convinced me that my DNA carried some sort of poison. If you could do what you did, maybe I was doomed to be as black-hearted a person as you.”

Jake paused, maybe to catch his breath, and then continued. “I’m not a perfect human being. I have my faults, plenty of them. But from this day forward, I will no longer let your treachery determine the course of my life. I don’t hate you. I don’t love you. You are nothing to me at all...”

The gathered crowd exhaled almost in unison as Jake returned to his seat.

Moments later, the judge tapped the piece of paper in front of him, shook his head slowly and gave the bailiff a nod.

“All rise,” the uniformed officer instructed the gathering.

Another set of officers stepped forward, helped Vernon to his feet and led him away.

When the judge and the prisoner were out of sight, the bailiff said, “You’re dismissed.”

Nikki was sitting in the back corner. No one needed to climb over her. She wasn’t in anyone’s way. She remained as the room emptied. At last, Oliver and Samantha walked out. Then Joshua and Sophie and Eve.

Jake never stood up. She watched from the back corner of the room