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“Perhaps,” Odin replies, “but why harm Serenity? Even if she hurt her, he wouldn’t gain access to her fortune. Furthermore, the man prospered anyway. He acquired his own assets. He’s rich.”
The phone rings, and when I look at the screen, I see that it’s one of my lawyers.
“Mr. Kostanidis, I was just contacted by a police detective about the incident with your . . .”
“With my girlfriend.”
“Yes. He has someone in custody, and I’d like to know if you want to watch her deposition.”
It’s standard procedure. As our name is known, when any incident is related to us, the police officers first contact our law firm.
“I’m coming to you. I’ll be at the police station in an hour. Do you think you can hold the statement until then?”
“Yes, I will find a way.”
“Did you hear that?” I ask my family when I hang up.
“Yes, and we are coming with you.”
“I need to see Serenity first.”
I go to her room, and when I get there, I see the women in my family—Zoe, Elina, Madison, Brooklyn, and Cici—as well as Debra, gathered around Serenity, who despite her sad face, seems calm.
“Could you excuse us for a moment?” I ask. They all start to leave, but I tell Debra, “Stay.”
She nods.
“Where is JeAnne?” Serenity asks as I sit on the edge of the bed.
I clench my jaw, controlling my anger. Today was supposed to be the most important day of her life. Serenity told me how she dreamed her whole life of becoming the prima ballerina of a major ballet company.
I cup her face and pull her in for a light kiss on the lips. For a few seconds, I consider hiding the truth, but then I decide it’s time for her to learn about her world and, perhaps, begin to unravel the mysteries of her past.
“In jail.”
“What?” she and Debra ask simultaneously.
“Apparently, she was the one who put the blades in your shoe.”
I push the wheelchair into the room where Serenity will watch JeAnne’s testimony. There was no way to convince her not to come, and after thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that it would be better this way.
It’s how we handle grief. You have to see the person in the coffin yourself to make sure they are gone.
Serenity manages to get up because they gave her a powerful painkiller, but she is still limping and a little dizzy.
Only my cousins, brothers, and Debra came with us, all of whom couldn’t believe this shit.
We get to the living room, and almost like she did in my nightclub, when she watched the couple fucking, she puts her face against the glass. This time, however, she is shaking, broken, sad.
I position myself behind her to watch the woman who has cared for Serenity her entire life confess the truth.
She reveals how she put the blades inside the shoe and that her intention was to make it impossible for Serenity to continue performing.
When the detective asks her why she wanted to disrupt Serenity’s career, however, she says she will only tellmethe truth.
The deposition doesn’t even last an hour, and when it ends, Serenity spins in my arms. “I want to see her.”
“Baby . . .”