Page 37

Grif

“ Y our Honor, this is a waste of time, and I again ask for the charges to be dismissed. My client has done nothing untoward regarding Mr. McGraff, and if anything, these false charges are an affront to an upstanding businessman who has done nothing but give aspiring athletes a chance,” the well-dressed alpha lawyer said from across the table.

I sat in between my lawyer and AJ. I’d been released from the hospital right in time for this private hearing Bertie Chesterton had pushed for, instead of the public one that was supposed to be next week.

Probably in hopes I couldn’t attend due to still being hospitalized.

The privileged smugness of all this made me want to gag.

“We have proof that the contracts were forged,” my lawyer stated from my side of the table, giving the other lawyer a look as if to say, what delusion do you live in?

“But not by my client. Just because they came from his email doesn’t mean he did it,” Chet’s alpha lawyer parried, looking very polished in her suit and fancy accessories.

Mmmm hmm. Sure. She lived in the delusional state of Bertie Chesterton’s money.

Chet, in one of his white suits, though this one with a shirt, sent me a smug look. He was in between his lawyer and his father. His wife, Winnie, was on the other side of his dad. She was a pleasantly pretty beta brunette, about my age, who kept trying to murder me with her eyes.

“Not only are Mr. McGraff’s claims false, but he has caused my client irreparable character damage, along with pain, suffering, and income loss,” the lawyer continued. “We’ll be counter-suing. Especially since this reeks of designation-bias.”

I’d always assumed Chet was a beta who wore too much cologne. He was actually an iota, one of the rare designations that were mutations of the main three. Iotas not only had no scent, but couldn’t pick up on scents or pheromones. Barks didn’t work on them, which usually made them think highly of themselves. Being an iota could be a little dangerous, since they couldn’t pick up on scent cues like everyone else.

They also had a reputation for being a bit smarmy.

Several of Chet’s clients had left, and former clients were speaking out against him. I’d like to see him come at me with the proof we had. AJ, Jonas, and Verity had been very busy using their contacts to help build this case.

“This isn’t a civil suit for defamation. This is a criminal suit for financial theft and has nothing to do with designation bias and everything to do with money .” Judge Russo didn’t look amused from her position at the head of the table. She was older, no-nonsense and had a track record of disliking privileged assholes or those who took advantage of others.

Judge Russo had been a last-minute replacement for the judge that Bertie had paid off.

“We have ample evidence that not only did Mr. Chesterton forge the contracts, but he manipulated his father’s bank to redirect the funds. We submitted proof,” my lawyer said.

“Fake proof,” Bertie retorted, scrolling through his phone as if this hearing bored him. He looked like a less slimy version of Chet, gray in his hair.

“Don’t speak out of turn,” the judge scolded.

“If he stole from Mr. McGraff, where’s the money? We’ve submitted his assets, and there’s no record of it,” Chet’s lawyer replied.

Oh, but we found it. Or rather, one of the super hackers in Verity’s sister’s pack had.

“Again, this is designation bias. Iotas are always shunned. Why would my client even steal money? He has a thriving sports representation business and comes from an esteemed family,” Chet’s lawyer continued.

“Your client is broke and living off his wife. His agency is in debt. He’s been cut off from his trust,” my lawyer countered.

She shook her head. “That isn’t motivation to steal.”

I felt a snort through my bond with AJ. It sort of was. Though Chet hadn’t been spending much of the money, he’d stolen. The bit he had was used mostly to pay bills.

No. Those overseas accounts felt like go-funds.

“Grif’s salty that I told him not to date his little side piece. You should have listened to me. She’s a life ruiner,” Chet told me, giving me a snarky look. “Oh, the stories I could tell you about her.”

He exchanged a look with Winnie, who clucked and shook her head as if Verity was scandalous.

“So, you chose to ruin both our lives? You harassed her, destroyed her life’s work, and tried to mess with her career.” Anger boiled inside me. How dare he bring her into it?

His hands flew up in the air. “I did nothing but warn you off her.”

That was partially true. We still couldn’t pin wrecking Verity’s greenhouse on him–even with Samantha’s cooperation. All we could prove was him stirring up shit and sending a few mean texts from burners.

Chet’s lawyer cleared her throat. “Strike that. None of that is relevant.”

“Look, I didn’t destroy her greenhouse. Her trying to get my father’s position as a trustee revoked is dirty bullshit though.” Chet stood and looked like he wanted to throw something. “That girl has other enemies.”

“How did you know about it, then?” I pushed, wanting answers for my kitten. We hadn’t actually tried to get Bertie’s position taken away. Verity just brought up to the head of her department what was going on between me and Chet, as well as her own history with him.

“Mr. Chesterton,” his lawyer warned, looking like she wanted to strangle her client.

“Look, drop this ridiculous lawsuit and I won’t counter-sue you for defamation.” Chet shrugged.

“Mr. Chesterton, this is a criminal case, and due to the large amount in question, it is not for Mr. McGraff to decide if there are charges. It’s my decision,” Judge Russo told him.

Chet looked as if this were a personal affront. “I’m the victim here. Grif lied to me about his designation. Which is why I spoke up as soon as I knew, so no one would think I’d misrepresented him intentionally.” He put on a look of mock innocence. “I’m so glad the Knights fired you.”

It turned out that he’d known that I was a secret omega for years and had been sitting on it. He’d bought off one of my suppliers back when I was with the Hurricanes.

“Oh, so it’s okay for you to hide your designation due to bias, but not him?” my lawyer challenged.

“Again, irrelevant. Please disregard, Your Honor.” Chet’s lawyer gave him another sharp look.

Chet made a face back, like he was a child, not an adult in the middle of a court hearing.

“Chet, shut up and sit down or you’ll be sent outside,” Bertie hissed. “Your Honor, these charges are erroneous. We’re upstanding members of the community.”

Winnie rubbed Chet’s arm. He squeezed her hand and sat back down.

Judge Russo didn’t look convinced. But then Bertie probably didn’t know all her secrets.

“I’ve taken a look at the proof submitted and there’s enough to bring this to trial–and keep Mr. Chesterton in jail until then,” she told them.

Chet looked startled. “Dad, you promised. I’ve already been in jail for ages. Do you know what it was like to be in prison during the storm?”

I was honestly surprised that Bertie hadn’t somehow sprung him.

“It’s a hardship, think of the children,” Winnie pleaded. “We have a toddler at home and one on the way. I have a career, too. He’s a good man and father, he’s well-liked in the community and even assistant coaches a youth fútbol team. This is all a misunderstanding. Please, just send Chet home to us.” She patted her belly, which wasn’t really showing yet.

It seemed heartfelt, not forced. Perhaps she truly loved him.

“Thank you for that, Mrs. Chesterton. After fully reviewing everything, it has been decided that Chet Chesterton won’t be brought to trial by the state of New York,” Judge Russo continued, expression not giving anything away.

AJ squeezed my hand. No, he wouldn’t stand trial by the state, because someone bigger would hold him accountable.

Though, I felt a little bad because of Winnie and the kids.

Chet shot me a triumphant look. “Take that, you ungrateful fraud. You would’ve gotten nowhere without me, and this is what I get for it? I made you and your career. Expect my countersuit tomorrow.”

Winnie did an excited dance in her seat and reached over to squeeze Chet’s hand.

“Mr. Chesterton, please, ” Chet’s lawyer told him, expression bewildered.

“Hard work got me where I am. I made it despite all your attempts to keep me down. Why, Chet, why? You made money when I did? Why derail contracts? Keep me from getting to the Knights?” I craved answers for all the weird little things he did that we still couldn’t explain.

“I didn’t need you getting uppity and leaving me. Guess it didn’t work.” Chet stood. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Well, then.

Winnie got up, looking pleased. She glared at me, then hugged her husband excitedly. He kissed her and whispered in her ear.

The door opened, and the meeting room filled with people in suits and uniforms that said FFCD.

“Chet Chesterton, on behalf of the Federal Financial Crimes Division of the Bureau of Investigation, you’re under arrest for bank fraud, wire fraud, contract fraud, tax evasion, tax fraud, and grand financial theft of multiple people,” one of the men in suits said.

Winnie looked like someone kicked her puppy. Her hand went to her stomach. “No.”

We’d done it. We’d amassed enough proof to escalate this to a federal level. The Feds didn’t play, especially for things like manipulating the bank system and hiding untaxed money overseas.

“DAD. You promised! Otherwise, we would’ve left the country.” Chet looked like he was going to shit himself.

Oh, so it was go-money.

“Bertie, you can’t. The children. You promised. When I married into this family and took on your bullshit, you promised. ” Tears pricked Winnie’s eyes.

“Shut up, I’m sure this is all a mistake,” Bertie hissed at both of them. He looked at his phone, most likely trying to figure out who he could exploit.

Winnie flinched as if slapped. Chet wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her.

“Don’t feel bad,” AJ hissed, squeezing my hand.

We’d done what we could to make this case Bertie-proof. Bertie would regret some of those recent transactions, thinking all of this would get wrapped up nicely. It turns out the Chestertons weren’t as rich as they made themselves out to be, and this lawyer was expensive .

He made a good salary working for the bank. But his family had been cut off from the main Chesterton fortune because of Chet and all the payoffs, antics, and other indiscretions.

Winnie owned her house and had a modest income from her job in marketing, but she didn’t seem rich. Though we hadn’t done any digging on her.

The lawyer looked over at Bertie, terrified. “Everything’s in order. We have to let them take him. I’m sorry, Chet, but you’re being remanded to a federal prison until you can be tried in federal court.”

With a wave of the suited man’s hand, two uniformed officers handcuffed Chet.

“No, please no.” Winnie clung to him and cried.

“You can’t do this. Don’t you know who I am? Who my family is?” Chet spat, though he didn’t fight them. “Winnie, love, you have to let me go.” He gave her a kiss.

“No. Please don’t take him from me.” She let go, but continued to cry. Bertie gave her a look of disgust and made no move to reassure her.

I felt bad that she and the kids would pay for what Chet did. Hopefully, she had a nice family or good friends to help her out.

“This isn’t going to stick,” Bertie told the man in the suit.

“Albert Chesterton, you’re under arrest for willfully allowing the exploitation of a federally insured banking system.” The man in the suit looked bored, as if he did this all day long.

He might.

Bertie looked startled. “I would never. Chesterton Financial is an old and elite institution.”

Yeah, he hadn’t seen that coming. But then he knew that his son was using the family bank to exploit clients and how he was doing it. His bank wasn’t tamper-proof if you were a Chesterton.

“Handle it,” Bertie snapped at his lawyer as he was taken into cuffs.

“We’ll be in touch,” the man in the suit said to us as he left with Chet, Bertie, and everyone else who came.

Winnie was full-on hysterical sobbing as the lawyer tried to reassure her.

I couldn’t help but wave at Chet, both joyful and relieved that he’d be punished for not just what he did to me, but the others he stole from.

“Case dismissed.” The judge stood and left.

The lawyer led Winnie out of the office, and she shot me a withering look.

“Don’t,” AJ warned.

Our lawyer looked at us, triumphant. “Well done. It worked. Good thing I don’t have any money in Chesterton Financial.”

“Thank you.” I hugged AJ, because so much of this was him.

“Chet’s an asshole. I feel bad about the wife and kids, but that’s not our problem. Chet is a menace and has harmed more than you. There are so many people rooting for him to rot in jail.” AJ hugged me back. He took my hand. “Let’s go have a celebratory beer and tell the pack?”

It felt like a load lifted off my shoulders. “Let’s.”

Chet would pay for his crimes. Now to get my job back.