Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Luca
I went home, showered, and changed so I could head to the office. Reporters still lined the front of my building, and it was impossible to get through without the flashes of the cameras and questions about the case. After I got dressed, I packed a suitcase and left it by the front door, instructing Jeffery to pick it up and drop it off at Ariana’s apartment later tonight. I escaped through the back of my building and hailed a cab a couple of blocks away to the office.
As I walked down the hallway to my office, Olivia grabbed my arm and pulled me into her cubicle.
“I need to talk to you before you go into your office,” she spoke as she let go of my arm.
“What’s going on?”
“Julia, Ariana’s sister/mother, is in there waiting for you. I saw her on my way to the bathroom.”
“Did she see you?” I asked.
“No. I’ve been hiding. If she sees me, she’ll know I lied about Ariana.”
“Thank you, Olivia. I’ll handle her.”
I sighed as I walked into my office and saw a woman with medium blonde hair sitting across from my desk.
“Excuse me, but did you have an appointment?” I asked as I sat down my briefcase and sat behind my desk.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m Julia Brooks.” She leaned over and extended her hand.
Placing my hand in hers, I looked at her and discovered how remarkable it was how much Ariana looked like her.
“Luca Russo. I’m very busy and don’t have a lot of time. What can I do for you?”
“I need to see Ariana,” she spoke. “And the only way I can is through you.”
I narrowed my eye at her as I folded my hands on my desk.
“Ariana Williams? My attorney?”
“Yes. I need your help, Mr. Russo.”
I cleared my throat before speaking. “Ariana doesn’t want to see you, Mrs. Brooks.”
“So, she told you about our family’s situation?”
“She did.” I lightly nodded. “We’re friends.”
“I didn’t even know she passed her bar exam. She won’t speak to any of us.”
“Do you blame her?” I cocked my head. “The secret you kept from her all those years was very detrimental to her. Did you really think that she would be forgiving and accept the truth when the truth should have been told to her years ago? Put yourself in her shoes, Mrs. Brooks.”
“Please, call me Julia, and I have put myself in her shoes, but we’re still family. To shut us out the way she did and sneak out in the middle of the night was a bit childish. This has killed my parents.”
“Childish isn’t the word I would use. Ariana made an adult, responsible decision to try and put the pieces of her life back together. You and your parents performed the worst kind of betrayal there is. To let her believe since birth that you were her sister was selfish, in my opinion. And that goes for your parents as well.”
“You don’t know anything about me or my family, Mr. Russo,” she voiced loudly with a bit of anger.
“I know enough that you all put yourself first instead of a defenseless child. A child who deserved to know the truth about who her parents really were.”
I looked up and saw Ariana standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she stepped inside and closed the door.
Julia turned around and then got up from her seat.
“We need to talk, Ariana. Please.”
“You shouldn’t have bothered coming. I have nothing to say to you or anyone else. I’m doing well, and now that you saw for yourself, you may leave,” she spoke nervously.
“How long are you going to keep shutting us out?”
“Hmm.” She looked up at the ceiling. “About twenty-five years.”
“Mom and Dad are distraught over this whole thing. They need to see you. We all need to sit down and discuss this.”
“You mean my grandparents? I’m sure Emma and John will be just fine. After all, they were with all the lies over the years. And how dare you.” Ariana pointed at her. “How dare you come to my client’s office. I’m in the middle of a murder case. I don’t have time to deal with you and your talk or apologies. Don’t you have surgeries to perform? Go home, Julia.”
“I’m here for a surgical convention. Today is the last day. I saw you on the news and couldn’t believe you were here in New York. I called Olivia, and she swore to me she hadn’t seen or heard from you.”
“That’s because I told her to lie. What part of ‘I don’t want to see you’ do you not understand?”
“I don’t deserve this!” she shouted. “I took care of you. I made sure to be the best mother I could be, and Tom made sure he was the best father. Why do you think we did everything with you?! Why he was always around? Even when I wasn’t? It killed us both every day when you’d look at us and call us by our names instead of Mom and Dad.
“I don’t care! Neither one of you had the guts to tell me the truth! You should have told me! Now get out of here!” She pointed to the door. “I have to talk with my client.”
“I’m staying at the Waldorf Astoria if you decide you want to talk. My flight leaves at six tomorrow morning.” She walked towards the door. “I can make this right, Ariana. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
Ariana stood there with her arm folded and a scornful look on her face.
“Have a nice flight,” she spoke.
When Julia left my office and closed the door, tears started falling down Ariana’s face. I got up from my chair, walked over to her, and tightly wrapped my arms around her.
“It’s okay, baby.” I kissed her head.
“I’m sorry you had to get in the middle of this.”
“No worries. I only spoke the truth to her.”
I broke our embrace and wiped the tears from her face while I stared into her sad eyes.
“I’m sorry I had to get you in the middle of my chaos.”
“I want to be in the middle of your chaos.” She lightly smiled.
“And I want to be in the middle of yours.” I placed my forehead against hers. “By the way, I’m moving in with you for a while if that’s okay.”
“Of course, it’s okay.” She sniffled. “We just have to be careful.”
“I know, and we will be. Now what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Not here. We’ll talk later back at my place. Did you call your grandfather?”
“Yes, and we’ll head out there tomorrow after jury selection.”
“Okay. I have to go.” She kissed my lips. “I’ll see you at home later.”
“Be careful, Ariana.”
“I will.” She smiled.
Seeing her upset like that put an ache in my heart. She didn’t deserve that. ll I wanted to do was make it all better for her. I was afraid that it would be too much for her to handle with this trial and everything else going on.