Page 54 of Forbidden Devotion

Some claimed he was actually guilty. Some said he wasn't, but Lauren would be unable to prove it. Apparently, Lauren thought the same, and it still bothered me. I wanted to talk to her, but I wasn't sure whether I'd apologize or yell at her again. Was reaching out even worth it anyway? If she lost, I wouldn't be able to look at her again.

It hurt—it really did—but I’d decided to leave us in the past. I couldn’t be with someone who didn’t fight for my family, even if she was the most perfect person I’d ever met.

Mark disagreed with me, but he wasn’t fighting me on it either. I appreciated it.

I focused everything I had on finding Baron, both because I needed a distraction from the absolute shitstorm that was my life at that moment and because I had to pull a confession out of him before Fabrizio’s trial for any of this to mean anything. But by the date of my brother’s trial, I hadn’t found a single hair of the man.

So I had to sit in the courtroom and watch my ex argue my brother’s case, hoping and praying that Mark would find something before the last day of the trial. I couldn’t risk getting anyone else involved to help when we still didn’t know who Baron’s informant was.

Fabrizio didn’t look great, already more hardened around the eyes and mouth, but he glanced back at us with a nervous smile before the trial started. I hadn’t seen him in a month and a half, and I drank in every inch of him. He’d chosen a navy suit, with a light blue shirt and a plain navy tie, but it fit well. I was grateful to see he hadn’t lost an exorbitant amount of weight or showed up with cuts and bruises from potential prison fights. He looked a little tired, but not as run-down as Dad had.

To say I was surprised by that was an understatement.

Seeing Lauren again was like a kick in the gut. She was so beautiful, so perfect and powerful, not a hair out of place, sitting with her back straight and head high. I wanted to go up to her, make her turn around, I wanted to shove my tongue down her throat until all her opposition died, and chain her to me so she could never leave my side again. I wanted to shake her and sneer and throw insults. I couldn’t believe she looked so unaffected by our breakup.

She had been head over heels for me, right? I played back every interaction we’d had in hyper speed in my mind, and yeah, I was pretty sure she was actually falling for me until that very last night.

Guilt churned in my stomach, but so did disgust. I still couldn’t believe one fight, no matter how bad, was enough to throw away what we were growing.

I probably should have prepared myself a little better before this, but that would have meant thinking about it and I had been trying to avoid that.

“All rise for the honorable Judge Rafka,” the bailiff said, and we all rose to our feet. Lauren never looked over her shoulder at us—at me. Something told me it wasn’t just because of the cameras watching our every movement.

“Please, be seated,” the judge said, adjusting her glasses. “The court will now hear the case of the State of Illinois vs. Fabrizio Marino for the charge of murder in the first degree.”

And so the puppet play kicked off.

The prosecutor said some shit about Fabrizio assaulting another college student outside a bar and pushing him under a speeding car without provocation. He said that since my brother had seen the car coming before throwing Tobias Cole into the road, the act was premeditated and malicious, and he went so far as to say he killed him over a girl they both liked. There was no way in hell that’s all there was to the story, but the jury ate it up.

Next, it was Lauren’s turn, and my head swiveled to her on autopilot as she stood from her chair. She smoothed out the front of her blazer as she started to talk and seemed to fill the whole space around her with her presence. She was steady and certain, rational, and perfectly in control of herself. She was in her element here, and my heart twinged.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” she started, “over the course of this trial, my client, Fabrizio Marino, is going to be painted as a violent, impulsive young man, acting out of jealousy in order to remove Tobias Cole from his path like he was an obstacle to be dealt with. I am here today to tell you the opposite. Fabrizio Marino is a studious, humorous college student with a full life ahead of him who saw another person in danger and tried to step in to help when things got out of hand.

“I will provide you with evidence of Tobias Cole’s abuse towards Claire Brown, his long-term girlfriend, and his attempts to commit heinous crimes against her on the night of the conflict. My client was able to separate them peacefully but made the mistake of stepping outside with Mr. Cole to confront him. This is where the night went wrong.

“Contrary to the prosecution’s claims, Mr. Marino’s actions were not unprovoked. You will see how Mr. Cole stepped into Mr. Marino’s space and threatened him with physical violence, which, at first, Mr. Marino did not respond to. It was only after ongoing harassment that my client, in a fit of frustration, grabbed Mr. Cole by the shirt and pushed him into the road.

“I will prove to you that Mr. Marino had acted in a moment of passion, not in a premeditated act of violence, and that he reasonably believed the car would do Mr. Cole little harm. I will remind the court that the definition of first-degree murder is ‘any intentional murder that is willful and premeditated with malice aforethought.’ Does the scenario I just described to you seem to fit that definition?

“I argue, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that it does not. My client acted in an attempt to defend another person and never intended to kill Tobias Cole. What happened that night was a tragic accident brought about by several factors, all of which were outside my client’s control, and as such, he should be charged, not with murder, but with involuntary manslaughter in the first degree.”

Murmurs went through the room, jury included. I sat and chewed on my inner lip, unsure how to feel. Yeah, that sounded a lot better than ‘Fabrizio purposefully killed a guy,’ but it was still saying he killed a guy.

“Involuntary manslaughter is defined as ‘an unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence.’ The keyword here is unintentional. If this were a heat-of-the-moment crime or a crime of passion, then my client would have still acted with the intent to kill Mr. Cole. However, as you will see proven by the evidence, Mr. Marino did not intend to kill Tobias Cole, nor did he have reason to believe his actions would cause Mr. Cole’s untimely death. Injury, yes. But not death.

“Esteemed men and women of the jury, you will be given a great deal of evidence from both sides during this trial. It will feel as though Fabrizio Marino’s life rests in your hands because it does. As you review the evidence from all sides, I simply ask you to look at my client as he is: a top student, an extrovert with a large group of friends who will vouch for his character on the stand and a 21-year-old college student who will live with the guilt of that night for the rest of his life. Thank you.”

Part of me was impressed with her speech; it was well-thought-out, just the right balance between factual and empathetic, and the jury softened their stance in just minutes. It was obvious from the jury’s faces and their collective body language. After the prosecuting attorney’s opening statement, they looked rigid, unforgiving, and like they were ready to put Fabrizio in prison. Now, they were more more willing to consider Lauren’s story.

On the other hand, she said my brother had guilt. She literally admitted, at the very beginning of the trial, that he did it, and that infuriated me. She’d started off by stripping him of any chance of freedom. My blood boiled, but all I could do was clench my jaw and sit in it.

Then, the prosecution showed the video, which I still hadn’t seen. Thanks to the gag order, no one had—it hadn’t been broadcast, and we hadn’t even been able to visit Fabrizio to avoid any leaks. I knew for a fact that last part was just to spite us. I’d have the heads of everyone who green-lighted that decision.

I couldn’t lie, the video was convincing. The Irish Mob had done a hell of a job, because it genuinely looked authentic. They had to have gone out of their way, and that pissed me off. Why, if they were going to go after anyone, would they pick Fabrizio? It was underhanded and utterly disgusting. Baron’s death wasn’t going to be easy once I found him.

The prosecution made their points, Lauren got up to make hers, pulling out more videos from inside the bar. This time, I had to watch Tobias Cole touch on his girl before actually trying to drug her. Fucking disgusting. She spun a good tale; I could give her that. Then Zio showed up, spilled the drinks, and sent the girl off. The jury watched it all in horror as Lauren gave them the context that started it all, waffling back and forth in their minds.

Then, there was a break for lunch, and it started again.

---