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Athanasios

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Two Months Later

Day of the Trial

There aren’t many things on Earth capable of stirring emotion in me, but watching Brooklyn testify and describe in graphic detail the terror she felt the day those two bastards—three, actually, though one has already gone to hell—tried to kill her nearly tore me apart inside.

Today is the final day of the trial, and the entire family has gathered to support her, including William and L.J. Even my parents are here, at my mother’s insistence.

My woman’s ordeal has stretched over two weeks, and while I already admired Brooklyn, I can now say I’ve become her number one fan.

There’s one person, however, who isn’t present—the one we most want to see punished: Shelley Edward.

The wretched woman is as slippery as a snake. Odin told me yesterday that every time Beau gets close, she evades capture.

However, he gave me some good news just a few minutes before the trial began: he’s uncovered the full truth about my biological mother.

It’s only because Brooklyn needs me that I haven’t gone to see him yet. I’m torn between my past self and my present self. One, weighed down with guilt, wants revenge against those who hurt the woman who gave me life. The other, hopelessly in love with the woman who has become my world, wants a future with her, wants everything with her.

Finally, both the defense and prosecution deliver their closing arguments, and the jury retires to deliberate.

We have no idea how long it will take. It could be minutes or weeks, so we all gather in the hallway to wait.

“Thank you all for coming to support me,” Brooklyn says to our friends and family.

I’m caught off-guard when I see my mother step closer to her.

“I was wrong, Brooklyn,” she says. “My son couldn’t have chosen better. You are incredibly brave and deserve all the happiness in the world.”

I know they’ve been talking on the phone. Brooklyn also told me about the visit she made to my parents’ house a few months ago. Since then, we’ve been having dinner there once a week, as I used to.

I wouldn’t say they’ve become best friends, but given my mother’s temperament, I can tell she’s been trying.

Still, nothing has prepared me for what just happened.

I watch as Brooklyn hugs her and kisses her cheek. My woman is a much better human being than most. Considering what happened during their first meeting, very few people would have given my mother a second chance.

“Thank you for your support, too, Dr. Pappakouris,” my woman says, hugging me.

“Always here for you, Miss Foster. How are you? Don’t give me a generic answer. I want the truth.”

“I feel relieved. After today, there’s very little left to tie up.”

“We’ll catch her, Brooklyn. Shelley can’t hide forever.”

She cups my face and kisses my chin. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for bringing me back to my family, Athanasios. Thank you.”

“I brought you back to them, but I was selfish, too. Now I know that from the moment I saw you, I knew you were mine.”

“I am yours.”

“Not entirely yet, but you will be.”

She looks at me, and we both know what I mean. We’re heading toward the inevitable.

We’re interrupted by the prosecutor, who approaches to tell us that the jury has reached a decision and is ready to announce the verdict.

“So soon?” Brooklyn asks, looking nervous. “Is that a good thing?”

“It could be, or it might not be, Miss Foster. But let’s stay optimistic.”

Twenty minutes later, I hold her tightly in my arms as she trembles, hearing the verdict: guilty on all charges.

“Almost there,” I say, kissing her forehead. “We’ve partially won. Just one more step.”

In my mind, however, I’m far from satisfied. I wish New Jersey—where they’re being tried because it’s where the crime occurred—hadn’t abolished the death penalty.

We all gather for a big family lunch at Eleanor’s house to celebrate the convictions, even though the sentences haven’t been handed down yet. The prosecutor said it could take a few days.

After the initial tension between Brooklyn’s mother and mine, they are even speaking to each other, although it’s clear that my future mother-in-law—yes, I think I can call her that now—isn’t as natural with Medeia as with the other guests. Probably lingering resentment over what Brooklyn told her about that disastrous first dinner.

“My kids are pestering your dad. I think it’s because they don’t have a strong older male figure in their lives,” my girlfriend says, pointing to Silas and Soraya sitting on his lap, “talking” nonstop.

“I never thought my dad would get along well with children,” I say, cupping her chin to make her look at me. “Hey, I don’t want to ruin your celebration, but I’m leaving in about thirty minutes to see Odin.”

“Did something happen? Did they find Shelley?”

“No. He discovered the truth about Kassia,” I whisper so no one else can hear.

“Can I come with you?”

“I thought you’d want to keep celebrating.”

“No, I’ll stay by your side, just like you stayed by mine these past two weeks. I love you, Athanasios, and I’m here for whatever you need.”

“I don’t know if it’s good news, Athanasios—or if it’s what you want to hear.”

We’ve just arrived at his office. I suggested a restaurant, but he said it would be better for the conversation to remain private.

“I’m not the kind of person you need to sugarcoat things for, Odin. Just tell me the truth. Did you find out who hurt my mother?”

“That part was the easiest. I found the shelter where she used to stay. Kassia was homeless at the time of the assault, living between the streets and shelters.”

“What happened?” I ask, feeling my stomach churn.

Homeless.

While I grew up in luxury and comfort, with millions of dollars in my bank account, my mother was sleeping on the streets, feeling hunger and cold.

Brooklyn squeezes my hand, as if sensing my turmoil.

“She got into a fight with another homeless woman. She came out worse. I’m sorry for the bluntness, but there’s no other way to explain it. It wasn’t an act of cowardice by the other woman, as she’s actually much older.”

“I don’t understand. Why would Kassia do something like that?”

“I don’t have all the answers, Athanasios, but what I can tell you is that Kassia, from what we were told, suffers from a severe mental illness and can become violent when unmedicated. This wasn’t her first fight, but it was the first one that left her seriously injured.”

“And the other woman?”

“She fled the scene of the crime. Died a few months later from causes unrelated to the incident.”

I nod, more lost than ever, as I wait for him to continue.

“As I said at the beginning, that’s the simple part of the story. The more serious revelation is that the woman you know as Kassia is not your mother. Medeia Pappakouris is. She and Dardanos Pappakouris are your biological parents.”