Hello, my lovely readers. This is the last full-length chapter, but there will be an epilogue. On with the show…
Chapter 30: The Truth Shall Set You Free
A month after Hayley Marshall revealed the flash-drive she'd hidden away in inside the false bottom of her extra hairbrush, Elijah Mikaelson stood at the prosecutor's table. Hayley stood at the defense table. A somber Marcel Gerard sat, caught in the balance between a number of forces who were acting for and against him. Elijah's mind was sharp. He knew it was time to swing the blade. This was the last day of the trial. The D. A. wanted a guilty verdict. Elijah never wanted this case to see the inside of a court, but it was his job to see justice done. And today, it would be…
"Ladies and gentleman of the jury," Elijah said, moving to stand by the end of the jury box. All of the jurors' heads turned toward him. "Miss Marshall has spent the better part of a week trying to prove her client's innocence." He turned to look at Hayley who stared back, her jaw tight. Marcel did not even bother to look back at Elijah. He sat with his hands folded in his lap, waiting for Elijah to conclude his part of this nightmare.
Turning back to the jury, Elijah tapped his hand on the railing. "We understand that Mr. Gerard, the elder, not to be confused with his son, had a volatile relationship with his son. On more than one occasion, as witnesses testified—earlier in the week—the two were seen arguing in public. Now, for anyone who has a parent, or is a parent, we know we do not always agree with our family. That does not mean that we will go home and stab them to death? Does it?"
Shaking his head, Elijah shot the jury a solemn expression. "In fact, if matters were so untenable, we might sever ties with our relation if our relationship was sour. We might even go so far as to move across the country. Begin a new life. After all, Marcel Gerard had the means and the education that many men do not. He could have left before things spiraled to the extent that he found himself, knife in hand, standing over his drunken, abusive father and plunging a knife into him. Over and over again!" Elijah made as if he were stabbing Elder Gerard.
Stopping, Elijah adjusted his tie and smoothed his hair, inhaling sharply before he looked a frightened looking woman in the eye. "This is a crime of passion. It is a very old crime which we have seen time and time again. It involved all of the key elements." Holding up his hand, he began to count on his fingers. "Family. Money. And revenge." He listed off. "And if we allow Mr. Gerard to leave here, unpunished, we will be rewarding him! He will gain his father's place heading up Mikaelson and Gerard. He will gain his father's money. And who knows whether Marcel Gerard will kill again? Perhaps a client will anger him? Perhaps a lover?"
Elijah turned to look at the audience. "My own sister." Elijah pointed out Rebekah as her cheeks turned a bright scarlet.
"How dare you!" Rebekah shouted.
"Ma'am, I caution you to stay silent or you will be removed from the courtroom," the judge said, glowering at Rebekah.
Rebekah shot a lethal glare in Elijah's direction. Eyes moving around the audience, Elijah saw his boss and a few other interested parties in attendance.
Returning to his argument, Elijah looked back at the jury. "All we know is that we have one suspect. One person with the motive. One person who could be placed at the scene of the crime. Now, it is up to you to tell us whether or not you believe this man to be the architect of his father's demise." Elijah turned on his heel to stare at Marcel. He paused for longer than necessary and then dropped his head forward and nodded. "The prosecution rests, your honor."
"Right. Defense," the judge called out.
Rising, Hayley shot Elijah a dark look before she moved to stand in front of the jury. "The prosecution would like to paint you a picture. It is a very clear picture. No need for you to try to make your own interpretations. No, according to the prosecutor, there is only one conclusion you can draw: My client, Marcel Gerard is guilty of killing his father."
Hayley paused, giving Marcel a look and he looked back at his friend. A few of the jury members seemed to be caught in the long and silent messages the two friends were passing back and forth.
With a smile, Hayley turned back to the jury. "I have known Marcel Gerard for a long time. And, yes, I am prejudiced. Yes, he is my friend. So, when I tell you: He is a good man and I could never see him killing anyone—unless it was self-defense—and this case is clearly not one involving self-defense; you might question me. But unlike the prosecution, I am not attempting to drive my own opinions into your minds. No, I want you to believe, without the shadow of a doubt in my client's innocence."
Hayley walked back and forth, looking at each of the jury members while Elijah steepled his fingers and waited to see where she was going with her closing argument.
"The prosecution told you a story of two men who hated each other. One of whom sought his father's wealth and prestige and may have become an affluent monster who would have means to be able to get away with another murder, or five, with the backing of a firm such as our own, Mikaelson and Gerard." Hayley paused and shook her head. "And it is true. Anyone with that kind of power, anyone who was a depraved monster, such as the type of person the prosecution described to you, today, might very well walk out of here and do exactly what the prosecution described."
Hayley turned to face Elijah and they stared at each other. Elijah sat up a little bit straighter as Hayley held up a finger. "But what if the prosecution is wrong?"
The courtroom became so silent you could almost hear a pin drop. "What if there are forces at work? Forces that are much more powerful than, and much more corrupt than anything Mr. Mikaelson has just described to you?" She whirled to face the jury but Elijah already saw the shock she was about to present to the jury before she slammed her hands down on the rail and began to speak as if she were confiding to them. Elijah sat forward, watching the jury lean forward to hang on Hayley's words.
"What if those forces worked to make my client look guilty?" Hayley's head turned from side to side and Elijah watched, cupping his own chin and being sucked into Hayley's narrative. "What if this entire trial has been a farce? What if those persons who are truly guilty…" Hayley turned around and swept a finger over the audience, "What if those forces are sitting right here? In this very audience?" Her brows lifted. "What if the key to my client's innocence is in someone else's guilt? What if we were wrong the entire time? And there is proof that someone, or more than one person, was the real killer of Elder Gerard!" she cried out, still swinging her finger before it stopped to point at Elijah's boss.
"What the hell is this?" de Martel shot to his feet. His cheeks turned crimson as he looked at the judge.
"Please, be silent, Mr. de Martel," the judge called out. "Tread lightly, Ms. Marshall."
Hayley shot Elijah a smile. "What if I could tell you that there is proof of a conspiracy so deeply embedded within this city that it would make you question many of the prosecutions of the last decade?" Hayley pushed away from the jury box and marched over to her desk. "I would like to ask the jury to take into account evidence that I have obtained before they make their final decision."
"Mikaelson," de Martel snarled.
Elijah pushed back his chair and moved to stand on the other side of the gate while the D. A. glared at him. "What the hell are you doing?" de Martel demanded.
"I would like to see both members of council in my office. And bring this so-called evidence with you," the judge called out. "No one leaves this courtroom." She sent the bailiff a look.
Elijah's eyes went to the back of the courtroom where two women had been planning a hasty exit but found themselves being barred from leaving. His lips twisted in the corners before he looked to his boss. "I am as clueless about what is happening as you are."
Without another word, Elijah followed Hayley out of the courtroom and back to the judge's chambers. The judge seemed rattled as she took off her robe and took a seat behind her desk. "Would you two like to tell me what kind of game you're playing before I charge you both with contempt?"
Elijah and Hayley exchanged a look. "Judge, we're very sorry," Elijah began.
"We wish we could have included you earlier, but we were working to try to solve this case," Hayley added.
"The two of you?" The judge let out a quiet chuckle. "Mikaelson, you go from defending the elite to prosecuting them. Now, you're helping the opposing council defeat you in court. What are you doing?"
Elijah shrugged. "At the end of the day, I serve the law, and I would not be serving the law if I were to see a man who does not deserve to be sent to jail sent there. I believe in Marcel Gerard's innocence."
"Could have fooled me," the judge gave Elijah an amused look. "There for awhile I thought you had changed your mind and were going for life behind bars without parole."
"I will leave it up to you and the jury to decide what fate befits the real villains of this story," Elijah retorted.
"And do you mind telling me who these 'villains' are? Or do you plan on keeping us in suspense," the judge looked from Elijah to Hayley.
Hayley nodded. "We believe this is a conspiracy between the current D. A., a member of Mikaelson and Gerard, Celeste Du Bois, and a crime family: The Guerras. One of the brothers had been using another name: Corerra, and has taken a job as a police officer. If you had e-mails subpoenaed, you'd find a direct link between these three discussing future plans."
"Right…" The judge shook her head. "And do I want to know how you would have access to these e-mails?"
Elijah nodded. "Given our D. A.'s political ambitions in the last month, he asked me to take over a number of his smaller cases. He gave me access to his e-mail but seemed to have forgotten to empty his deleted e-mails box before I began going through them."
"Oh?" the judge looked intrigued. "And you said something about a flash-drive you wanted to place into evidence," the judge added, to Hayley. "What sordid piece of evidence shall we uncover there?"
Hayley pulled out the flash-drive from inside her briefcase. "This contains a copy of a 'Last Will and Testament of Elder Gerard.' In fact, I believe that on the night that Elder Gerard was drunk and would soon meet his fate, someone had him sign this new will. The will makes Celeste Du Bois' unborn child into the sole heir of Elder Gerard's estate."
"In the child Gerard's?" The judge asked.
"It appears she wanted him to believe so." Elijah said. "I was also sent a series of mysterious memos. At first I believed that someone was trying to tell me that Gerard was murdered for sexually harassing women who worked for him. Then I found one of the memos I'd missed. It slipped into the junk mail folder. One of the women I had not talked with happened to be –"
"Celeste du Bois," the judge said and Elijah nodded. "But what did she want with the Guerras?"
"They were looking for a new firm to represent them with the casino that they planned on opening two years from now." Hayley opened her purse. "When in fact it is a front for a money laundering service. None of the cash floating the casino would be real. But the clients who came in would be using real cash. They thought Celeste would use the firm to protect them if they fixed her problem: Elder Gerard."
"Which is where Marcel comes in. They needed a scapegoat. And the D. A. needs a big conviction to be able to move forward. Also, he might need a big firm to represent him if he was ever accused of wrongful prosecution."
The judge shook her head. "That is one hell of a case," she told them. "I'm going to take a few minutes to look over the evidence that you've presented me and then I shall return to tell you my findings."
Elijah got up and Hayley looked nervous. He could tell she had something she wanted to say to the judge, but he placed a gentle hand on her arm. After a moment, Hayley stood up. "Thank you," she said to the judge before she and Elijah went into the hallway.
Once they were in the hallway and no one else seemed to be within hearing distance; Hayley turned to Elijah. She did not look as pleased as he'd hoped she would. "Do you think it's enough?" she demanded.
"Hayley, we agreed on this plan. All of us. Marcel included." Elijah wanted to place his hands on her shoulders, gather her to him and hold her tight. But it would be better for the case to keep a professional demeanor. It would soon be over. "I said, and I meant: I have faith in the law."
"Even if it doesn't always work in the favor of what is right and just?" Hayley demanded. Her hands went up in the air. "We both know that you were right when you implied that de Martel has used that office to place innocent people behind bars. This has to stop!"
"Hayley. You need to calm yourself." Elijah found himself whispering, leaning closer to her than professional edict would allow him to. Professionalism be damned. Raising his arms, he tugged her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder and he pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. Soon enough others would know they were together and expecting. To hell with the façade.
After a moment, Hayley broke away from him. "We should go in. Wait for the judge and hope she found our argument appealing."
"Right." Elijah moved to leave. He walked just a tiny bit behind her. Just enough to play out the façade once more. However, once they were back in the courtroom, Elijah found de Martel had moved to the prosecutor's desk. He sat in Elijah's chair and was stewing.
The moment Elijah took the other seat, D. A. de Martel turned to glare at him. "What have you been up to, Mikaelson?" he ground out.
"Nothing. It's more what you've been up to," Elijah replied, smoothing his tie, eyeing the jury who seemed to feel this had become entertainment. Some of them were eying the back of de Martel's head as if the secrets of the juicy trial might come seeping out the back.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" de Martel snarled back. He was about to lose his temper. If Elijah pushed him just a tiny bit more…
Tipping his head to the side, Elijah leaned a little closer. "While I was in the judge's chambers, I felt it necessary to confess that I had seen e-mails on your computer. Coming from and going out to Ms. Celeste du Bois and Ms. Francesca Guerra…"
"You what? You don't even have access to my computer!" de Martel snarled back.
"Don't you remember asking me to work those cases? So you could concentrate on the up-coming election?" Elijah offered de Martel a puzzled look. "I know. You've been so very busy. It must have slipped your mind."
"I never gave you direct access to my office. Nor to my computer," de Martel insisted.
Elijah held up his hands. "Right then. Well, I did mention to the judge she might want to place a subpoena on your computer, just in case you attempt to take those e-mails out of the Deleted items folder."
"You son of a bitch!" de Martel shouted. He took hold of Elijah's jacket. "I took a chance you! I knew you were scum, just like your snake of a father!"
"Gentlemen!" the judge cried as she came into the courtroom. She shook her head at de Martel.
"Your honor!" de Martel shot to his feet. "I must ask for a moment of your time!"
"You may ask," the judge smirked back at de Martel. "I've thought it through: request denied. Now, after reviewing new evidence which leads me to believe that you are prosecuting the wrong suspect, I must use my authority to dismiss this case. Mr. Gerard, I do apologize for your time being spent in our local jail. Jury, thank you for your service, you are dismissed. It is my privilege to ask my bailiffs to take the following into custody: D. A. de Martel. Ms. Francesca Guerra. Ms. Celeste du Bois, Mr. Antonio Guerra, Mr…"
Elijah got up and turned to face Hayley who was hugging his lawyer. Rebekah pushed through the gate to grab her boyfriend and kiss him on the lips. "You're free!" she cried.
Hayley finally caught Elijah's eye as she picked up her briefcase. She had a little smile on her face as she opened it. He found he was smiling, too. They'd won. It was over.
~0~
"I'm just going to run upstairs and grab some things," Elijah told Hayley. She nodded, a look of content on her face. Elijah had promised that they could spend a night in a fancy hotel room, celebrating their joint victory. But he had to grab some of his things first.
"Be quick. Mama needs a foot rub," Hayley moaned, closing her eyes.
Chuckling, Elijah made his way to the elevator. He hit the button and then slipped inside. When the elevator doors opened, he slid his keys out and headed for his front door. He found a folded note taped to his door.
Opening the note, Elijah smile froze on his face.
Dear Elijah,
I am sorry to be doing this today. I saw the news of the trial. It looks like things turned out well for Hayley's client. I hope you didn't lose. You used to fret about it…
Rather than having a prolonged and painful battle; I have decided to take Nadia with me. After you called me that day to tell me what she'd done, I felt annoyed and then I realized how little I know my own child. I need her. And she needs me. One day, I hope you forgive me.
Love always,
Katerina
Inhaling, Elijah felt as if someone had hit him. He'd won a case. And lost his daughter. Pocketing his keys, Elijah went back downstairs. Hayley looked up and frowned. Getting out of the car, she came toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Elijah, what's wrong?"
Wordlessly, Elijah handed over the note and Hayley's eyes went over the page. "She can't do that! She can't just leave the country –"
Holding up a hand, Elijah moved to lean against his car. "It's alright, Hayley. She's right. Nadia needs her. And she needs Nadia, even if she hasn't fully realized what that means." He could feel tears burning behind his eyelids. He might never see his child, again. Placing his head on Hayley's shoulder, Elijah inhaled.
"I love you," Hayley whispered, patting his cheek. "We love you." She placed his hand on her bump and Elijah nodded. "We're going to be okay. All of us."
Pressing his lips to Hayley's temple, Elijah closed his eyes. "I know it's early, but would you like to discuss names."
"While you're giving me a foot rub, you can discuss anything you like," Hayley replied. Her eyes met his. Resting his forehead on hers, he felt grateful he had met her. He felt grateful they were together and he hoped nothing tore them apart.
The epilogue should be up this Saturday!
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
-J