The Lions Den

Chapter Twenty-One: When the Lioness Must Defend Against the Challenge

I love you K, and happy birthday old ass. Don't break nothin'.

Marcus

I let out a breathy laugh as I closed the journal and securely placed it and the locked back in the box and to the side. I pulled out my phone as I sat at the desk and sent him a text of thanks and a promise to talk to him later on today. For as mad as I was at him, my love for my brother exceeded any known bounds. I wanted to be able to explain everything to me, and for all he'd done for me I could let him do that much. He took the first step to apologize, so I could finally move forward to forgiving him.

Matteo was right: Marcus had been my protector and other half for all my life. My older brother was my world without a question. He was the man that helped raise and protect me when he didn't have to. He always made a way for me when I knew there was none, and for that I would always owe him. Hopefully we'd talk soon enough, but until then I had enough work to drown myself in to last a lifetime.

I went to my email, looking through it carefully for the email of all emails. Right near the middle, I saw the one I needed and and smiled when I saw the last of the files I needed along with an official notification from the court confirming the start of the trial.

Two months.

I had two months to get all of this mess together, but I was determined to do just that. Taking a breath I took out my iPad and pen and began to work on the case that was going to make or break me in every way imaginable.

Brooklyn rushed into the room guns blazing at the sharp scream I let out. I sat with my iPad thrown on the desk on top the papers there and my hands had covered my face. Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh. My. God.

"Kashera! You're scaring me, what's wrong!" Brooklyn exclaimed taking me by my shoulders. I shook my head, finally coming to. I saw a few people standing at the door and I shooed them away.

"Go close the door!" I exclaimed as I stood and began pacing over the room anxious and overwhelmed with the emotions that had rocked my being.

Overwhelmed at the joy and relief that had now flooded my system.

"Are you going to talk to me now-"

"Matteo didn't do it."

"I thought you already knew that?"

"I did, but the courts didn't. Brooklyn, I've spent the last four hours checking and cross examining everything, and I did it. I think I can prove that Matteo didn't do. I-" I began to squeal in joy as Brooklyn stood shocked before she brought me into her arms. We hugged for a moment and when she pulled away I felt my throat close up at the magnitude of the revelation to be had. I took a look at the logs of paper that tracked the movements of Matteo, his unquestionably personal and legal spending, and his placements.

The dates and times of all those events paired with the missing reports that gave me a medical confirmation on the time of death, date and location of the body being found, and severity of the murder allowed for me to put everything in place.

At the time of death, Matteo Leone was not even in the vicinity of Georgia, or the southern United States at that. Therefore, ruling him out of the murder altogether.

I was no where near done constructing my argument, or processing the possible counterarguments and litigations, but knowing that there was a way to completely rule out Matteo physically commenting the murder took a weight off of my heart that was unexplainable. Maybe, just maybe, I could keep my own word and prevent him from spending a day in a cell.

A day away from me.

I took a breath to calm down as I sat back down at my desk and began tidying up as Brook did the same.