Chapter 235 A PLEA AND A DEAL
AURORA’S POINT OF VIEW.
The day of judgement loomed over us…literally. One week later, I was discharged from the hospital and well on the way to total recovery. However, I still couldn’t rest. Not the way I wanted to, anyway. Tomorrow was the final hearing; the one that would determine if Armando would get the full sentence, or if his accusation against Kai would let him go off with a lesser sentence instead.
Silas had pulled all his strings to get us an audience with Morgan, but she refused. However, none of us relented. Mom, Lucien, Theo, Cassian, even Sloane, Amara, and Ace did all they could, pulling their entire weight to ensure that every wall was moved aside until we finally got access to exactly twenty minutes with her.
If I could not convince her in twenty minutes or get her to reveal her true nature, it was all over. “You okay?” Kai whispered, his varsity jacket around my body gave me much-needed warmth amidst the fully air-conditioned space. I nodded with a soft smile; the sight of everyone behind me was much needed.
Mom, Silas, and the bodyguards they each hired stood on either side of me, while Kai sat beside me. We faced the transparent screen, awaiting Morgan’s presence.
“Nervous?” Kai asked again, his thumb stroking the back of my hand softly. I nodded with a whisper of my own.
“Just a little.” Nervous was an understatement. My heart felt like I would vomit it at any turn if it kept beating the way it did. I swallowed, focusing on the deep breaths mom whispered for me to take.
“If it ever gets too much, let us know.’ Silas said, a strong hand clamped on my shoulder as if to lend me some strength. “We’ll be out of here immediately. I’m sure there is another way to get what we need.” He said, and even though I nodded, he and I knew one truth;
There was no other way. Not in such a short time. Morgan was our best bet at getting anything done right now. If she refused, Armando would only get tried and sentenced for the clear murder of Denise because everyone witnessed it.
Just before Kai could offer another means of encouragement, the heavy electronic doors buzzed and then pulled apart to reveal two people. The sound of the jingle of chains, followed by the sight of Morgan in an orange prison uniform, her handcuffed as the officer holding onto her pulls her to the chair. “You have exactly twenty minutes, ladies and gentlemen. Once the time is up, the imprisoned patient will be taken back to her cell.”
“We will follow the rules, officer,” Silas says on our behalf, nodding at the officer, who responds with a polite smile before standing off in a corner.
I stared at my step-sister… well, former step-sister, barely recognizing the self-acclaimed princess I knew. Her hair is unkempt, tattered, and hanging on her head; her face has no makeup, leaving her skin dry and pasty. Her lips are cracked too….and those eyes, they’re unfocused, as if she barely stares at anything, or understands anything.
“Hello, Morgan,” I called, and she finally stared at me with the same unfocused stare. I reached for the intercom button, my fingers trembling slightly as they pressed against the cold plastic. "Morgan," I repeated, my voice echoing through the small speaker on her side of the glass.
She didn’t blink. Instead, she began to hum in a low, discordant sound that sent a chill straight down my spine. Her head tilted slowly, her gaze drifting toward the ceiling as if she were tracking a fly or some other thing only she could see.
"She's gone, Aurora," Kai whispered beside me, his grip on my hand tightening. "Look at her. There’s nothing left to talk to."
I stared at her, searching for the girl who used to hide my shoes just to watch me cry, the woman who had stood by and watched Denise mistreat me with a smirk. I looked at the way her thumb was rhythmically tapping against the cold metal of the table. One, two, three. One, two, three. It was a cadence that threw me off, but even as I tried not to give up on my goal, I couldn’t help but wonder;
Is Morgan really insane?