Chapter 11 - The Rat in the Corner
The bail hearing for Marcus was set for two o'clock that afternoon, and Bianca Hale showed up looking like an apparition.
She sat in the back row of the gallery, wearing an old trench coat, her hair pulled back in a hurried ponytail. Every time someone walked past, she flinched, terrified it was another process server.
She was right to be terrified. Clara Sterling had already served her with a three-million-dollar civil claim for conspiracy to defraud marital assets.
As Jonah and I entered the courtroom, Bianca darted out of her pew, intercepting Jonah in the aisle.
"Jonah, please," she whimpered, her hands trembling as she reached for his sleeve. "The bank froze my personal accounts. I can't even buy groceries. The landlord at the Cherry Creek condo gave me twenty-four hours to vacate. Where am I supposed to go?"
Jonah stopped and looked down at her. There was no anger in his eyes anymore. Anger required emotional investment, and Jonah was completely spent of that. What remained was a terrifying, cold detachment.
"You have a mother in Phoenix, Bianca," Jonah said. "I suggest you buy a bus ticket."
"A bus ticket?" Bianca's voice hitched, indignation momentarily cutting through her panic. "I am Chloe's mother! You can't just throw me out on the street!"
"You surrendered your right to this lifestyle when you helped Marcus funnel stolen money through an LLC while planning to take my daughter," Jonah said, his tone utterly remorseless. "The family court judge granted my petition for sole temporary legal and physical custody at noon today. Supervised visitation only, once every two weeks, at a county facility."
Bianca took a step back, her hands flying to her mouth. "No... no, Jonah, you can't keep my baby from me!"
"You kept her from me every weekend you took off to Aspen," Jonah replied. "Go to Phoenix, Bianca. Cooperate with the DA. If you tell them everything Marcus did, maybe you won't serve federal time. That’s the only advice I will ever give you again."
He stepped around her, his stride smooth and unbroken.
I paused for a second beside Bianca. She looked at me, her eyes filled with a desperate, pleading envy.
"You think you won," Bianca hissed under her breath. "You think you're going to get everything."
"I lost my father, Bianca," I said quietly. "Nobody won here. But you and Marcus chose to be monsters. Now you have to live in the dark."
I walked into the well of the courtroom, leaving her standing alone in the gallery aisle.
When the judge took the bench, Marcus was brought in wearing handcuffs and leg shackles. The swagger was gone; his shoulders were slumped, his eyes darting frantically between Harold Kline and the prosecutor.
"Your Honor," the state prosecutor announced, "we have received new evidence from the Deloitte forensic audit team. In addition to grand larceny, the defendant attempted to wire four hundred thousand dollars to an offshore account in Belize as late as six o'clock yesterday evening from a burner phone smuggled into the holding facility."
The judge’s gavel slammed down like thunder.
"Bail is revoked," the judge announced without hesitation. "The defendant is remanded to the custody of the Denver County Sheriff pending trial. Next case."
Marcus let out a guttural, broken cry as two deputies grabbed his arms, hauling him toward the side door.
"Nina!" Marcus screamed, his boots dragging against the linoleum. "Nina, tell them! Tell them you forgive me! You promised in sickness and in health! Nina!"
The heavy steel door slammed shut, cutting his screams off mid-syllable.
I turned to Jonah. My hands were completely steady.
May you like
"Let's go pick up Chloe from school," I said.
***
