Page 71 of Mistress A-0002

“I have three bodies. From the looks of it, the slave died first. Bullet between the eyes. Master Rivers was lying over her. There are a few shots in his back. One to the back of his skull. And then I have a guard. Single shot. He ate that fucking barrel.” Nineteen paused. “I knew Harleston. He wouldn’t have done this. No way in hell. Something’s not right here. I’ve watched the footage already. He mentions Jett. I wrote it down, hold on.”

He paused, and I took in Hale, my mind already swarming…my stomach twisting at what I knew was about to happen. Hale loved his brother. Sebastian was everything to him. For him to be dead? He’d have to take Sebastian’s spot. He was the heir to his family now.

“Okay. Harleston walks in and says…‘Jett has lots of tricks. Jett says goodbye.’ And then he starts shooting. He wasn’t in his right mind, I can guarantee it. Harleston looks like he’s under a spell as he’s headed to the door. Even when Master River’s opens it, he acts like a zombie. It’s the slave he reacts to. I haven’t been able to go further back, so I don’t know what exactly happens, but not all is as it appears.”

My stare went to Jett, only to move to Melissa.Had she made sure to put the nail in the coffin?

“The boy’s guards?”

“He’s had the same ones the entire time. You know how it works in Hell Row with those on expedited trials. They haven’t left his side, nor have they interacted with anyone except themselves. Food was left for them to retrieve. Facilities and recreation are within their private quarters by the cell. They’re there in that court room with you right now. I watched thefootage already. Harleston hasn’t had access to any of them. He’s taking orders from someone else.”

“Got it.” My gaze went back to Melissa. Her eyes met mine, and I didn’t break eye contact as I glared. It was her who shifted on her seat and went back to looking at Jett.

“Send me video evidence of the crime scene and a small clip of Harleston saying Jett sent him. Then get your ass down here as fast as you can.”

“Roger that, Main Master.”

I hung up, leaning towards Master One. “Rivers and the slave are dead.”

“You’re fucking joking.”

Master One’s eyes were big as he swallowed hard and sat straighter.

“I wish I was. You thought this was going to be bad before. Just wait.” My phone vibrated, and I motioned to my other members that I was ready.

Turning on my mic, I took one last look around the room before pressing my fingers into the papers before me.

“Today, we start the trial for Master B-Twenty-Two. He is accused of forceful entry, breaking into and tampering with Garden’s devices and files, attempted murder…and the ultimate murders of Master B-Three-sixty-one and slave eight-forty-two. How do you plead?”

Gasps filled the room as Masters and Mistresses turned to each other in shock. Hale glanced around the room, scanning the rows before his head snapped to me. My brow creased, and I gave him a slow shake, as if to somehow say I’m sorry. His face was dropping color by the second, and the shock was morphing to disbelief. To…homicidal rage as his gaze tore from me to go to Jett LaRoe.

“Order,” I growled, turning back to Jett’s wide, terrified eyes. “How do you plead?”

“N-Not guilty. I didn’t fucking kill anyone. I?—”

“Enough,” I exploded. “Let everyone be witness, Master Twenty-two pleads not guilty. Should the board present sufficient evidence, the Master before you will be sentenced to death.”

Hale stood, his eyes searching the room wildly, still looking for his brother even though he knew deep down what I spoke was the truth. My hand lifted to him, but I didn’t have to speak as I eased my hand down, and I watched him follow. It was almost poetic how aligned we were. My mind spoke to him in gestures. It weaved a wonderful web of commands he knew to follow whether he wanted to or not.

“This trial won’t take long. It is to be known that the two Masters got into a bidding war for the slave this last auction night. The first evidence I’d like to submit is on the charges of breaking into and tampering with Garden’s files. The next will be the forced entry and attempted murder for the slave mentioned. The last evidence is of the murder.”

“If you all focus on the large screen, you can see firsthand the Master head back into the pickup lobby. As you can see from the date on the top, this happened the day following the auction.” Jett eased inside, heading to the desk as he glanced around. “Here, you can see him break into the desk the guard locked the tablet into.” I paused. “Would you like to share with the Board on how you got the password to unlock the tablet?”

“No. That’s not me.”

Jett’s face was hard as he glared.

“We’ll let the Board decide that. The second set of evidence I would like to present is on the forced entry and his attack on the slave.”

I hit the button to change the footage, and Jett surged to stand. Cuffed to the desk before us, he couldn’t move but a few feet.

“This is bullshit. That shit with the tablet is a hoax. It’s not me. Any of it. Everyone knows I’m going to be someone big someday, and I’ve made it abundantly clear to anyone I’ve talked to on who I want to be. I’m being set up.Probably by the Main Master, himself.I didn’t do anything wrong. So I pushed my way into the apartment. The bitch liked it rough. Shewantedme to come by. I was just doing what she wanted.”

“We’re a court, Master Twenty-two, and you have no evidence of that. Trust me, we’ve looked. As a matter of fact, the Board watched and followed you around the city as you stalked the slave in question. I have every angle. Every second up until her Master took her. After that, you had no access until you pushed your way in. Until you knocked on that door, you’d never even talked to her. She had no idea who you were.”

The guard at his side forced him to sit as the footage of him pushing his way inside played out. The attack was violent. Fast, explicit, and gruesome as he stabbed his way up her unresponsive half-nude body. When the scene ended at his speedy departure, whispers exploded in the court, and the shocked looks couldn’t be hidden as everyone’s attention was on Jett. Melissa continued to shift in her chair, growing antsier by the second. Why, I wasn’t sure. Maybe she truly did feel something for her son. Maybe she knew what was coming. Or maybe…this was playing out exactly asshewanted. The guard…the fucking guard who shot Sebastian. No way that was Jett. I pulled up the last bit of footage.

“This last evidence comes from my High Leader who was at the crime scene just this hour. I have not seen the footage, nor has anyone in this room, so I do not know what to expect. What I will say is, it may be graphic and not suitable for anyone who knew Master B-Three-sixty-one, Sebastian Rivers. He was a very dear friend of mine, and to many of us here. May he restin peace. I will give everyone a few seconds in case you wish to leave.”

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