Page 7 of Free to Judge
Story of my life with these two.
Still, after I take them down a peg or two, we settle in to watch Chuck’s debut on national television. I relax back into the cushion of the couch with a content sigh. It’s been a long year and we’re well overdue for a night like this, where we can just be us again. Casting a glance in Laura’s direction, my heart trembles. I have to keep repeating to myself, you didn’t lose her. You didn’t lose her. None of us did.
Almost two years ago, Laura worked on saving the life of a man in the ER. When he didn’t make it, his family took revenge by shooting up her ER, killing colleagues and friends. Not long after, she was stalked and almost died when they captured her and her soon-to-be stepdaughter. Both were held hostage for hours by the monster’s family. She escaped relatively unscathed, but it forced us to accept the monsters our family had told us about, as their origins still lurk in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment without provocation.
Now, sitting here drinking wine and laughing, you’d never believe Laura’s fine and planning her wedding to the man she worked for as a medical nanny for his daughter while she recovered. She’s declared more than once she refuses to be coddled by what happened to her—much like the traumas that shaped the rest of our family.
No, none of us are defined by those; we’re defined by something much more profound—love.
Gracie snickers as she tucks her feet beneath her. “Let’s talk about something more important.”
“Like what?” Reggie asks.
“Like how did Chuck get the scoop on how Snowy T thought this was a good idea? I mean, a grand gesture is one thing, but he proposed to his girlfriend in front of a thousand wedding guests using a skywriter where he was the best man. Isn’t there some sort of unwritten rule that this kind of nonsense gets you sent to best friend jail?”
“Bitchy bride jail, if nothing else,” Laura concurs. Then she drops some gossip of her own into the mix. “I heard a rumor hecontacted Amaryllis Events to see if Mama and the rest of y’all are available to plan the wedding.”
I somehow manage to suppress the smug grin that wants to spread across my face, not only because I know Chuck’s about to announce that on his news show tonight, but because of the lightness in Laura’s voice. I lift my drink to my lips to avoid giving the scoop away when I spy a banner running along the bottom of the television screen. My insides churn when I snap, “Gracie, rewind now!”
She fumbles for the remote. Silence descends on the room when the distinctive midnight blue and white banner StellaNova uses for up-to-the-minute celebrity news displays information I never expected. It rips through the lightheartedness of the room before reaching into my chest and squeezing my heart.
Attempted murder charges dropped against
Sal Tiberi.
“Turn up the volume, Gracie,” Laura orders softly.
My eyes cut over to her. “This can’t be happening.” My words are barely heard over the StellaNova celebrity gossip desk’s somber proclamation.
“Earlier today, a controversial court ruling led to the release of an alleged mob consigliere in the Tiberi family. One of the men accused of the attempted murder of billionaire heiress Laura Lockwood had the charges dropped against him due to a chain of custody errors in handling key evidence. The judge ruled that…”
I stare at the television as video footage of the Tiberi defense attorney, Declan Conian, making his way down the Superior Court steps and through a madhouse of paparazzi, flashes acrossthe screen. When the phone rings, pulling me out of my shock, a bitter laugh escapes me. “Who wants to bet that’s the courthouse calling to tell us about the release?”
Laura’s glass trembles violently in her hand. Reggie leans over and hugs her from behind, carefully maneuvering the glass away before she can hurt herself any more than she already has been. Moments later, the entire front of our home is lit up like it’s daylight as news crews do everything short of trespass to get a shot of the place where the events Declan Conian is working to erase occurred.
Her own home.
Gracie mutters, “Son of a bitch.”
I couldn’t agree with her more.
Laura’s frozen in place. I practically levitate from my position on the couch and make my way over to her. “Look at me, Laura.”
Her wide eyes, glassy with tears she refuses to let fall, meet mine. “He’s free. He can try again.”
“Liam won’t let him,” I remind her of her fiancé waiting at home. “Neither will your dad or my dad. Our family. Remember all the people who love you who have your back.” My voice is fierce.
I reach for the remote to mute the sound, but Laura says, “Is there anything I can do, Kalie? I need to know.”
I swallow down the bile even as I give her the truth. “Unless there’s new evidence, they can’t try him again for the same crime. It would be double jeopardy.”
Laura wraps her arms around herself and rocks. “He gets to walk.” She shoves to her feet and mumbles, “I…just need a second.”
Helpless, we sit by as she hurries up the stairs to her old bedroom—now my home office. I hear the door click shut behind her before I say what I’m really thinking. “Fuck.”
I know the law. I studied it. But tonight, I feel like justice failed. We were judged and found lacking, and I don’t know how we’re going to live with that.
But I need to try.
