Chapter Thirty-Seven #2
Scarlett let out a huff as she rolled onto her side and hugged one of her pillows. “No, there was a nasty encounter. He tried to get me to snap out of the spell he thinks you put me under. He was definitely a dick.”
“And that’s it?” asked Brayden. “He didn’t do anything else to hurt you?”
Her brow pinched. She understood his concern, but she hated wasting their valuable phone time on Alastair. “What do you mean, ‘that’s it’? It was really annoying. And I did put him in his place for it, just for the record.”
Brayden was silent for a long moment. Then he let out a loud sigh. “Sorry. I was just worried.”
“On that note, your time is up,” said the officer.
They said their goodbyes and hung up.
As Scarlett lay in bed without Brayden, the day’s victories felt hollow.
I miss him so much, she thought to Nori. The phone isn’t enough. I can’t see his face. I only get little snippets of how he’s really feeling.
“I know, dear one. You’ll find a way to free him. I know it,” said Nori soothingly.
The next day, Scarlett rubbed her eyes as she sat in her office at Parliament.
Most of her parliamentary sessions and meetings for the day had been canceled due to the entire Goldenrod Party—at least the ones not in jail—having to meet at their headquarters to elect a new leader and begin damage control.
She was alone, having sent Cass to the peers’ dining room for a long lunch.
Exhausted from the events of the past few days, she spent the downtime emailing her lawyer about the four people hurt in the break-ins.
Three had already agreed to settle out of court.
The fourth—the cop with the injured hand—was the only holdout and had asked to meet Scarlett personally.
She typed a quick reply telling the lawyer she’d be free to meet with him over the following week.
After that, Scarlett attempted to scour the news, but all the articles were starting to sound the same, and she couldn’t focus. She refreshed the screen, and a new headline screamed up at her: “EVORY DECLARES WAR ON SIGUR VIDUR!”
No. Her breaths became shallow. She tensed, unsure what to do. What will this mean for Clair de Lune?
“Nothing good,” said Nori.
Lachlan will want to extradite Brayden right away. He’ll never be able to come back.
A knock sounded at the office door.
“Come in.”
Elestine appeared. It was the first time she and Scarlett had been alone since Laylani’s unhinged display in the garden.
Scarlett hadn’t spent any time worrying about the prime minister’s private life, wrapped up as she was in the bigger issues, but she wondered now what things had been like between her and Edward since yesterday afternoon.
Elestine hesitated at the door. “May I sit?”
“Please.” Scarlett gestured to the chair in front of her desk.
“I know I’m probably not on your list of favorite people right now,” the prime minister began. “Edward and I have always had an arrangement, but I still want to apologize to you—”
Shaking her head, Scarlett held up her hand. “Please. That’s not necessary.”
“But I don’t want you to think—”
“Elestine, I don’t care.”
“Why not?”
Scarlett sighed. “Maybe it’s more accurate to say I’d prefer to move on not knowing the specifics.
I do care. What you did is gross. I wish my dad had divorced Laylani rather than cheat on her.
Doing it with my boyfriend’s mother—again, gross—but Alastair and I aren’t together anymore, so I’ll do my best to let that go and not let it harm our working relationship. ”
Elestine’s shoulders slumped. “That’s more grace than I deserve from you. I hope you still feel that way when I tell you what I’ve learned.”
Scarlett recoiled, unable to fathom taking on more stress right now. “And that is?”
“I’m sorry. I’ll start with the good news. I’ve issued a full pardon for Brayden. It took until now to arrange it because of the magic use, but the senior court’s approval came through today. He’s being discharged from jail as we speak.”
Scarlett stood. “Right now?” Thank the Goddess. If that’s true, he won’t end up exiled from Soleil.
“Yes, but I have some bad news as well.”
Scarlett’s heart screamed for Brayden, but she sat. “Go on.”
“Last night, after the press conference, something wasn’t sitting right with me.
I was as shocked as you that we didn’t find anything about the National Theater incident in the raid.
Then I was thinking about Lord Federsin.
He’s claiming he had no knowledge of the money that went out of his bank account. Blamed it on his son, the coward.”
“That’s pathetic.” Scarlett couldn’t imagine trying to pin something she’d done on Beni.
“Agreed, but as I was listening to his sad explanation, I thought to myself, what kind of a ninny would miss such an astronomical sum being withdrawn from his household account?” She took a deep breath and continued.
“So I looked through our accounts. And I noticed fifty thousand marcs were withdrawn last week from Alastair’s trust fund. ”
A shiver ran down Scarlett’s spine as she stared at Elestine. Her fingers found her lips. “He didn’t,” she whispered.
“At first he acted like it was a down payment for a flat, but when I threatened to trace the payment with the bank, he admitted he hired the men to attack Brayden and you at the National Theater.”
The shock stunned Scarlett momentarily. Of all the possibilities she’d considered, she hadn’t even dreamed of this. Her whole body tensed as her worldview realigned around the new information. “Was he trying to get us killed?”
“He got what he wanted—Brayden in jail. He said he did it to free you, but obviously, that’s absolute nonsense.”
“That bastard,” growled Scarlett.
“I completely agree.”
“He deserves to be arrested. He deserves to be sitting in jail for sending those men after us.”
Elestine hid her face in her hands for a second, and then she looked Scarlett in the eye. “Scarlett, I’m so sorry. Words can’t convey—”
Scarlett held up her hand. “Please. It’s his mistake to apologize for. I just want to see him brought to justice for what he’s done.”
“That’s true, and if that’s what you want, we can see it done together. But I do ask you to take a moment to look at the big picture.”
“What’s the big picture? He paid people to assault us, several people were seriously injured, and it led to Brayden burning down the lobby of the theater!” Scarlett’s voice echoed off the walls of her office.
Elestine put her hands up. “Please—if someone overhears you, the choice will be made for us. I want you to consider the big picture. The border legislation.” Elestine’s eyes pleaded with her.
“Right now we have complete public sympathy, both for you and our party. If we expose Alastair, I’ll be obliged to resign, which would be a disaster for the party.
And while I’m willing to take responsibility, it gives me pause to give up your father’s dream when we’re so close, Scarlett.
I was up all night thinking about the greater good and justice, and I don’t think there’s a perfect way to resolve this.
So I want to know what you think we should do.
Do we punish Alastair publicly, or do we do it privately for the sake of the legislation we both believe is for the greater good? ”
A splitting headache assaulted Scarlett. She massaged her temples with her fingertips as tears pricked at her eyes. “Is this some kind of quid pro quo?” she asked, her body tensing. “If I don’t agree, Brayden’s pardon gets revoked?” She was too tired to read between the lines.
Elestine’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “Certainly not. I can show you the emails. His release is happening regardless of what you decide.”
Scarlett steeled herself as she racked her brain for the right answer. Either way, she was letting people down. Elestine or herself, either via a lie that birthed a new corrupt cover-up or via the truth that forced Elestine to resign.
It’s not fair, she cried to Nori. Nothing is fair. Justice for her and Brayden or the fate of Soleil’s border? She couldn’t put her private grievances above the greater good, could she?
“Make it fair,” said Nori.
Fair meant transparency and putting a stop to the lies. Scarlett wanted to be better than those who’d come before her. That was what Soleil needed from her.
“I won’t do the right thing the wrong way,” she said. “I want to see him punished.”
“Punished how though?” asked Elestine.
“You know what to do. Follow your heart,” said Nori.
But the border?
“There’s always another way. She’s wrong.”
She locked eyes with Elestine, finding the strength to sit up straighter and stare her down. “We need to be better than the peers we just had arrested. I want to tell the truth. I want Alastair to face justice for what he did. He should be banned from Parliament.”
The words set her free. She was unchained, acting for herself and for Soleil, because the people wouldn’t want her to lie to save them from themselves. She trusted them, and she’d tell the truth.
Black smoke with a small tendril of gold appeared above Elestine, but Scarlett barely glanced at it. Her opinion didn’t matter. This was up to Scarlett to decide.
“We can arrange that without exposing him, you know.” Elestine’s blue eyes—Alastair’s eyes—searched her face.
Scarlett let out a breath. “I’m sorry, but no. I’m going to press charges. If that leads to the border legislation stalling, that’s a shame, but I believe in my heart it will pass eventually. I won’t lie to the country because Alastair committed a crime that would be inconvenient to expose.”
Elestine sat there as if hoping Scarlett would say more. When she stayed silent, she tapped the desk once and stood. The hope had drained from her expression, her face now set in resolve. “Do you mind if I wait a day to turn him in? It’s been one hell of a week. I’m still severely underwater.”
Scarlett trusted her enough to give her that. “Sure. What’s one night? Get some sleep.” Brayden was getting out. That was all she cared about.
Elestine smiled with gratitude, but all Scarlett saw was the darkest shadows she’d ever seen under her eyes. “Thank you for that.” She turned to leave.
“Will you resign?” asked Scarlett.
Elestine stopped in her tracks. “Should I?”
Scarlett considered for a moment. “I doubt Moira Ashworth would, if she were in your shoes. If we can still salvage the legislation…”
“Perhaps I’ll take it a day at a time.” Elestine stared into space. “Who knows what the full repercussions will be?”
Scarlett studied Elestine’s wan face. Her son was an awful human being, but this woman had just held her hand and walked through hell to free Scarlett and Soleil from a terrible conspiracy. She wasn’t sure if many others would have been as bold as her.
“I hope you won’t resign,” she said quietly. “I’d be happy to give a statement of support for you once the news is out.”
Elestine’s eyes were bright with tears. “That’s very gracious of you, given everything that’s just come to light.”
“I know you’re not a bad person. Your son, however, is beyond the point of redemption as far as I’m concerned.
The Alastair I knew would never have done this.
” Scarlett shook her head, ready to forget Alastair.
“If that’s all, is it all right if I go?
I want to be there when Brayden is released.
” She needed to find Cass and call Charlie.
Elestine cracked open Scarlett’s door. “Yes, of course. Go. I’ll give you a heads-up before I go to the police tomorrow.”
Scarlett grabbed her handbag and sped down the hallway past Elestine. Her mind was already far away from Parliament and fixed on the man she loved. She had to get to Brayden.