Chapter 76

Chapter 76
Arianna POV:

I found myself having to remind myself to breathe as I watched him on the stand. I saw the snake eyes glimmer as he huffed and puffed, insulted that people would accuse him of such crimes. How he was a businessman and propped this city up. 

“Have you ever participated in illegal drug activity?” His lawyer asked. 

My father sighed deeply, sinking his shoulders. “To see the damage those things can do to troubled innocent souls, and be the one facilitating that. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience. I have never and would never participate in illegal drug activity,” he looked at the jury with a kind, sober expression. 

I felt my stomach turn, and bile hit the back of my throat. I looked over the jury, a sweet old woman giving him a sympathetic smile, and I rolled my eyes. How could people be falling for this? He had tormented them for years, he’d stolen from them, beaten them, killed them. Now what, he was just taken for a ride by his employees? 

“Have you ever failed to report money to the Internal Revenue Service?” The man prompted my father once again to protest his innocence. 

He held up his hands turning on the charm, “hey I’m a business owner I’m no fan of the IRS who is, but I’m an American first. I do my duty to this country, and I’m just like everybody else,” he held his hands out to the crowd. “We all gotta pay Uncle Sam,” 

People laughed here and there, and the judge banged her gavel once. I started fidgeting with the hem of my skirt and looking down. 

I couldn’t watch this, I couldn’t see him weasel his way out of this. I couldn’t watch these morons fall for this act. Not when I had done the same. He had used the same generous smile to get me back into his life, the same tender expressions to bring my guard down. I had fallen for all of it, I knew how easy it was to believe him. He had this way of looking so earnest for a man who was so black hearted. 

Giovanni grabbed my hand to stop me from tearing the threads out of my clothes. He squeezed it once, and I felt better. 

I couldn’t imagine doing this without him, I’d be a wreck. I felt entirely alone as it was, but one touch of his hand and the rocky sea was steadied. 

“So why do you think that these charges have been brought against you?” 

My father actually sniffled, and my head snapped up to see him. “Unfortunately, my family is under attack.” 

“Objection, speculation,” the D.A. stood. 

“It is not speculation!” My father snapped. “It is not,” 

“This is clearly an attempt to sway the jury emotionally with no factual evidence,” the D.A. continued as my father shouted. 

“Mr. Caputo, calm down!” The judge warned him and banged her gavel again. “Sustained,” she held her hand up. 

“Do you have a good relationship with your eldest daughter?” The lawyer asked, my fists clenched, and I felt Giovanni’s hand lock up around my own. 

“Objection, relevance?” the D.A. stood again, exhausted with the line of questioning. 

The judge sighed, “Overruled,” she stated, and I wanted to bang the gavel over her head. What do I have to do with this? 

“No,” my father met my eyes, and I wanted to scream, or cry, or throw up.  “She’s fallen for my business rival, unfortunately, after I introduced them, she’s been poisoned against me, and I wish that she could see she’s been taken advantage-“ 

“Objection, your honor, what is the relevance of this, not to mention speculation, witness tampering, I could continue,” the D.A. was red in the face. 

“Overruled and sit down. I want to see where they’re going with this,” she ordered him, and the DA slammed back into his seat. 

I felt like it was slipping out of our fingers. She was giving him an opening, he could slip through the tiniest crack, and now the judge was allowing him to lie his way back onto the streets. 

I felt the air leave my lungs at the thought. There was no safety if he got away with it, I would have to change my name to get away from him, and even then, I’d be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. They couldn’t continue with this. 

“I believe they’ve used their connections in the police department to put me behind bars and take over my business,” he looked out at the jury with heartbroken, watery eyes. 

I wanted to stand up and shout that he was an evil, vindictive man, and nothing he did would save him from the damage he’d done. I refused to believe you can live a life full of evil and sin and not get some karma. 

“Have you at any point in time during your life committed a crime?” 

He cocked a smile. “I may have jaywalked once or twice,” he confessed. 

I could slap him right there. 

By the end of the day, we got back into the car, and I felt deflated. All the air had left me, and I needed a bed. Gio kissed my hand as we headed off, and I felt mildly better, but even his charms were losing their effect on a day like today. 

In a way, he was making it worse, the more he attempted to bolster me, the more I loved him. The more I loved him, the more I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but it felt like that was the farthest possibility at the moment. 

He had done beautifully if there was a masterclass in lying on the stand, my father was the professor. I leaned back in the car and massaged my temples with one hand. I hoped Gio would know me well enough to know I didn’t want to put on a brave face tonight, I want to go to our home and eat pizza or sushi. Perhaps both. 

Could it all truly go wrong? Could we lose everything? Standing on the edge of a life together, of everything we want. A chance to wake up from this god awful nightmare I had found myself in, all I wanted was for this to be over and we could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it felt like it was caving in. 

We got home, and he pulled me tightly to his chest. “Go upstairs and get in the bath. I’ll order some food,” he said, kissing my forehead. 

I loved him all the more. 

“What sounds good?” He asked. 

“Everything,” I pouted. 

How was I supposed to take the stand now? What would they ask me if they’re stooping to this level? How am I supposed to face the courtroom after that?

Giovanni came in with a glass of aged whiskey, setting it on the edge of the tub. “I’ve ordered a feast,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt. 

“He’s got them, you know,” I told him. 

“We don’t know anything,” he kissed my neck as he climbed in behind me. 

I wanted to believe him, but that pit in my stomach that I’ve been doing everything in my power to ignore was growing. Could we really survive this?