CHAPTER 5

THE NEXT DAY.

 I waited ever so eagerly for her call, I didn't know when she would call me but I was hopeful she would, regardless of the mess going in in her life. My phone rang and I hurried to answer it, not even bothering to check the caller. All I could hear for some moments was muffled cries. I glanced at the screen of my phone, alarmed. “Charlotte?"

   “Jameson?" She cleared her throat. “Uhh, hi. Are you um, are you busy?" She cleared her throat again.

   Even if I was supposed to be, the sound of her voice cancelled it. “No. Is everything all right?"

   “Can we meet up?" She says. I could almost feel her effort to sound stronger.

   “Of course. I'll pick you up".

   “No no. I'll meet you". She rattled off a location, sounding sure of herself now.

   “Alright then. Ten minutes."

   “Ten minutes" she said, and ended the call.

 **

Fifteen minutes later I was staring at her red and bulging eyes across a table in a restaurant. “Did he hurt you again?" She gave me a guarded look and pursed her lips. Right. “I know everything, you know. There's nothing to hide".

   “I'm not hiding anything". She wouldn't meet my eyes.

   “Really?" I called her bluff. “Why did you call me out then?"

   Her shoulders sagged. “I don't know. There just... wasn't anyone else I could talk to. You're the first person that came to my mind". She put her face in her hands. I wanted to take her hands in mine, I wanted to buy a gun and shoot the bastard that was making her cry.

  “Your dad?"

She scoffed, looking up at the ceiling. “I haven't spoken to him in almost six months. Bran made me-" she bit her lips hard.

I got it. “Hey, it's okay. I'm here". 

She smiled wistfully, finally meeting my eyes. There was a pause. “It wasn't more than what had already happened. I just couldn't bear to see him and my sister-" Her voice broke. “Why Tati, of all people? Why did they have to hurt me this way? I swear I would have taken it better if it were some random girl, but my sister-" She started to sob again. I desperately wanted to reach across the table and take her hands in mine to comfort her, but I had to be careful. I did not want her to withdraw. 

“I'm sorry. I wish I could make it better"

She shook her head, her shoulders shaking.

I clenched my hands under the table. Men like her ex-husband had to be stopped. An idea began to form in my mind. I couldn't help it, I'm a lawyer and it is my job to make people pay for their crimes. “Would you like him to pay for what he's done to you?"

She sniffed hard. “How? You have no idea how powerful he is. He runs a powerful investment company and he has tons of money. People like him go scot free. Where do I start from?"

It was starting to sound even better. “Investment company, you say?"

“Yeah, Star Trusts."

“Star Trusts? Your husband is Brandon Coslin?"

She nodded.

I remembered the cunning eyed, goody two shoes from high school. He was always pretending to be a good person, but I knew he was horrible, even though the students and teachers ate up his fake acts like ice cream cake. I was the bully of the school, I was never in good terms with the teachers, even though my grades were near perfect. I never knew he had eyes on Charlotte. Now it was personal. 

“Charlotte", I sat up, folding my hands on the table and leaning forward, “I'm a lawyer. And I think your husband needs to pay for what he has done to you. Think about all you've been through in his hands. You've never been happy. You worked like a slave, loving him blindly and believing with all your heart that he loved you in return, and all he gave you in return was an affair with your sister and divorce papers. Shouldn't you make him feel the pain you're feeling?" I lowered his voice to the persuasive tone I use for suspects I want to crack open. “Shouldn't you?"

She had a faraway look in her eye. “What do you think I can do?"

I sat back. “Take the one thing that he loves the most away from him."

She was horrified. “We're not killing anybody".

“I meant his business". I did not think the man loved anyone. “Who would we want to kill anyway?"

“His mother" she muttered, downcast again. I noted the sentiment.

“I'm sure a man like your ex-husband is not a honest business man. We'll dig out his skeletons, look for loopholes in his business and crash it all down".

“Yes, I'll take the one thing that makes him feel like a man of his own" Dark excitement washed over her face for a few seconds. God, she was beautiful. The excitement vanished again. “What about my sister?"

I shrugged. “What about her?" 

“All this would affect her, wouldn't it?"

I raised a brow. She looked uneasy, but she said no more. “Really?" I said in a low voice. “She did all that to you and you still pity her?" She shrugged. “I think your sister should go to hell. She deserves to pay too. And I think you know this". Charlotte nodded slowly.

“Hey, look at me" I finally dared to take her hand in mine. Her hand twitched but she did not pull away. “You can choose to move on and do something else with your life. But you know there'll never be justice, and men like him would always go scot free. It's up to you to make sure he pays for his crimes, and if you can do it, why not? It's not a bad thing". I rubbed little circles in her palm with my thumb, trying to make the words sink in. She still had the faraway look in her eye, like she was in another world. I let her think.

“I just want to heal". She whispered. I leaned closer so I could hear her clearly. “I don't want to feel this pain anymore. It's too much. I want-" she paused, “I want it to go away". She looked at me, tears in her eyes again, “I want it to go away".

I sighed. “I understand. It will." She blinked hard, and a few drops of tears ran down her face. I fisted my free hand, resisting the desire to wipe them away. “You'll need to stay somewhere else, for your mental health". She looked at me again. Common sense made me refrain from mentioning my place. She sighed, looking away. 

“I can't avoid my dad forever, I guess. He'll be so mad". She removed her hand from mine. “Thank you, Jameson" she said, standing. “This is a situation I never considered possible, considering how horrible you were horrible to me back then".

Again I held back from telling her that all I ever wanted was her attention. “I wasn't the nicest of kids".

“That's right. You weren't." She yawned. “I still need to go to my ex' house to pick something though". She grimaced. “I'll go see my dad after that."

“I'll drop you" I said, rising too. She smiled tiredly, and yawned again. I smiled softly. She'd always been so, so beautiful. She caught my stare, and she straightened, self conscious. I cleared my throat. “Shall we?" 

CHARLOTTE'S POV

     I spent a good ninety seconds staring at my ex'es house, mentally preparing myself. My conversation with Jameson was peaceful, and he'd actually changed a lot from the unruly kid he used to be. And he was a lawyer now. I blushed, thinking of my drunken night with him. What must he think of me? And did I do well? Satisfy him, at least? That was a horrible thought, but my husband did leave me for my sister. Maybe I wasn't good enough? I brushed the thought aside, taking a deep breath and walking to the house. As soon as I opened the door, loud moaning greeted me. My newly divorced husband and my sister were having it in the living room. My sister was bent over a couch, and he was ramming into her, his face tight with pleasure. He did not hear me when I slammed the door hard to alert them of my presence. Tatiana did, and she smirked when she saw me, letting out another loud moan. I swallowed, walking silently last them. I thought I could grab something to eat before I left the house, but my appetite was gone now. Tears filled my eyes again as I heard my husband reach his climax with that sound I loved so much. But it wasn't me he was filling. It was my sister. How could I have missed it all along? Jameson was right. I needed to leave the house, for my mental health. 

When I got into my room a horrible sight greeted me. My clothes were in a mess and my entire room had been overturned. Three dogs I'd never seen in my life were roaming about, and before my very eyes one urinated on a limited edition of my favourite novel. I dropped to my knees, shocked. There was a sinister chuckle behind me.

“Shocked?" My sister purred. She walked in, gingerly stepping over the mess. “It was Bran's mother's idea." She looked proud. “You've overstayed your welcome".

“But Bran said-he- I still have time."

Tatiana stared at me. “You've overstayed your welcome". She repeated. She walked out, brushing past a stricken me. I watched the dog proceed to destroy another one of my precious books.

A terrible hatred suddenly rose in me. I'd had enough, been through enough. And I now knew how I must heal. I dialed a number on my phone.

“Charlotte?" Jameson said as soon as he picked.

“You're right. They have to pay. And I'm ready to make that happen".