Chapter 11
Justice
Hillary Beck
Iwas exhausted. We had been working non-stop for the past few weeks, and everything had become official recently. Gale had finally filed a lawsuit representing every single girl who had agreed to testify, and once it became public, the press had a field day.
They printed entire articles on every single one of the girls, discussing in detail the past and the history of each case. They wrote articles calling the girls’ honor into questions, a move that shocked no one. Gale had already anticipated all this. He had mentally prepared all the girls, informing them that the press was in the Maverick’s hands and that they would resort to character assassination in the hopes of bullying them. Regardless, I hadn’t realized that the press could be so vicious. As more and more days went by, I couldn’t help but agree with what Katie had said.
Of course, Gale felt responsible for it all. He had made a promise, and I could see that it was killing him. He worked tirelessly, barely sleeping or even eating, determined not to let down the victims who relied on him. And even though they were all exhausted, both mentally and physically, for the first time, they had hope. While it was easy for the Mavericks to silence one girl, it proved to be a giant task when multiple girls stood up at the same time. The case was big enough to garner public attention. The Mavericks had tried to suppress it, but it had blown up. And now that the case was in front of the eyes of the public, things were different.
People were now involved in the trial, following it closely. They sympathized with the Averys and the girls, and it turned things in our favor. Their actions exposed to the public eye, the Mavericks had to be careful. And it made all the difference. Now, if one of the girls suddenly lost a family member, the suspicion would be directed at the Mavericks. And with the public following the case so closely, there was little chance that it would be swept under the rug this time.
I picked up the newspaper lying on the bedside, reading the headlines again.
“Why was young Katie never given justice?” the headlines blared. “Why wasn’t there even an investigation?
How many other times has our justice system failed?”
I smiled as I read it, once again marveling at what a connection can do. The Mavericks may own the press, but there were still journalists out there who stayed true to their profession. And fortunately, they all happened to be Daniel's friends. With such articles slowly spreading, the public was becoming more and more suspicious. But, as encouraging as all of this was, the crux of the matter remained. We still had to prove the case in court. And that was what was proving to be a problem. We didn’t have much evidence.
I sighed and lay back in my bed, turning the TV on. Erica was sleeping next to me. Ever since her kidnapping, she rarely slept alone anymore. I didn’t blame her.
“And to bring you breaking news!” the reporter was saying. “It seems that Gale Fears and Stella Jinx has made it official! The two of them had been seen together numerous times before, most notably at the gala dinner the Fears family threw in Stella’s honor. They were seen dancing together and looking rather close at that event. Fans speculated if perhaps Mr. Fears was finally off the market, but there was no official news. Well, it has finally been confirmed! They have released an official press release that they are together!”
I switched off the TV, my heart filled with a familiar pain and ache. I didn’t know why I kept gravitating back to him. I didn’t know why I couldn’t fight my feelings for him. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t move on and just forget him.
At that moment, my phone rang, and I picked it up, wondering who it could be so late in the night.
“Hillary,” Gale said on the other side, “it’s me. Someone just attacked Laura in the middle of the night. She thinks it’s Maverick, and she has backed out of the case. We just lost one of our witnesses.”
