The White Billionaire's Baby (BWWM Interracial Romance) (8 page)

After I was sworn in, the prosecution asked me the questions that we rehearsed. I talked about how me and Marcus met, what he meant to me in my life, and how we worked together in the drug trade. I then spoke about why we parted ways, and about his blackmail. When I talked about how much I loved him, I could see Marcus’s jaw clench. As if he thought that I was full of shit or if he knew he fucked up with me. I rattled off my answers from pure memory and all of my coaching came into play. I then understood why I’d been drilled over and over again. If I hadn’t practiced beforehand, my mind would have went blank, and I would have looked like a driveling idiot on the stand.

It was a pity we could not practice the questions from the defense as this was to prove much trickier.

 Marcus’s lawyer began to question me, and he didn’t pull any punches. Everything about him was intimidating. He was small in stature, but he had the most menacing look that I’d ever seen. He was a Caucasian man who looked to be in his 50’s and it was clear why Marcus chose him as his lawyer. They had similar dispositions, and I knew off of instinct that he wasn’t just unpleasant in the courtroom. I felt sorry for whoever had the misfortune of having him in their life on the daily basis.   

“
So you’re saying that you weren’t seeing Marcus anymore after you met Kyle?” He asked.

I frowned, “No I wasn’t romantically involved with Marcus during that time. I stopped seeing him months before I ever applied for the position.”

“I find that really hard to believe,” he said slowly. He looked at me as if he was scolding a child. I held my head high and returned his disapproving gaze.

I didn’t appreciate what he was trying to imply, and I hoped that he really didn’t take it there.

“I’m sorry that you find it hard to believe but that doesn’t make it any less true,” I responded.

“
What attracted you to Mr. Kane?” The lawyer asked quickly.

“
Well I find him to be incredibly attractive, and I fell in love with him once I got to know him,” I said.

“
I’m sure the money didn’t hurt either,” he said.

“
Of course not, it never does,” I said truthfully.

“
So you were using Mr. Kane for the money? He basically took you from rags to riches within a couple of weeks of knowing you. I won’t even speculate about what was happening behind those closed doors, but we all know that everything comes at a price,” he said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I wanted to hop off of the stand and punch him in the face. How dare he try to insinuate that I was trying to use Kyle for his money. I had no intention on disclosing the nature of how our relationship began because that wasn’t anyone’s business. Our relationship started out as mutually beneficial and turned into something more, but I was attracted to him the entire time. I looked at Kyle as all of the thoughts raced through my head. He looked at me with a peculiar expression, and I realized that it was because I hadn’t answered the question. I was having an entire conversation in my head in front of everyone. I pulled myself from my thoughts so that I could answer his question.

“No I wasn’t using him for his money. I wouldn’t do something like that,” I said.

Who in the hell did he think that he was? I’d always prided myself on not being a gold digger. I worked hard for everything that I owned and my tenacity and fighter spirit had served me well. I didn’t need Kyle in order to make it. I would have been just fine keeping my apartment in South Holland. I was with Kyle because I loved him, and that was it.

“
But yet you gave the defendant $5,000 of Mr. Kane’s hard earned money,” He replied.

I shook my head quickly, “I was blackmailed into giving him the money.”

“Then why didn’t you go to the police. According to my client, you gave him the money to treat himself with.”

“
That’s just not true. I didn’t give him that money freely. I didn’t go to the police because it was pretty effective blackmail. I didn’t want him to go public with the information that he had about me. I thought that it would have ruined me,” I pleaded.

“
And we’re supposed to believe that? The jury is supposed to believe that the man that you grew up with and loved turned on you? This is the same man that made sure you were taken care of as   a teenager and was your lover, correct?”

“
Yes but—,”

“
So I’m led to believe that you sold out the man that loved you because your meal ticket realized what was going on. You lied about the blackmail so that you wouldn’t look bad,” he said cutting me off.

“
Objection!” the prosecution lawyer called out.

“
Sustained,” the judge replied, “Jurors disregard that last statement. Watch it counselor,” the judge said to the defense lawyer.

“
Yes your honor,” he digressed. “Camille, is it true that you used to participate in robberies with Marcus?”

My heart beat out of my chest because I didn’t think that it would come up. That was something that Marcus and I did together a long time before we ever go into drugs. Just like with the drugs, I hadn’t stolen anything but I did help distract people, case their houses, and facilitate the process. I felt like complete shit on the stand, and I did my best to hide my shocked expression. I never told Kyle about that part of my life and all of it was playing out in front of his eyes. I wondered if he thought less of me because of my past. I couldn’t perjure myself and so I had to tell the truth.

“I didn’t steal—,”

“
It’s a yes or no question Camille,” he interjected sternly.

I took a deep breath, “Yes.”

I fought back the tears that were threatening to pour out of my eyes. I felt like I’d completely ruined the case because I wasn’t prepared. I never told the prosecution about my participation in stealing. I knew that they were going to be pissed about that. If Marcus got released because of me I would never forgive myself.  The familiar mouthwatering began again, and it was only a matter of time before I had to make my way to the rest room again.

The lawyer wore a cocky expression throughout the rest of my questioning, and I tried not to rush my answers. I answered clear and concisely to each one in the same manner that I did with the prosecution. His case was that since Marcus and I had conspired to rob people before this showed that we were conspiring to rob Kyle also as some sort of “long con”. It is amazing how these lawyers can twist things like this.

I’d mentally checked out. Once I was freed from the stand I went straight to the restroom. My dry heaves were painful because there wasn’t anything in my stomach to release. I didn’t want to return to the courtroom. I was way too stressed but I was finally off the stand and my portion in the entire mess was done. I didn’t want to see Kyle because I was ashamed. But once again he was outside of the bathroom when I emerged.

“Are you okay?”

“
I’m fine,” I said.

“
Maybe you should go home for the rest of the trial. This is just too hard for you and your part is finished.”

I thought that I would have welcomed the opportunity to go home, but my resolved strengthened. Kyle still had to take the stand, and I wanted to be there to support him in the same way that he supported me. I couldn’t let him down.

“No, the worst part is over and I’m going to see this through to the end. I don’t want to have to wait for a phone call or the media to figure out what happened.”

“
That’s my girl,” he said before he kissed my forehead and escorted me back into the courtroom.

Shortly after we returned Kyle took the stand, and he was cool, calm, and collected. He was everything that I wasn’t on the stand and my faith in the case was restored. He had an eloquent and honest answer for every question. When he discussed our relationship my heart swelled with pride and love, and I knew that the jurors couldn’t deny that we genuinely loved one another. What we had wasn’t superficial, and I didn’t appreciate the defense trying to pervert it.

*

The trial was one of the most mentally exhausting times of my life but it was now close to over. Waiting for the jurors to return for the sentencing was long. It took them over 2 hours to reach a verdict. I know that in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a long time, but it felt like forever. I kept going over all of the mistakes that I made on the stand and cringed. Kyle kept stroking my hand and kissing my temple. He didn’t kiss me on the lips, and I understood why. I mean I had thrown up twice that day and breath mints and gum could only cure so much. I couldn’t wait to get out of there so that I could brush my teeth.

When it was announced that the jury had reached a decision, I could feel my heart pounding in my throat, and my entire body began to shake. I sure could have used another one of those spankings. Maybe he should have taken me to the
 limo to give me one while we were waiting. I giggled at the absurdity of it all. Kyle gave me a puzzled look, and I clamped my mouth shut.

When the verdict was being read, I was having one of those experiences from the movies. Everything was background noise, and I could only read lips. There was only one word that I wanted to hear, and I was granted my wish.

As they read the charges, the juror said, “Guilty.”

Kyle gave my hand a huge squeeze, and I went numb. I watched as Marcus was taken into custody again. I listened to the sobs throughout the courtroom, and I couldn’t muster up a reaction. Marcus was placed back into handcuffs and escorted out of the room. It was most likely the last time that I would ever see him again. I was sure that he was going to look back at me and give me a sinister glare, but he never looked in my direction.

#Chapter8

There is only so much that you can do for a person in a difficult situation.

You can support them to the best of your ability, but you can’t shield them from it all. Not being able to take away Camille’s stress and pain was one of the toughest feelings that I’ve ever experienced.

Shortly after we took our seat I saw that she had a pained look on her face. She didn’t look well at all. I asked her how she was doing.

“
Are you okay?” I asked.

She gave a small nod of her head, but I never took my eyes off of her. She was far from okay, and she confirmed my thoughts when she rushed out of the courtroom. Our security detail quickly rushed after her, and I followed behind them. She went to the bathroom to throw up. That was when I knew just how badly all of it was affecting her. Taking her home away from it all was a huge option in my mind but if she didn’t suggest it then I wasn’t going to say anything. We needed to see the case through to the end. But I was willing to sacrifice it all if that’s what she needed from me.

She walked out of the bathroom with her game face on. I saw past the façade that she put up, but I allowed her to display her strength. We returned and took our seats. We were all there for Marcus, but most of the eyes were on her. She was getting horrible stares from those seated around us, but she seemed to be oblivious to it all. She was engrossed in what was being said by the attorneys. I couldn’t help but return a few of those icy glares that were focused on her. She didn’t deserve to be under so much scrutiny. She was a woman with a heart of gold that made a few mistakes. It wasn’t her fault that we were there, it was Marcus’s fault.

I couldn’t deny that I felt a little guilty about all of it. It was because of me that she turned him in. We could have gone to the police over the blackmail and ended it there. But I didn’t like the fact that he was trying to steal my money, and I wanted him ruined. I’ve mulled it over in my head quite a few times, and I’ve wondered if I did the right thing by putting Camille in that predicament. I’m still not entirely sure if that’s what was best for her, but we were on that path now, and it was now an issue between Marcus and the state.

Camille did great in the beginning when she took the stand. She answered the questions that the prosecutor asked perfectly. She looked poised and confident. The jury seemed to like her, and that was a good thing. They nodded sympathetically as she talked about her past and the things that she’d done. She was winning them over, and that was easy to see. Once the defense questioned her, it boggled her a bit. She got upset at a few of the questions, but that didn’t really hurt her. It really just made her look human and in this case that was fine.

She looked downright embarrassed when she admitted that she helped steal. I didn’t care about her past, and I’d told her that a million times over. I respected her even more for turning her life around. Most people would have gotten sucked into that lifestyle, but she clawed her way out. I didn’t know many people that had gone to the dark side and then quit cold turkey, but she managed to do it and to make it look easy. This is what the defense was trying to harp on. It seemed a little too good to be true to believe that she was ‘good,”. But I knew from personal experience that Camille wasn’t the average woman, she was everything good, and more.