Boss Bitch (Bitch Series) (6 page)

“So how did your daughter Justina end up shot?” Mr. Anderson asked. I guess he wasn’t interested in hearing Chantal’s soap opera story although everybody else in the courtroom seemed to be.

“Don’t rush me. I haven’t gotten to that part yet,” Chantal snapped, tossing her hair to the side. She then sat up extra straight and began fidgeting with the big ass diamond ring sitting on her wedding finger. I didn’t know what was going on with Chantal but the screws were definitely loose and we could all see it with our very own eyes. The woman was in the middle of having a nervous breakdown.

I could hear whimpering coming from behind me and I turned around and saw Justina with her head down leaning on her father’s shoulder. If I didn’t hate her so much I would’ve felt sorry for Justina.

“I’m not trying to rush you, Mrs. Morgan.”

“Then stop interrupting me. That entire night is still a little blurry for me. Jessica had informed me weeks prior that Sway Stone would be having a party at the hotel but it wasn’t until that day did I decide he would die and so would Aaliyah. Once I made up my mind I popped several pills, you know to calm my nerves. I already had the gun. All I needed was for Jessica to call me once Aaliyah arrived at the hotel.”

“Did Ms. Vasquez know you were coming to the hotel to murder Sway Stone and Aaliyah?”

“Of course not, nobody knew but me and honestly I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go through with it.”

“But you did go through with it?”

“It didn’t exactly work out. I mean Aaliyah is still alive,” Chantal said in a sinister voice as she eyed me. “But . . . ” There was a long pause and Chantal started rubbing her hands together and then she exhaled.

“But what, Mrs. Morgan?” Mr. Anderson questioned after an extended period of silence.

“I have nothing further to say. I’m exercising my 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. So we’re done here.” Just like that out of the blue Chantal shut it down.

“I have no further questions for this witness,” Mr. Anderson said, walking back to the table.

“I have no questions for this witness,” the prosecutor added sounding as if all the life had been sucked out of her.

“Your Honor, based on the testimony of Mrs. Morgan I ask that all the charges be dismissed against my client.”

“Court is adjourned until two o’clock. I would like to see you both in my chambers . . . now,” the judge ordered.

“I’ll come speak with you as soon as I know something,” Mr. Anderson said before the officers escorted me out. I looked around and thought that there was a very good chance I could walk out of jail a free woman today but at what cost. The chaos had already ensued. My mother was chasing after my father but it seemed all he wanted to do was get out of the courtroom. Genesis was standing between Lorenzo and Nico who appeared to be ready for a twelve round boxing match. But the most bizarre part was as I turned the corner to leave I caught a glimpse of Chantal who had a menacing smile on her face. That bitch was truly crazy or she was the devil. Either way the damage was done and I knew this was just the beginning of the worse kind of nightmare erupting.

“Supreme wait . . . I can
explain,” I said, grabbing his arm as he was trying to leave out the courtroom.

“Is what Chantal said true?” I waited for a few moments because I didn’t know how to answer Supreme’s question. I was fighting whether to tell the truth or lie. “Answer the question,” he insisted. It didn’t help that Supreme was being so calm yet direct.

“Yes, but we were having so many problems. I was only . . . .”

“Save it,” Supreme said cutting me off. “I don’t need an explanation . . . you’re dead to me.”

“You don’t mean that.” The expression on Supreme’s face, after all the bullshit we’d been through he had never looked at me this way before. It was if he was looking through me like I no longer existed. “Supreme, please say something. We have to talk about this.” But my words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears because he said nothing else to me and instead walked out the courtroom doors.

I stood there frozen. For so many months I felt my marriage was over that Supreme and I were done but it wasn’t until this very moment that it hit me, I was still very much in love with my husband and to be without him was a reality I couldn’t face. My determination gave me the strength to move swiftly and go after Supreme. My once frozen body was now in motion as I headed in his direction.

“Not so fast.” My body jerked back from a strong force pulling at my shoulder.

“Nico, you need to calm down!” He pulled me so hard for a second it felt as if my shoulder had been dislocated.

“I need to calm down . . . no, Precious, you need to calm it the fuck down. What the hell were you thinking carrying on with Lorenzo!”

“Nico, we share a child together not a bed. The only person I owe an explanation to is my husband . . . the man you’re keeping me from right now. So excuse me I need to get to Supreme.”

“That man doesn’t want you. Supreme is done with you and I don’t blame him.” When what Nico said registered with me I thought I was about to choke to death. It felt as if somebody repeatedly kicked me in the stomach while punching me in the chest.

“How can you say something so cruel?”

“How? very easily. You’ve been fucking a man I do business with.”

“This isn’t about you. I didn’t set out to have sex with Lorenzo because I knew you all did business together . . . it just happened.”

“You’re a grown woman and you still haven’t learned any self-control. And you wonder why Aaliyah is in the fucked up predicament she is now. You’re her role model.”

“So now what happened to Aaliyah is my fault? What about that crazy bitch Chantal and her daughter who both clearly set Aaliyah up . . . what about them? None of this is their fault? You’re so pissed at me for sleeping with Lorenzo that you’re hitting way below the belt. But I’m not dealing with this shit from you right now.”

I hurried off not waiting to give Nico the last word. It didn’t matter because he said enough. That man doesn’t want you. Supreme is done with you and I don’t blame him. Those words kept replaying in my head. For a moment I thought I was going to run in a corner and vomit. I had to get some fresh air and headed outside to catch my breath.

“My poor sister, things aren’t going well for you today, are they.” As I stood on top of the stairs holding on to the rail my first thought was to kick Maya down them when she walked up on me talking that bullshit.

“Maya, this is not the time.”

“I know. Under the circumstances I’m sure you don’t want to talk to anybody. I mean Chantal called you out for the whore you are in open court. Supreme is finally done with you and Nico sees exactly what type of baby mama he has. On the bright side as least Aaliyah will be getting out of jail. But what is the poor girl coming home to, certainly not a mother and a father. That home is irretrievably broken. And poor Xavier, his daddy will end up marrying another woman, starting a family with her and forget all about his first-born son. You have truly fucked up now, Precious.”

“If we weren’t standing in front of a courthouse surrounded by police officers I would kill you right now. But that’s the beautiful thing about life; God willing there is always another day. So lucky for you Maya, you have one more day to live. But start counting the days down because the clock is ticking.”

“Is that my clock you hear ticking or is it yours,” Maya laughed before walking off. As much as I despised Maya I was glad she approached me because I needed a reminder as to why I couldn’t pity myself and get weak. I constantly had to watch my back, which meant there was no time for slipping. As I thought about what my next move would be I saw Genesis walking in my direction.

“Fuck, I’m not in the mood for another round of this bullshit,” I moaned. If Genesis wasn’t already staring directly in my eyes I would’ve tried to find a way to get ghost but I had no other choice but to deal with yet another confrontation.

“How are you?” I was expecting Geneis’s voice to have an attack tone to it but it didn’t. It actually sounded full of concern, which I welcomed.

“I’ve been better.”

“I’m sure. Listen, we have a couple hours before court resumes. How about we go have some lunch.”

“That sounds good.”

“Let’s go, I’ll drive.”

When Genesis and I
got to the restaurant we sat at a table in the back. I was relieved it was practically empty. The tranquil environment put me at ease and at the moment that’s what I needed. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Thanks for coming. I could tell by the look in your eyes when you first saw me, you weren’t interested in having a conversation.”

“It wasn’t that. I thought you were going to rip into me like Supreme and Nico. I didn’t feel like dealing with that.”

“I have no right to judge you, Precious. Every day I make choices that most people wouldn’t agree with. But it’s what I choose to do and I’m willing to accept whatever consequences come with it. Although you have that same right, I don’t believe you thought about the consequences before you acted.” I glanced out the window while taking a sip of my wine pondering what Genesis said.

“You’re right,” I admitted. “I’m not proud of what I’ve done but this isn’t all on me. Our marriage has been shaky for some time now. Supreme seemed to have checked out a long time ago. I really believed our marriage was over but I wasn’t ready to give up. Especially when everything happened with Aaliyah, I wanted to fight for my family. I do love Supreme but the thing is I love Lorenzo too.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”

“Why?”

“Because that makes everything much more complicated.”

“I thought once we got Aaliyah exonerated we could be a family again and get our lives back to normal. Who knew clearing her name would destroy any chance of that,” I said, shaking my head. “All because of Chantal’s crazy ass. It’s wasn’t enough she set my daughter up but she needed to take me down with her.”

“I was certain that Aaliyah didn’t kill anybody but never in a million years did I think Chantal was the real killer.”

“And all because of her sick obsession with Lorenzo. Did you know they were seeing each other?”

“No I didn’t. But Lorenzo is very private when it comes to his personal life. I believe the only reason he spoke to me about you was because the relationship got serious and he had his reservations because of the Nico factor.”

“Nico,” I sighed, reflecting on the harsh words we exchanged. “Nico seems to believe that he deserves an explanation. Supreme is my husband and Nico is the father of my oldest child. Yes, because of our history I’ll always have love for Nico and respect him for being Aaliyah’s dad but he tried to crucify me today.”

“I’ve known Nico for a very long time now. We’re not only business partners but also he’s one of my closest friends and I believe he always thought you all would get back together someday. It’s easier for him to accept you’re married to Supreme and a certain loyalty comes with that but to find out about Lorenzo, it crushed him. I knew it would and that’s why I never told him about it.”

“That had to be difficult for you. I mean I know you’re close to both of them.”

“It is. Lorenzo is a good man. Like myself, he’s been dealt a lot of tough blows in life but he soldiers through them. To be honest with you, Precious, I was hoping it would be nothing more than a fling between the two of you and both of you would move on, that way nobody would get hurt. But this is a nightmare come true. No matter what happens between you and Lorenzo the damage is done.”

“I know,” I admitted putting my head down. “The only thing that makes it worth it is that my baby is coming home. If it took Chantal airing out my dirty deeds to set Aaliyah free then so be it.”

“True indeed. I hate what happened to Aaliyah. You’re going to have to be patient with her, Precious. After spending all those months in jail I hope you realize that she’ll never be the same again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I spent the majority of my teenage years locked up in a juvenile facility and it stole my innocence. Aaliyah has been in prison for months for a crime she didn’t commit surrounded by real criminals. That would harden anybody.”

“You’re so right and every time I think about that all this anger that’s built up inside of me just wants to explode. All I want to know is at what point did Chantal and Justina begin conspiring together. I believe they both belong in jail.”

“And they could both very well end up there although I’m sure T-Roc will do everything in his power to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“After that show Chantal put on in the courtroom T-Roc should handcuff her himself and personally deliver her to the women’s prison facility.”

“T-Roc and I go way back and I know how he moves. Trust me, he’s already been on the phone with the best criminal attorney in the state of New York who’s advising him on what to do next.”

“Chantal admitted to shooting Sway Stone and her own daughter because in her sick mind she wanted to prove her love for Lorenzo and punish me. Why would T-Roc waste a dime trying to get her off?”

“In a nutshell . . . ego. Chantal has embarrassed him enough. T-Roc is not going to allow it to continue.”

“If T-Roc knows what is good for him, he’ll make sure Chantal goes to jail and stays there. Because if he gets that nutcase off I’m putting her on the same list Maya is on.”

“I feel you. If it were my child, heads would roll. Nobody would be immune but I don’t recommend you follow that path. Let the legal system do what it does first. If for some reason they fuck it up then we can go back to your list. But for now you have to fall back.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. The system already failed Aaliyah and the only reason the truth came out is because Quentin found the missing link to bring all this shit together. So let’s just say I’m not really confident with their services.”

“Under the circumstances, that’s a fair statement but, Precious, you have way too much to lose. Trust me on this. Let the legal system do their job. You go out here playing vigilante you’re going to end up in the exact same place you fought to get Aaliyah out of.”

“Point taken. I’ll give it some time to see what happens but Chantal and Justina will pay for what they did to Aaliyah, so for their sakes they better pray that punishment comes from the court of law, because my penance is a life for a life.”

“I got that. All I’m trying to do is make sure Aaliyah and Xavier both grow up with their mommy.”

“I feel you but let’s go,” I said, looking down at my watch. “Court is about to resume and you know I can’t be late.”

“And I don’t want you to, so let’s go.”

When we got back
to the courtroom the first thing I did was look for Supreme. My eyes were darting all around but there wasn’t a trace of Supreme. There is no way he would miss this. Supreme knows that Aaliyah needs his support and so do I. I went to take my seat with a heavy heart. I felt a pair of eyes burning a hole through me and when I turned to see who it was, I realized it was Nico. Before I turned my head back around I checked out the other side of the courtroom and noticed T-Roc. Chantal and Justina were nowhere to be found which stunned me. I thought about what Genesis’s said and he might’ve been right. Had T-Roc been in touch with an attorney and started building a defense for his wife and daughter. If he had he was a piece of work.

“All rise . . . ” I heard the officer say as my mind was still struggling to figure out where Chantal and Justina had disappeared to. Before I gave my full attention to the judge I scanned the courtroom one last time and Lorenzo wasn’t in attendance either. Genesis and Amir were standing together and right before I turned away I noticed Supreme walk through the doors. Praise The Lord Supreme is here, Aaliayh would’ve been devastated, I thought before sitting down.

“Damn, I hope this shit is finally over and Aaliyah will be able to come home,” I whispered under my breath before saying a quiet prayer. I was also praying that Supreme would come sit next to me but when I glanced towards the door again he was sitting down in the back.

“After speaking with both attorneys in my chambers and due to the testimony of Chantal Morgan I move to have all charges against Aaliyah Mills Carter dismissed with prejudice. Court dismissed,” he said pounding down his gavel.