Page 88 of Darkness Falls

"Does it even matter what I have to say? I could sit here for hours going on and on with a whole list of things, but none of it will matter."

"You're wrong. The council would like to know the details of where you were at the time of your father's murder."

This is the moment we've been waiting for with this stupid trial. It’s perfect timing, too, because I feel my phone vibrate, and when I pull it out, I see a text from Barrett with thego-ahead. He’s got the bombs in place, and everything is working out exactly as it should.

Callie looks over at me, and I nod slightly and tap my finger to my nose so she knows we are good to go. Her eyes widen a bit, but she nods back before looking over at Austin. Here we go.

"If you want to know where I was when my father died, it was in the same place he always kept me when he didn't have direct eyes on me."

"And where exactly is that?" Damien asks, even though the dumb fucker already knows. He doesn't think she has the balls to be honest with them about the kind of person her father was.

Callie glares at Damien. "I was locked in my room, but you already know that, considering you were one of the ones that made sure I stayed there."

Austin clears his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Let me get this straight. You expect us to believe that your father and husband kept you, the legacy of Rogue, locked in your bedroom?”

"Believe what you want to believe. That's your choice, and that's where I was."

"We can't go off of your word, Mrs. Michaels," Austin says, shaking his head. "Do you have any proof to back up these claims?"

"You know, it's funny that you bring that up. I do, in fact, have proof of quite a few things." A smile spreads across her face when she turns to look at me. I step over to the backpack that she perched up againstthe stage to grab it before handing it to her.

She pulls out a stack of things and holds them to her chest before grabbing the flash drive and looking over at me. "Can you take the bag back?"

I nod and grab it, allowing her space to place the stack of yellow folders and her father’s notebook on her lap. My eyes scan the room. Everyone seems to have a weary look on their faces. They aren't keen on surprises, and I would guess Callie’s confidence is throwing them off even more.

"I hardly think this is a time for you to be smiling, Mrs. Michaels," Austin chides.

He's being so condescending, and I want to jump up on the stage and slap that smug look off of his face, but she's done a good enough job of holding her own thus far. I'm not going to take this moment from her. I can't wait to tie her up and have her scream my name as I make her come over and over again for payment of my patience.

"Austin, I've given you a pretty decent amount of respect thus far, considering the circumstances, but if you call me Mrs. Michaels again, we're going to have a problem." She looks him dead in the eyes as she stands from her seat. "My name is Callie, and that is how you will address me moving forward."

He seems a bit taken aback as he brings his hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Please proceed with your evidence," he pauses, "Callie."

Shemoves to the podium and holds up the notebook first. "This is my father’s notebook. It contains a list of every person my father had blackmail on, including every single one of you."

Chatter fills the crowd as they whisper amongst themselves. Callie opens the notebook and starts reading off names, one by one. She gets through two pages of names before she turns to the last page and holds up the set of coordinates that led us to the cabin.

"This is a set of coordinates to a cabin not far from here. My father had a special team protecting it. There’s an entire room filled with filing cabinets and these folders. Each folder is for a specific person and filled with, well, I’m sure you can guess, blackmail," she says while holding them up.

"I'm failing to see how this has any relevance to your father's death," Austin cuts her off. "We are not on trial here, you are."

"Austin Roberts. Would you like to see your file? It's pretty detailed. In fact, I brought the files of each of the council members. Yours are the thickest of the bunch. Did you know my father has had Damien killing for him for the last ten years? Did you believe the lie about him being at an international chapter of Rogue? Spoiler alert, Rogue doesn't have an international chapter. It's all been a farce."

"LIES!" Damien shouts, and she laughs.

"Don't worry, husband, I'll save the best for last. It’s not your turn yet," she says before focusing back on the crowd.

Fuck, I'm so proud of the way she is standing up for herself and controlling the narrative of the room. I knew she would beamazing, but this is far beyond what I expected she was capable of. Callie is a natural-born leader. It's sexy as hell.

"Michael Reuben. Please stand up," she calls out, waiting for him to make his presence known. When a body in the back of the room stands, I prepare myself for all hell to break loose. "Michael Reuben has been sleeping with Jeremy Finch's wife for three years."

"You've been fucking my wife?" Jeremy stands, fists clenched at his sides.

"No, man, it's not true. She's lying. I have no clue why she would say something like that," Michael calls out.

After a moment, Jeremy turns to face the stage, looking at Callie again. He clearly doesn't like that Callie made him look weak. The fact that his wife is sleeping with someone else suggests he doesn't have everything in check at home.

"Do you have proof of this?" Jeremy says to Callie, but she ignores him and continues creating chaos.

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