Chapter 8 - THE AUDIT OF MARLENE
The legal battle against Marlene was different.
She wasn't violent like Derek,
but her cruelty was deeper,
more calculated.
She sat in the courtroom during her preliminary hearing,
her head held high,
clutching a Bible as if it were a shield.
Her lawyer tried to claim she was an "unwitting participant."
"She’s an elderly woman,"
the lawyer argued.
"She trusted her son."
"She didn't understand the complexities of the company finances."
I sat in the witness stand,
my laptop open in front of me.
"Is that so?"
I asked,
turning the screen toward the judge.
"Then perhaps she can explain these emails."
I pulled up a thread from three months ago.
It was from Marlene to Derek.
'The audit is coming,
Derek.
Make sure the invoices for the fictitious concrete company are buried.'
'And Cassie?
Make sure she’s drugged enough that she doesn't check the mail.'
The courtroom went silent.
Marlene’s face went from pale to a ghastly,
ashy gray.
"I have three hundred more emails like this,"
I told the judge.
"Marlene wasn't a victim."
"She was the architect."
"She was the one who taught Derek how to hide the money."
"She was the one who suggested the forgery."
I looked directly at Marlene.
"She even suggested that I be 'dealt with' permanently if I became too much of a problem."
Marlene’s lawyer sat down,
his face a mask of defeat.
The judge looked at Marlene with pure disgust.
"Bail is denied,"
the judge declared.
"The defendant is a flight risk and a danger to the community."
Marlene was led away,
her Bible falling to the floor.
She didn't scream like Derek.
She just looked at me with a hatred so pure it felt like a physical chill.
But I didn't flinch.
I had seen the monster behind the silk robe.
I had seen the greedy woman behind the pearls.
And I was no longer afraid of her.
Elena met me outside the courtroom.
"You were brilliant,"
she said.
"The DA is thrilled."
"They’re going to offer Derek a plea deal if he testifies against his mother."
I smiled.
"He will,"
I said.
"Derek only cares about himself."
"He’ll throw her under the bus in a heartbeat."
"And Marlene would do the same to him."
"There is no loyalty among thieves,
Elena."
"Especially not these two."
We walked to the car,
the sun setting behind the courthouse.
The shadows were long,
but they were no longer scary.
They were just part of the day.
I was going home to a house that was mine.
May you like
I was going home to a life that was free.
And the audit was almost complete.
