Hope you like this installment. I have plans to incorporate Daniel, Cora, Henry Sr, and Tink in the next few chapters. Let me know if there is any other characters you'd like to see and what you'd like Regina to propose for their evening activity!
The Deal
David parked the police cruiser in front of the elegant two-story home located at 108 Mifflin Street. To the outside world, it was a dream house but to Regina, it had been a golden cage. David watched her hug the teddy bear tightly, her breathing speeding up slightly at the thought of returning to her husband's home. David gently took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "We won't be here long."
Regina nodded. "I just want a couple of things from the house." She declared in a firm tone, trying to give herself enough courage to face her worst nightmare.
"Take everything you need."
"Let's get this over with." She took a deep breath before opening the passenger door and getting out of the vehicle. David did the same and rounded the cruiser to meet Regina. He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently led her up the driveway of her former home.
The Sheriff's blood boiled in his veins as soon as he saw Mr Gold. He felt Regina tense immediately as she stopped in her tracks. "What is he doing here?" Her nostrils were flaring with rage. Whatever her history with the man was, it wasn't pretty.
"Wait here." He asked her before walking the few steps separating him from the porch where the lawyer was standing.
"Sheriff Nolan." The man greeted tersely. "I believe Mrs White and I have some business to attend to."
"She just wants to get some of her things out of the house."
"Things that belong to my client." Mr Gold argued back. "And therefore Mrs White has no rights to them. But my client is feeling generous and has authorized me to make Mrs White a non-negotiable offer."
"What kind of offer?" David's eyes narrow suspiciously.
"Some alimony while my client is awaiting trial. A generous offer if I may say so myself."
"It was no generous offer." The man jumped at the feminine voice. David turned on his heels to find Assistant D.A. Malerie Balaur, better known as Maleficent in the courtroom for the fierceness with which she handled all her cases. The nickname had stuck after a defense lawyer had compared her to a fire-breathing dragon. "The judge ordered your client to pay alimony until a divorce settlement could be reached." The blonde woman smiled at David warmly.
"Mal." He greeted. Over the past few years working at the Sheriff's office, David had come to appreciate Malerie's dedication to her job. She had a conviction rate of about 93%, higher than anyone else at the D.A.'s office.
"Sheriff." She greeted back before turning her attention toward Regina, who had stayed in the driveway of her own home, unsure of what to do next.
"Shall we?" Gold extended his hand to motion Regina inside the home. "I'd like to get this unpleasant business behind me." Regina slowly approached the trio on the porch, staying near David and eyeing both lawyers suspiciously.
David rolled his eyes but said nothing. The man didn't have the decency to look Regina in the eyes, to look at what his client had done to her. Although her bruising had diminished considerably, she still bore the marks of her most recent encounter with Leopold White. David reached out for the woman's hand and started toward the front door only to be stopped a few seconds later by the lawyer's hand flat across his chest. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to stay outside. The Sheriff's department doesn't have a warrant to enter the home." He turned toward Mal shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the next. "And neither does the D.A.'s office."
Regina recoiled at the realization that she would have to go inside the home alone. She shook her head and took a step back. "No… I don't need anything inside the home."
David held her hand firmly, knowing that if he let go she would run away. "Regina…" He called out softly, letting her take a few steps back down the porch toward the alleyway. "I'm going to call Granny. She'll be with you."
Regina shook her head. "It's ok. I don't need anything."
Mal slowly approached the frightened brunette. She had seen this behavior before in New York when she was the D.A. attached to the cases coming from the the Special Victims Unit. They were the reason she had moved to a sleepy town in Northern Maine. "Regina, you don't have to go inside if you don't want to." She reassured immediately. "If you give a list of the items you want to a friend, that person will go inside and take them for you. But I need your signature on your alimony. We can do this outside if you prefer. It's your choice." By the time she finished her tirade, she was standing by Regina's side.
The woman had stopped pulling at David's hand. She was looking in-between the elegant blonde woman and the prison she had been forced to call her home for over fifteen years. She only wanted to get one box, the box that contained all of her childhood's dreams and hopes. "Outside." She answered Mal's unspoken question. "Let's do this outside."
David smiled at her encouragingly. "I'll call Granny. Ask her to meet us here."
Regina nodded before turning her attention back to Mal. "What do you need from me?"
"Mr. Gold and I will first go over the terms of the arrangement." She motioned for the sleazy lawyer to meet them at the foot of the stairs.
The man shook his head but complied, dramatizing the difficulty to walk down the three steps with his bad leg. "Should we go to the back? At least have a table to set the paperwork on?" He asked with disdain dripping from every word.
"You can use the cruiser." David offered. "The trunk works out pretty well for us."
The man shook his head but relented. "Fine." Regina displayed all the signs of past-traumatic stress disorder consistent with domestic abuse. Gold knew the case would be hard to win for his client but failing Mayor Gold wasn't an option. All he could hope was destroying Regina's testimony or not have her testify at all. And the little display he had just witnessed gave him hope to accomplish his goal.
Malerie and Gold walked toward the back of the cruiser while David excused himself to call Granny. He hoped the woman wasn't too busy at the diner but considering her growing affection for Regina, he knew she would move heaven and earth to come to the mansion within the next fifteen minutes.
Regina watched as Gold placed his briefcase on top of the closed trunk and took a stack of paper out. "Until my client can file for divorce, you are not allowed to take any of the clothes and jewelry that was bought during your time together. I will also need your key to the house."
Regina fought the tears that were burning her eyes. What was she going to wear? She didn't care much about the expensive clothes Leopold had insisted on but she couldn't continue to raid Ruby's closet every morning in search of something to wear for the day. Gold kept enumerating the things she would have to leave behind. Although the experience was humiliating, she didn't care about what her husband had given her. All she cared about was the box she had hidden at the bottom of their walk-in closet.
"He will also provide you with $200 a week." Gold finished.
"$200 dollars!" David exclaimed as he overheard the last part of the conversation after hanging up with Granny. "This is a joke! After everything he's done to her…"
"Allegedly done." Gold corrected. "After the false accusations she had made against my client, Mrs White should be happy that her husband cares enough to give her any alimony."
"He was ordered to do so by the judge, Gold. Don't make it sound like it was a grand gesture." Mal's eyes narrowed on the lawyer. She wouldn't be the one prosecuting the domestic abuse case. D.A. Spencer kept the honor to do so to himself, to ensure that his name would be on the ballot for the next election. But Mal had agreed to serve as a second chair on the case whenever she was needed. Spencer didn't care about Regina's well-being. To him, she was just a means to an end. Therefore, it had fallen on Mal's shoulders to make sure the woman would have enough to survive until she could file for divorce.
Gold grunted and handed a pen to Regina. "Initial each page and sign at the bottom of the last one."
Regina took the pen and read the document carefully before following the lawyer's instructions. Gold placed the signed documents back in his briefcase and produced an envelope filled with cash. He counted $200 and handed them to Regina. "Sign here to acknowledge receipt."
Regina took the cash with a shaky hand and signed on the top line of the envelope next to today's date. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt nauseous: how was she going to pay for her room at Granny's? How about her hospital bills? And David?
"Thank you." Gold said as he placed the envelope back into his briefcase and closed it. "Should we get your belongings?"
Regina looked at David imploringly. She wanted to get the box but she couldn't go inside the home by herself. "Mrs Lucas will be here in just a minute." David announced to Gold's dismay.
"Fine." The lawyer conceded between clenched teeth. "If you don't mind, I'll make myself comfortable inside. Your key, please."
Regina shook her head. "I didn't take it with me when Leopold brought me to the hospital. It's inside."
"Perfect then. Let me know when you're ready to go inside." The man didn't wait for an answer and walked up the driveway.
As soon as the man was out of earshot, Regina turned toward David, tears flowing down her cheeks. "How am I going to pay Granny? And the hospital? What am I gonna do?"
David gently pulled Regina into a tender embrace. "We'll figure something out. You're not alone. I promise to take care of you." David suspected Granny wouldn't ask for compensation but $200 a week would not be enough to pay for her medical bills and other necessities.
Mal looked at the woman breaking down in the Sheriff's arms. Regina had suffered enough and Mal swore to herself that she would do everything in her power to put Leopold behind bars for a very long time. "Regina?" She called out softly.
Regina tensed in David's arms. She had forgotten about the D.A.'s presence and chastised herself for breaking down in front of her. She recomposed herself before turning around in David's arms to face the blonde woman.
"For what it's worth, there are some local and state programs that would help you with the medical bills. I can bring you some brochures."
Regina nodded slowly, feeling utterly humiliated by the offer. Is this what her life was going to be? Living off of other people's charity?
"Thank you, Mal." David said warmly.
"You're welcome." The lawyer placed her hand on Regina's shoulder. "You are braver than you think, Regina. Not all women have the courage to walk away. You did. And you're going to have the life you've always wanted. I promise."
"How can you make me such a promise?" Regina snapped.
"Because ten years ago, I was in your position." The blonde responded. "But with the help of my friends, I left my husband and went back to college. It wasn't easy but I got my law degree and passed the bar. But you know what was the hardest part? Walking away and deciding what I wanted to do with and for myself. So answer just one question: what does Regina White would like to do?"
"Regina Mills." The brunette responded. "And I just want to be happy."