“I’m Joshua Deeley, Assistant States Attorney. I need to speak with you before we begin. It would have been helpful to speak with prior to the day of the trial,” he snarled.
“Excuse me for being on my honeymoon and getting married, Mr. Deeley. The trial was not set for the end of this month. We could have met if the judge hadn’t moved up the date,” I spat.
“I’m sorry,” Joshua said. “I didn’t mean to offend.”
“Too late,” I growled. Esme rubbed my shoulders and I took a breath. I stood up and followed Joshua into a small conference room outside of the courtroom. “So, what do you need to speak with me about?”
“Your brother is defending himself,” Joshua said. “He’s said that you falsified the evidence against him because you’re some freaky computer genius. However, that is unlikely as the evidence gathered was corroborated by several witnesses. Anyhow, he will attack you on the stand. You need to remain calm and ignore his threats. Try to remain as impassive as you can. No emotion on your face. A mask, if you will.”
“I know how to handle my brother,” I sighed. “What are the complete list of charges?”
“Embezzlement, fraud, prostitution, assault against you, defamation of character, possession of illegal drugs with the intent to sell, illegal gambling,” Joshua rattled off.
“Damn,” I muttered as I plopped down on the wooden desk. “If he gets charged on all counts, how long will be sentenced?”
“Presumably for the rest of his life,” Joshua explained. “He did some bad shit, Mr. Cullen. When Detective Swan and his partner, Detective Waylon gave us all the evidence, we spent nearly three days straight sorting through it with myself, the other state’s attorney, Jill Monroe, and five paralegals. It’s a shame, though. Emmett was a shrewd attorney. I had my ass handed to me by him several times. And your father, too.”
“Yeah, well, they both suck,” I said. “Was my father implicated in any of this?”
“We couldn’t find any evidence connecting him to Emmett’s transgressions, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not there. However, in a turn of a events, Carlisle is testifying against Emmett. He’s after you,” Joshua explained.
“Wow,” I murmured.
“We should be heading back into the courtroom. Keep cool,” Joshua said emphatically. I nodded and followed him back into the courtroom. I slid in next to my wife and laced my fingers with hers. I idly circled her wedding band around her finger and knew why she liked to do it to me. It was incredibly calming.
I can't wait to read this chapter. It's time Emmett got what he deserved after what he put Edward through.
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