CHAPTER FORTY
JORDAN
“Where did you say it was again?” I hissed at Seven as we poked our heads down yet another hallway in the labyrinth of the lower Manhattan federal courthouse.
“I have no fucking idea anymore.” He looked behind us, then down the sprawling corridor that gleamed to our right. He checked his watch. “But this thing starts in ten minutes.”
“This thing” was the last-minute hearing that would hopefully resolve what my brothers had been fearing for almost a year. I’d been able to get the time and date details out of Damian during some brief text messages earlier that week, even though he and Axel remained frosty. I didn’t blame them. They had every right to feel the way they did about how they perceived my relationship with Eli. I was just chomping at the bit to set the record straight, no matter what today’s outcome was.
I had a whole confessional planned. I needed my brothers back in my life.
“Wait. I think it’s this way.” Seven spun on his heel, returning down the hallway we’d just come from. “You said courtroom thirty-six, right?”
“I think.” Courtroom numbers blurred past us as we speed walked down the corridor. There were over forty courtrooms in this granite behemoth of a building. Entirely too many courtrooms for one city block.
“We need to go down a level,” he said suddenly, then pushed open the door to the stairwell. We raced down the stairs, though it wasn’t as fun as usual. When we burst through to the other floor, we nearly crashed into Jessa, Mercedes, and Cora.
I sucked in a sharp breath as their gazes swung our way. Mercedes and Jessa smiled—strained, sad, but still a smile. Cora stiffened at the sight of me. They all wore various takes on business-formal black—which Seven and I had chosen as well—which meant we all looked like we were attending a fancy funeral.
I just hoped that whatever happened beyond those doors today wouldn’t truly be the death of my brothers’ empire.
“Hey. We were just trying to, uh…” I swallowed hard as the door clanged shut behind us, echoing in the quiet hall. “Find the courtroom.”
“It’s right here,” Jessa said, “but they haven’t opened the doors yet.”
“The brothers are inside already,” Mercedes said softly, her gaze swinging toward the closed doors in front of us. “With the lawyer.”
I nodded, looking up at Seven for some sort of guidance. Not only was this the heaviest, most anxiety-ridden day for all of us, the tension brimming between Cora and me resembled a festering wound. She hadn’t responded to a single text or call since the news broke about Eli. The most I’d gotten out of Axel was that Cora was relieved I wasn’t hurt.
I couldn’t stand being in her radiant presence and feeling this weight between us. I drifted her way. “Cora, do you think we could step aside for a second?”
Her mossy green gaze flicked my way, her brows furrowing. “Jordan, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. We’re about to go inside. I can’t think about anything except what’s going to happen inside those doors.”
“I know,” I said, “I just want you to know how—”
“Please, let’s just focus on the brothers.” She brought out the knife-edge business voice, which told me to shut the hell up. And I listened. I clamped my mouth shut, nodding.
The double doors of the courtroom jostled, then swung open a moment later, revealing multiple rows of dark wooden benches, like church pews facing an impressively high judge’s bench. At the front of the courtroom, I spotted the backs of Axel’s, Damian’s, and Trace’s heads, bent together as they conferred with their lawyers. Huge windows overlooked the city, the sunny November day filling the courtroom with a brightness and positivity that felt at odds with the heaviness in the air. Seven grasped my hand as we followed Cora, Jessa, and Mercedes into the courtroom and toward a row near my brothers and their lawyer. A few other people, some of whom I assumed were reporters, took their own seats. By the time the hearing was set to begin, the courtroom was a little under half full, a murmur of hushed conversation buzzing through the air.
“All rise.”
The whoosh of people standing filled the room as the door to the judge’s chambers opened. My heart pounded as an elderly, dour-looking judge stepped into the room and assumed his position at the front of the room. Judge Barton and his clerks underwent some official procedures then, initiating the day’s docket, as everyone returned to sitting. After a bit of formal recordkeeping, Judge Barton called out, “The United States versus Fairchild Enterprises.”
A shiver ran up my spine. I looked over at Seven, who watched the proceedings with drawn brows. I reached for his hand, and he squeezed it softly.
Please God. Let this work.
My brothers’ lawyer was the first to speak. “In light of new evidence that has emerged after our standard pretrial and discovery period, I am submitting a motion to dismiss. As both Your Honor and the SEC have been made aware, startling details have emerged recently that raise serious accusations about the legitimacy not only of the charges but the investigation itself.”
The lawyer went on, explaining the details of his motion. Unprecedented breach of trust. Unconscionable corruption with life-altering stakes and consequences. Documents were delivered to the judge. Materials were reviewed.
“There is no way that this courtroom can consider the charges against my clients when it was discovered that the SEC has a corrupt agent who was paid off by high-profile businessman and rival, Eli Rossberg. As anyone who follows the news will be aware, Mr. Rossberg has reason to feel a certain animosity for one of my clients,” the lawyer said, going on to name the corrupt SEC insider. “The submitted evidence demonstrates that these charges would not have been brought up if the corrupted official had not been paid to do so. Any evidence collected in this case must also be suspect.”
Then it was the prosecution’s turn. I couldn’t follow all the legalese, but I think it boiled down to “We’re fucked, but we have to pretend to still want to prosecute these terrible people who didn’t let rich people get quite as rich as they otherwise might have. But whatever you say, Judge, is fine.”
Emotion washed over me. The entire room was drawn tight, waiting.
The judge cleared his throat, his deep, rumbling voice reaching the entire courtroom. “I have reviewed all documentation presented, and rule in favor of the defendant, Fairchild Enterprises, and all parties connected thereto. Motion to dismiss sustained. Case dismissed.”
The gavel slammed. Conversation erupted in the courtroom as the judge retired to his chambers.
Axel turned around in his seat. His watery, red-rimmed gaze immediately landed on me as his lawyers clapped his back. I blinked rapidly, too stunned to fully process what was happening.
“It’s over?” Mercedes squeaked at my side.
“Did they really…” I started, turning toward Seven.
The world around me slowed to half speed. Sunlight from the windows highlighted Axel’s and Damian’s faces as they stood and rushed our way. My limbs grew heavy, confused; all I could do was gape as the crowd parted, time lurched, and then suddenly Axel’s arms were around me in a bear hug, squeezing the air from my body.
“Is it really dismissed?” I asked in a daze.
Axel let me go and cupped my face in his hands, looking at me with tears in his eyes. “It is. And answer me something now. Is my lawyer on drugs, or did you really go through all of that for us?”
My chest hitched. I nodded, a mass of emotion arriving like a gut punch. Then Damian’s arms were around me, too, Seven mashed against my side.
“How the fuck did you two pull this off?” Damian asked, his voice hoarse. Trace joined a moment later, adding to the group hug.
I clung to Axel, sobbing. I hadn’t fully processed what was happening, but I was making small steps.
“How did you—”
There was a commotion of voices. I heard Cora, Jessa, Mercedes, and a few unknown voices. Axel whooped. Our hug disbanded, and Seven guided me out of the courtroom into the echoey hallway. I rummaged through my purse for a tissue as people filed out past us.
“I can’t believe this,” I whispered, dabbing away my tears. The rest of my family gathered around, all eyes on me and Seven.
“What did I miss?” Cora asked, her eyes wide as she looked between Axel and me.
Axel propped his hands on his hips as he looked at me, tears filling his eyes again. He watched me with wonder as he said, “That whole time Jordan was hanging out with Eli, she was wired and gathering evidence against him to throw the case.” He looked over at Cora, pulling her into his arms. “My baby sister saved us.”
Trace wiped at his eyes before slinging his arm around Seven. Everyone had red-rimmed eyes as we formed a little circle. Damian brought me into his arms next, squeezing me. “How did you pull it off?”
“He came into the club as a client,” I whispered, everything spinning and euphoric. I had barely imagined what success could look or feel like, in an attempt to protect myself against the worst-case scenario. And now we’d achieved it, the feeling was so powerful and overwhelming, I thought I might choke. I was grateful for Damian holding me down—it seemed likely that I might float away if not tethered.
“I didn’t know who he was at first, but he brought you up once in the VIP room,” I went on. I gave the short version of how we’d proceeded from there, knowing they’d want the full story later. But this wasn’t the time or place for details.
“The only way any of this worked was because of what Jordan was able to get recorded while she met up with Eli,” Seven added, his voice thick with emotion. “She got drugged that night because she had a hunch that if she gave Eli what he wanted, alone time, then she could get information out of him that might seal the deal.”
“And I was right,” I said with a little laugh, that turned into more tears. I covered my face with my hands, trying to compose myself. These were happy tears. Shocked tears. Relieved tears.
Arms squeezed around me, and the sweet clementine scent that settled over me told me it was Cora. I looked up, folding into her embrace.
“I’m so grateful for you,” she whispered into my ear. “I’m so sorry that you had to be anywhere near that awful man. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make sure you find justice.”
“It was worth it,” I told her. “Look what we achieved.”
“We will never not be in your debt,” Cora said, squeezing my arms. “You and Seven saved this family. Our family.”
“And I’d do it again,” I said, looking around at the shining, incredulous, tear-stained faces. I met Axel’s then Damian’s eyes. “If that’s the price I have to pay to make sure I keep my brothers in my life forever, well, I gladly paid it. I’ve lost you too many times. I didn’t plan on losing you again.”
“You’ll never lose us,” Damian promised.
“And I hope you keep us forever, too,” Mercedes added, rubbing my back.
Damian pulled me into his arms, and everyone crowded around us again. At this rate, we’d never make it out of the courthouse. Stuck forever outside room 38, embracing until our bones turned to dust.
I laughed to myself amid the bliss, relishing the warm embrace of family.
It’s what I’d been missing since entering the foster system. What I’d been craving throughout childhood, after Kaylee’s death, and all through my listless, wandering young adulthood. A family surrounding me. A true love at my side.
After everything we’d been through, it seemed like this would be the end of the story. But for me, it felt like the beginning of a brand new life.
The one I’d been too scared to hope for.