Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
BANNER
Sorrow jumps to her feet with her hand covering her mouth as the courtroom becomes a buzz of angry noise. I stand too, wrap my arm around Sorrow, and lead her out to the bathroom in time for her to throw up the breakfast I forced her to have.
I pull back her hair and hold it away from her face until she’s done. When she collapses on her ass, I sit down beside her on the grubby floor, not giving a single fuck, and pull her into my lap. I hold on to her tightly as she sobs into my neck, soaking my shirt as I silently seethe.
It’s hard to fathom that the kid brother who used to follow me around grew up to be a monster.
Though I never doubted the truth when it spilled from first Sorrow’s lips, then Katy’s.
I keep looking back, wondering if there were signs I missed or things I should have seen that would have prevented this from happening. If I’d known, I’d have stopped it.
She lifts her head, her tear-stained face breaking my fucking heart. “I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it.”
“Don’t you dare apologize, Sorrow. Not for this. The fact that you’re here and in my arms after everything my family put you through is a goddamned miracle that I won’t ever take for granted.”
She blows out a shaky breath, her hand reaching up to cup my cheek. “I love you. I don’t think I could have done this without you.”
I turn my face into her hand and kiss her palm. “You would have. You’re the strongest woman I know, Sorrow. I know grown men who would have crumpled under the weight of what you carried.”
I kiss her head, my lips murmuring against her warm skin. “I’m so in love with you. I keep expecting to wake up from this nightmare with my parents, only to find I dreamed you up.”
“Me too.”
We sit in silence for a minute. Eventually, Sorrow climbs to her feet, and I follow suit.
“I wish I’d grabbed my bag before I left.”
“If you give me two seconds, I’ll see if I can get it for you.”
She nods as I head out, stumbling into Olivia and Arlo, who has her bag in his hand.
“She okay?” Arlo asks, looking worried.
“Yeah, she’s hanging in there.”
“She decent?”
“Of course she is.”
“Good.” He shoves past me into the bathroom, leaving me with Olivia, who looks amused and worried.
“How are you doing in all this? Because that was a lot. Even knowing what happened, the pain is in the details.”
I scrub my hand over my face. “I don’t know what I’m feeling. I just want to get Sorrow through this, and then maybe I can unpack the shitshow going on in my head. The what-ifs are killing me,” I admit.
“It’s not your fault, Banner.”
“He was my brother. I should have known. I left her here with him and my parents, thinking she would be safe. I might as well have fed her to the wolves.”
“It was not your fault,” she states again before wrapping her arms around me. “You cannot change what’s happened. All you can do is be there for her now. But if you don’t work through this guilt, it will eat you alive. And where will that leave Sorrow then?”
“I hear you. I do.”
“Ask Matilda for her therapist’s number. She’s worked wonders with her and Zoe. I think it would be good for Sorrow, Katy, and you to talk with her. None of you three should have to carry this shit around any longer than you already have. Enough is enough.”
“Well, that remains to be seen. What happened in there after we left?”
Olivia steps back and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “The doctor reeled off the rest of Sorrow’s injuries, as well as the tests run, and the treatment she received.”
“Okay. So, who is up next?”
“No, you don’t get it. He stated under oath that one of the tests was a blood test to check her blood alcohol level.
It’s standard procedure in these situations.
He told the court that her alcohol level was zero.
He had no idea that when Sorrow was prosecuted, her file was edited.
And get this: he has a copy of the original file.
He backed everything up with all his patients because, at the time, he was leaving to work with Doctors Across Borders for a couple of years, and didn’t want there to be an issue later that came back to bite him in the ass.
By the time he got back, Sorrow was already in jail, and people rarely spoke about her.
All of this was as much of a surprise to him as it was to most, just for different reasons. ”
“Jesus, that’s good, right? That’s proof that Sorrow wasn’t drunk or driving recklessly.”
Olivia nods. “And Stephenson already admitted that they never gave her a breathalyzer because she was unconscious, so they can’t backtrack and claim otherwise.”
“Holy fuck. So what happens now?”
“There is still a lot to get through—this case with your parents and the ongoing one with Tempest PD. But once we have all the proof, that evidence was planted or tampered with to incriminate Sorrow, we’ll be pushing the governor for a full pardon and asking for restitution from the state.”
I turn when the door behind us opens and see my girl walk out with Arlo’s arm wrapped around her, the bag hanging from the crook of his elbow.
“It’s a good look on you,” I tease before running my eyes over Sorrow to make sure she’s okay.
Arlo flips his hair and slides the bag farther up his arm, making Sorrow chuckle. “I know, right?”
I tug her away from the madman and pull her into my embrace, pecking her lips, tasting mint in the process.
She grins. “Call it woman’s intuition, but I figured I should pack my toothbrush and toothpaste.”
“Always prepared for the worst. You’d have made a good Boy Scout.”
She wrinkles her nose. “That involves a lot of camping, right?”
“Some.” I grin.
“Yeah, I don’t think it would have worked out. I’m not great with the three Bs.”
“The three Bs?”
“Boys, bears, and bugs.”
“Gotcha. Though I’ve gotta say, you have this boy well and truly smitten.”
“Is that right?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s frowned upon to fornicate in a court of law,” Arlo drawls.
“Fornicate? You’re showing your age, old man,” I joke. Oliva and Sorrow look at me like I’m insane before eying Arlo.
“I’m not sure what Arlo is doing can be considered aging,” Olivia states, making Arlo smirk.
“Oh yeah, and what would you call it?”
“Leveling up?” Sorrow mutters, but not quietly enough for us not to hear.
Arlo cracks up, shoving me aside so he can hug her. “I’m stealing your girl.”
“The fuck you are.”
When Sorrow giggles, the three of us look at her. I’m not sure any of us will ever take hearing that sound for granted. I know I won’t.
“I better get back in there,” Olivia announces.
“Yeah. Are you up for this, Sorrow? There is no fucking shame in saying no.”
She pulls herself free from Arlo and looks between us all before her shoulders drop. “I’m not sure I want to put myself through it all. I know what happened because I lived it, and hearing it is just making me relive it all over again.”
“Then let’s go home.”
“No. You need to be there. You need to see this through, not just for you, but for Katy.”
“She’s right,” Arlo tells me. “Go be with your sister and show those motherfuckers what it means to be a Bannerman, not the mockery they made of the name your ancestors gave you. I’ve got Sorrow. We’ll meet you back at the house when it’s done.”
I cup Sorrow’s jaw. “You good with that? Because I’ll do whatever you want. You are my first priority, and I know damn fine the guys all have Katy.”
“I promise I’m fine with that.”
I kiss her gently before pulling back and looking at Arlo. “Keep her safe.”
“Always.”
I square my shoulders and nod, offering Olivia my arm. “Let’s get this shitshow over with.”
She chuckles, allowing me to lead her back to the courtroom. We walk in silently, not wanting to draw any more unwanted attention to ourselves. I’m surprised to find Stephenson back on the stand.
“Mr. Stephenson, you stated before that you are close personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Bannerman,” My parents’ attorney, Fredrick, asks as I take my old seat. The chair Sorrow was in before is occupied by Felix, who is holding Katy’s hand. Both look at me with worry.
“She’s okay,” I mouth as they both relax a little.
“Yes, we’ve been friends for many years.”
“But it’s been reported by many that you’ve been noticeably absent from friendly gatherings and parties hosted by the Bannerman’s of late. Why is that?”
“I don’t have the most sociable of hours. I can’t take time off for a party, unfortunately.”
“So it had nothing to do with the fact that the Bannerman’s have been distancing themselves from you?”
“If they had been distancing themselves, I hadn’t noticed. Like I said, I’ve been busy.”
“Yes, with your harassment of Miss Wells.”
I’m surprised when nobody objects before I remember that Stephenson doesn’t have legal counsel here. He’s just a witness.
“I was not harassing Miss Wells,” he states as Fredrick picks up a file.
“According to this, that’s simply not true. It seems as if the more unstable you became in your pursuit of Miss Wells, the more my clients ignored your phone calls and messages, correct?”
“No. They touched base every day until IA and the FBI became involved. Then they backed away, leaving me to deal with the fallout of a problem they started.”
“Only they didn’t start anything. You are the professional here, Mr. Stephenson. It was your place to do your job without prejudice. Can you say you did that, bearing in mind you are under oath?”
“No, I cannot.”
“In fact, you failed Miss Wells since she returned, just like you failed her years ago. And you preyed on a parent’s grief to make Miss Wells a scapegoat because of your history with Sorrow Wells’s mother, Claire Wells.”
“What the hell is he talking about?” Felix asks under his breath, but I’m as lost as he is.
“I don’t understand—” Stephenson starts but is cut off.
“Is it not true that you had an affair with Claire Wells around the time she became pregnant with Sorrow? She was adamant the baby wasn’t yours, but you were never one hundred percent sure. She had your dark hair and your mother’s eyes, right?”
The chief narrows his eyes at my mother, the hate emanating from them making me realize this was something he had told her in confidence. Holy shit, though, could Stephenson be Sorrow’s dad? God, I hope not. Thank fuck she didn’t come back in.
“Sorrow is not my daughter. And I wasn’t having an affair with Claire. We were in a relationship. She is the one who cheated on me with Rodger. Rodger is Sorrow’s father and the reason we split up in the first place.”
“Rodger Wells. The blond-haired, green-eyed construction worker who got killed on the job?”
“Yes, that Rodger Wells.”
“Is it not, in fact, true that Rodger stole Claire from you, and you were furious? When he died, you tried your luck again, offering Claire a shoulder to cry on. But she wasn’t interested.
When the tragic accident with Miss Wells and the young Mr. Bannerman happened, you saw an opportunity for revenge?
But even then, Claire refused to turn to you.
She was so consumed with grief over losing Rodger that she preferred to drown herself in a bottle rather than turn to you.
Your frustration with Claire continued to grow, so when her daughter came back to sell her family home after years of your hatred festering, you snapped.
You decided to punish Sorrow for her parentage.
That, and you wanted her out of Tempest as fast as possible, so your lies and misdeeds around the accident wouldn’t come to light.
And yet here we are anyway. No further questions, your honor. ”
The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Even Stephenson looks gobsmacked by the turn of events.
Mr. Knowles gets to his feet and unbuttons his jacket before stepping around the desk. “You had a relationship with Claire Wells?”
“If you could call it that. Neither of us was serious about the other, despite what was just implied. Both of us were seeing other people. When Claire started dating Rodger, I simply moved on. I was a rookie looking to make my mark in the world. I didn’t have time for relationships anyway.”
“So it wasn’t some Romeo and Juliet-style love story?”
“Not even close. The only time I even questioned anything was years later when I was introduced to Sorrow through the Bannerman’s.
It didn’t register until later who her mother was.
It was Leanne who pointed out the similarities between me and Sorrow.
She likes to stir the pot. She implied Claire named the baby Sorrow as a permanent reminder that I would forever be the one who got away.
It was a crass comment with no foundation to it, but it did leave me wondering about what ifs. ”
“You said you didn’t really know Sorrow. ‘I know of her, not know her.’ Those were your words, correct?”
“Yes, and they’re true. If anything, I made the effort to stay away from her even more after that.”
“You didn’t want to know if she was your daughter?”
“Her mother was an alcoholic. The people of Tempest barely tolerated her. How would it look if a police officer were the father of her baby?”
“So you cared more about how it looked than how your potential daughter was living with an alcoholic?”
“No, I knew that Sorrow wasn’t my daughter, because I had her tested. I had to be sure.”
And something tells me Sorrow knows none of this. Fuck.