Page 156 of The Price of Forever

Please God. Let this work.

My brothers’ lawyer was the first to speak. “In light of new evidence that has emerged after our standard pretrial and discovery period, I am submitting a motion to dismiss. As both Your Honor and the SEC have been made aware, startling details have emerged recently that raise serious accusations about the legitimacy not only of the charges but the investigation itself.”

The lawyer went on, explaining the details of his motion. Unprecedented breach of trust. Unconscionable corruption with life-altering stakes and consequences. Documents were delivered to the judge. Materials were reviewed.

“There is no way that this courtroom can consider the charges against my clients when it was discovered that the SEC has a corrupt agent who was paid off by high-profile businessman and rival, Eli Rossberg. As anyone who follows the news will be aware, Mr. Rossberg has reason to feel a certain animosity for one of my clients,” the lawyer said, going on to name the corrupt SEC insider. “The submitted evidence demonstrates that these charges would not have been brought up if the corrupted official had not been paid to do so. Any evidence collected in this case must also be suspect.”

Then it was the prosecution’s turn. I couldn’t follow all the legalese, but I think it boiled down to “We’re fucked, but we have to pretend to still want to prosecute these terrible people who didn’t let rich people get quite as rich as they otherwise might have. But whatever you say, Judge, is fine.”

Emotion washed over me. The entire room was drawn tight, waiting.

The judge cleared his throat, his deep, rumbling voice reaching the entire courtroom. “I have reviewed all documentation presented, and rule in favor of the defendant, Fairchild Enterprises, and all parties connected thereto. Motion to dismiss sustained. Case dismissed.”

The gavel slammed. Conversation erupted in the courtroom as the judge retired to his chambers.

Axel turned around in his seat. His watery, red-rimmed gaze immediately landed on me as his lawyers clapped his back. I blinked rapidly, too stunned to fully process what was happening.

“It’s over?” Mercedes squeaked at my side.

“Did they really…” I started, turning toward Seven.

The world around me slowed to half speed. Sunlight from the windows highlighted Axel’s and Damian’s faces as they stood and rushed our way. My limbs grew heavy, confused; all I could do was gape as the crowd parted, time lurched, and then suddenly Axel’s arms were around me in a bear hug, squeezing the air from my body.

“Is it really dismissed?” I asked in a daze.

Axel let me go and cupped my face in his hands, looking at me with tears in his eyes. “It is. And answer me something now. Is my lawyer on drugs, or did you really go through all of that for us?”

My chest hitched. I nodded, a mass of emotion arriving like a gut punch. Then Damian’s arms were around me, too, Seven mashed against my side.

“How the fuck did you two pull this off?” Damian asked, his voice hoarse. Trace joined a moment later, adding to the group hug.

I clung to Axel, sobbing. I hadn’t fully processed what was happening, but I was making small steps.

“How did you—”

There was a commotion of voices. I heard Cora, Jessa, Mercedes, and a few unknown voices. Axel whooped. Our hug disbanded, and Seven guided me out of the courtroom into the echoey hallway. I rummaged through my purse for a tissue as people filed out past us.

“I can’t believe this,” I whispered, dabbing away my tears. The rest of my family gathered around, all eyes on me and Seven.

“What did I miss?” Cora asked, her eyes wide as she looked between Axel and me.

Axel propped his hands on his hips as he looked at me, tears filling his eyes again. He watched me with wonder as he said, “That whole time Jordan was hanging out with Eli, she was wired and gathering evidence against him to throw the case.” He looked over at Cora, pulling her into his arms. “My baby sister saved us.”

Trace wiped at his eyes before slinging his arm around Seven. Everyone had red-rimmed eyes as we formed a little circle. Damian brought me into his arms next, squeezing me. “How did you pull it off?”

“He came into the club as a client,” I whispered, everything spinning and euphoric. I had barely imagined what success could look or feel like, in an attempt to protect myself against the worst-case scenario. And now we’d achieved it, the feeling was so powerful and overwhelming, I thought I might choke. I was grateful for Damian holding me down—it seemed likely that I might float away if not tethered.

“I didn’t know who he was at first, but he brought you up once in the VIP room,” I went on. I gave the short version of how we’d proceeded from there, knowing they’d want the full story later. But this wasn’t the time or place for details.

“The only way any of this worked was because of what Jordan was able to get recorded while she met up with Eli,” Seven added, his voice thick with emotion. “She got drugged that night because she had a hunch that if she gave Eli what he wanted, alone time, then she could get information out of him that might seal the deal.”

“And I was right,” I said with a little laugh, that turned into more tears. I covered my face with my hands, trying to compose myself. These were happy tears. Shocked tears. Relieved tears.

Arms squeezed around me, and the sweet clementine scent that settled over me told me it was Cora. I looked up, folding into her embrace.

“I’m so grateful for you,” she whispered into my ear. “I’m so sorry that you had to be anywhere near that awful man. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you find justice.”

“It was worth it,” I told her. “Look what we achieved.”

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