23
The courtroom was eerily quiet. Guilty? Charlie Swan was pleading guilty. Why? Why would he plead guilty, when the man clearly didn't feel an ounce of remorse based on the hardened glare on his face every time he looked at Bella? So why would he plead guilty?
"Very well," the judge said, clearly surprised as well. "What are you seeking in way of bail, Miss Simons?"
The prosecutor, a young woman in her late twenties with shoulder length strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes, shifted her attention from the judge to the four defendants and back before saying, "We seek remand, your honor. All four have means and motive to flee the country."
"You're honor, neither Billy nor Jacob Black have the means to flee the state, much less the country," the sandy haired man said, sighing as he shook his head. "The fact that either of my clients were even arrested on such baseless charges is outrageous enough. Don't add insult to injury by keeping them locked away when they've done nothing wrong."
"Tell that to the multitude of young women they've assaulted, or should I start parading them in here one by one," Miss Simons argued, gesturing back toward Bella, causing the older man on the other side of the courtroom to look at her, a smirk slipping over his lips.
"We are not going to argue the validity of charges today," the judge scoffed, leaning forward and placing her hands together. "Bail is set to five million dollars each, cash or bond," she added before standing up, her eyes flickering to Bella before saying, "Court is dismissed."
As she hurried out of the courtroom, Charlie, Renee, Jacob, and Billy were escorted out of the room, with not nearly enough force in Bella's opinion. Renee cried, looking back at her like she was suddenly going to forgive her mother for betraying her. That was never going to happen.
The man across the aisle stood up and walked over to where Bella was still seated in between Alice and Carlisle. She expected him to say something, anything, yet he merely looked at her for a moment before he left. Bella blew out a deep breath and stood up.
"That was my grandfather, wasn't it?" she asked.
"I would assume so," Carlisle said, standing up and turning his attention toward the prosecutor. "Tanya."
"Carlisle," she returned, smiling as she turned and looked at Bella. "You've certainly flipped the lid on a lot of shit, haven't you, dear?"
"Guess so," she quipped. "What can I say? Not a fan of being sexually assaulted?"
"I wasn't either," she replied, sticking her hand out toward her. "Tanya Simons."
She shook her hand. "Bella Swan. Why'd he plead guilty?"
"My guess is he thinks he can get a deal, flip on the others and get a lighter sentence, or avoid jail all together. Carry on their misguided mission, under a different guise, of course."
"Is that a possibility?" Alice asked, sliding her arm around Bella's waist.
Tanya shrugged. "Depends on whether or not my boss agrees or not. It's not my decision to make, and unfortunately, he's not as sympathetic for the cause as I am." She gave Bella a soft smile. "But I'm going to fight for you, Bella."
"You are?"
Tanya smiled and nodded. "I won't stand here and promise you anything, but I really want to nail that bastard to the wall."
"Why?" she asked, stepping toward her.
Tanya's smile dropped. "Because I loved a girl who wasn't lucky enough to have the queers next door save her when men broke in and decided it was their job to save her twisted soul. Victoria . . . Well, she was the love of my life, and I failed to save her, but maybe — just maybe, I can save you, Bella, and all the little girls like us who just need someone to love us for who we are instead of trying to force us to be like them."
Tanya gave her a soft smile before she turned and walked out of the courtroom, leaving Bella to wonder just how many people would be saved if they managed to take The Midnight Sun Society down? And how many people would be would be slaughtered if they didn't.
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