Black Rose

Devil's Attorney

My heart had stopped beating in my chest. "Why would I say any of this? What is stopping me from telling the truth?"

Blake shook his head, looking somewhat
annoyed. "This is the truth my rose. You are mine, and only mine, and you will stay that way. Now, there is nothing stopping you from refusing to do what I ask of you. But I want you to remember this." He tapped the back of my ear, reminding me of the microphone. "If I hear you screw up, you, Iris, and the boy, get punished. Understood?"

Tears welled up in my eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

He tutted at me. "Uh uh, my rose. When I ask you to do something, you say yes. You have to please me, understood?"

I nodded, blinking away my tears. "Yes, sir."

He nodded. "Good girl. Now, let's practice. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and you act like you're alone with the lawyer."

My stomach was twisted in knots but I nodded.

He smiled. "So, Ophelia, how is life with Blake?"

I hesitated then spoke. "It's good. He treats me well."

He nodded at my answer. "And are you romantically involved with Blake?"

I froze. What did I say? What did he want me to say? "Yes, I am."

Wrong answer. Blake's jaw set, and he squeezed my arm roughly. "No, Ophelia. You are seventeen. If you tell him we love each other, I will be jailed for pedophilia."

I whimpered, my arm sore from his grip. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

He took a deep breath and let go. "That's okay, my rose, that is why we are practicing. Now, let's try again. Are you and Blake romantically involved?"

This time, I didn't hesitate. I shook my head. "No, sir. Blake would never cross that boundary. He is more like a father to me."

Blake looked pleased with my response. "Good. Now, Ophelia, does Blake ever hit you?"

I shook my head, even though my answer felt so wrong. "Blake would never do that. He isn't that kind of man."

He smiled, letting go of my arm. "No. You're right, he isn't."

The elevator slowed, and let out a ding as the doors slid open. Blake threw me a comforting smile. "You'll be fine, my rose. Just think about what I would want you to say."

I nodded slowly, and he lifted his hand and very barely brushed it across the mic on the back of my neck, reminding me of what would happen if I didn't obey.

Then, he took my hand once more and led me out of the elevator, through a long corridor, and past an empty office. He led me through to a glass conference room, with windows looking down on the city below. It was a typical conference room, with a long white table, but we were alone for the moment, and Blake sat down, looking rather comfortable in his formal attire. I thought back to what he'd said this morning, about tonight.

"What's happening-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the door opened and an older pudgy man walked in, holding a briefcase. He glanced at me then at Blake before sitting down opposite him. Blake gave me a look so I took that as my queue to sit  down too.

"Alright, Ms. Alto. Let's get this over and done with so we can go back to our weekend's Alright?"

I nodded, glancing across at Blake. He gave me a reassuring smile.

"Let me introduce myself, I'm Todd Wilkof, and I'm just here to make sure all of Blake's legal affairs are in order. Understood?"

My mind flashed back to Blake's words in the elevator. I nodded. Todd rolled his eyes. "I'm going to need you to make verbal answers, Ms Alto."