Chapter 141

Fiona

“There are many instances, Your Honor, where the defendant has acted in clear contempt of Ms. Bowen,” Mr. Adair announces, moving around our little table. There’s another man, Mr. Jones, with us, one has been arguing for the return of my inheritance.

He stands also, joining Mr. Adair and adding, “Which is why, Your Honor, Ms. Bowen has divorced the defendant. However, she could not and will not continue with her life as Mr. Aldridge has uprooted and derailed Ms. Bowen’s life by damaging property, stealing inheritance, acting in a fraudulent conduct with her assets.”

The Judge nods, peering down at the paperwork in front of him. He has everything he needs to make a ruling, but we still have to go through the process of a regular court hearing. Mr. Adair said I pretty much have the win as long as the Judge rules fairly and logically.

I stare at the backs of the two men fighting for my money and then at the I glance at the empty bench behind me, wondering how everything came to this. Jack sits across the room, the Judge is in his high up chair, the guard is near Jack, and the small crowd of witnesses is behind me, but that bench has stayed empty the entire time we’ve been here.

Ethan was supposed to be here, but he had to work out some issues at the office. He tried to send Ryan with me, but I told him I was okay. Now I wish I’d accepted the offer of support.

“Your Honor, if you’ll look on page five, you will find the evidence and paper trail of the theft of inheritance,” Mr. Jones announces, and the Judge flips through the evidence.

He hums as his eyes narrow on the paper before they widen again in surprise.

“Three million was stolen?” The Judge questions, looking to Mr. Adair.

“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Aldridge secretly siphoned the money through a business that illegally launders cash for their clients. Mr. Jones has recently informed me that this company has been on the Government’s radar recently for similar charges,” Mr. Adair answers, pulling Mr. Jones into the conversation.

“Because Ms. Bowen’s inheritance was only available with signed consent from Ms. Bowen, the defendant forged her signature and then had the money laundered in order to hide it from our client. The forgery and lab reports are on page three through five,” Mr. Jones states.

The familiar statements ring in my ears, and I sigh. I can’t believe I missed Jack stealing nearly four million dollars from me. I was so blind.

“As stated before, Your Honor, theft and fraud are the main charges against Mr. Aldridge, so we ask that the seized funds be returned to Ms. Bowen,” Mr. Adair says, then he glances at me. I nod, knowing what’s coming next.

When Mr. Adair found out about Jack’s stalking, he said we needed to bring it up in court. I agreed with him because Jack needs to be punished for everything he’s done, so Mr. Adair said he would take care of the paperwork and that I may need to be ready to testify and explain what happened.

“Your Honor, there is also something new that has come up between our preliminary hearing and now. Not only has Mr. Aldridge committed various theft and tax evasion crimes, but he has also turned to harassment in various forms and violent crimes.”

The Judge’s eyes bounce up from the paper, landing on us, and the older man nods, “Continue.”

“Recently, after the divorce hearing, we have come across new charges against Mr. Aldridge.”

“Attempted murder, destruction of property, arson, stalking, harassment, and witness intimidation?” The Judge asks for clarification.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

“We have a testimonial witness, Ms. Bowen’s stepsister, Jessica Brown-Bowen, we’d like to call to the stand,” Mr. Adair announces.

As the Judge accepts the witness, a door off to the left opens and Jessica is escorted in, wear the prison orange jumpsuit and looking worse-for-wear. The messy hair and bruises tell me she hasn’t had an easy time inside the prison.

Jessica shoots a smoldering glare at Jack when she sits down before she turns and takes the oath of truth.

“Ms. Brown-Bowen, how do you know Mr. Aldridge?” Mr. Adair asks.

“He’s my ex-boyfriend who used and manipulated me into helping him steal from his wife. Fiona is my stepsister, who I never liked, so he used that hatred to get me to help him steal her money.”

“And has Mr. Aldridge ever gotten you to commit crimes on his behalf?”

“Objection!” Jack shouts, adding, “Leading,” into his complaint.

“I’ll allow it,” the Judge says, pinning Jack with a glare.

Jessica sits still until Mr. Adair asks her again.

“Jack convinced me that the only way for us to keep the money and to be free from Fiona’s trouble was to get rid of her.”

“How so?”

Jessica swallows and takes a deep breath, “By killing her.” Mr. Adair motions for her to continue, and she does, spilling all of Jack’s intentions out before the Judge. “Jack bought gasoline and convinced me to burn Fiona’s house down with her inside.”

“Your Honor, a voice recording has been presented by Ms. Brown-Bowen as evidence,” Mr. Adair says, and the Judge nods.

A loud static sound fills the speakers on his desk, and we all listen as Jack’s voice filters from the sound system, “I want you to do something for me. We need to get rid of her, but I can’t do it on my own.”

Jack’s eyes widen as Jessica drops her head, her voice also coming from the speakers, asking, “What can I do?”

“I’ve got three full gas cans in the garage,” Jack says, and a feminine gasp sounds. “We’re going to burn her house down tonight and the little bitch won’t be able to get out because we’ll block all her exits, so she dies with her precious house.”

Mr. Adair stops the recording and turns to Jessica, letting her know she’s done and that the guard will escort her back out. I silently thank her as she leaves, and I wait for whatever comes next.

“Not only is arson and attempted murder being added to the list of charges, but after Ms. Brown-Bowen was arrested, Mr. Aldridge then began harassing and stalking my client in the form of strange and inappropriate gifts. If you will look at page ten, you can see the images, new evidence, as well as a witness statements from Ms. Bowen and Mr. Montgomery.”

My breath catches at the mention of Ethan’s name, making me tense up. I don’t mean to, but with the awkwardness between Ethan and I with the whole Angela being close to him incidents, I can’t help it.

“I would like to hear from the witness, Ms. Bowen, herself,” the Judge says, and I jolt, standing and nearly tripping over the legs of my chair.

The three men look at me, and I swallow the nerves. I shouldn’t be nervous. I haven’t done anything wrong and there’s no one here that’s going to hurt me, but I still can’t stop my fingers from twisting into the sides of my skirt as I move around the table.

I take a seat at the witness stand, glance at the small jury and then explain what happened between me and Jack.

“There were several packages, each one with intimate objects inside. I thought my boyfriend had sent them as a surprise, but then there were these little notes that said things about how I was his and how we were supposed to be together. It got worse with each gift and eventually, he sent pictures,” I tell the Judge. He merely nods, letting me know he’s listening. I explained each gift and how they freaked me out, telling the judge that they always showed up when nobody was watching.

I talk about the pictures he took of me changing in Isla’s house, and the Judge narrows his eyes at Jack when I tell him about my stolen bra. I can see it in Jack’s face that he realizes he’s not going to leave this hearing with any mercy.

“Well, I believe we have enough to establish an outcome. We will take a few minutes recess to allow the jury to conclude their decisions before I make a final ruling,” the Judge announces. I stay in my seat, too tired and nervous to move for the entire ten minutes it takes the Judge and Jury to leave and return.

Within that time, Jack hasn’t moved an inch, possibly already knowing what is coming.

“All rise.”

Everyone stands, as the Judge reads out the verdict.

“We, the court, find the defendant, Jack Aldridge, guilty of all accounts. The defendant will be sentenced to thirty-three years in prison for the following: attempted murder, stalking and harassment, tax avoidance, arson and property destruction, and inheritance theft.”

Jack flops back into his chair, dazed and not caring that the Judge is still speaking.

“Ms. Fiona Bowen will regain her inheritance in full and be compensated for the loss of property from Mr. Aldridge’s seized assets.”

The breath I’d been holding finally leaves me, and a weight is lifted off my shoulders. I’m finally fully free of Jack.