THREE WEEKS LATER
Rita's pov
I was waiting in the courtroom as they brought him in. I got up from my seat, looking at him longingly. Now he was standing in front of me after three weeks, I realized how much I had missed him.
I tried to hide my smile by biting my lip. I hardly held myself back from running to him — hugging and kissing him.
I was happy I could protect him and his brother, but I felt a pang in my heart as I saw the way he was looking at me. He was mad at me. And if looks could kill I would be dead by the man I'd die for.
But I understood his anger, he was mad at me for reporting him. He felt betrayed, but if I was in the same situation again I'd report him again.
He could hate me as long as he was safe. I was actually relieved my plan worked out. Alessi did not harm him or his brother while they were in police custody.
He seemed better. He still had bruises on his face, but I could see they were healing well. His broken arm was in a plaster cast. I protected my man.
I smiled absently — reminding the night I was drunk. Roman said he'd protect his family. And he protected me against Alessi and his brother. He told me he'd kill and die for his family. He fought against his brother to stop him from dragging me to their boss. He risked his life for me. He saw me as his family.
And he was my family. The father of my baby. He was my baby's family. Now I would save him like he saved me.
I would give him all the power he needed to protect us against Alessi. I was ready to sacrifice my position in society to make him invincible.
My sadness and yearning turned into anger as Antonio and his brother entered the courtroom.
I huffed and was about to walk towards him to kick him in his dick again by using Nicolai as an excuse, when the judge walked in.
Sighing, I stayed put. I didn't want to cause a scene and get the trial postponed again. I wanted my man to be free.
"Mr. Jackson? Would you like to start?" the judge asked Mr. Jackson.
"Actually, Mrs. Volkov wants to do the opening speech by herself," he said to the judge.
"All right," the judge said, nodding his head before looking at me, "please, Mrs. Volkov."
I got up from my seat before taking a deep breath and stepping in front of the judge.
"Good afternoon, your Honor. My name is Rita Volkov, and I want to tell you and everyone in the courtroom what really happened after my husband's tragic death. I got married on March 21st and it ended in a nightmare. My husband and I said goodbye to the guests before retiring to our room, and losing there the man I loved." I heard Roman huff as I ended my sentence.
"I claimed in the report I gave to the police that everyone in the mansion was attacked by armed men, that my husband was killed and I was captured before the attackers blew up the entire mansion to cover up what really happened. Well ..." I said with my head down, gulping, before looking up at the judge again.
"Your Honor, everything I have said in this report is wrong. I was sick as I was giving my testimony. I ... was a drug addict, a junkie. And I was trying to get clean when I married Nicolai. My father, his soul should rest in peace, tried his best to hide my condition from the press as we are a well-known family in Mexico and my condition would have ruined our reputation. I... I also had a seizure on my wedding night. Nicolai was taking a shower as my body started craving for drugs. I got quite nervous as I didn't want him to see the junkie in me. Therefore, I left the mansion to get some fresh air and calm down. After I had calmed down, I went back to the mansion to see my home burning down."
"And why didn't you call the police or the fire department, Mrs. Volkov?" the judge asked me.
"Because I forgot to take my cell phone with me as I hurried out," I said with a sigh, "and when I came back from my walk, my home was on fire. And I knew my husband was inside, burning. I wanted to save him, I wanted to run inside and help him get out, but my legs felt like ... locked. I couldn't move from my place due to my shock."
"And why did you claim that Mr. Alessi's employees, Valerio and Roman Esposito kidnapped you?" he asked me.
"Well, my drug addiction is just one of my illnesses my dad tried to hide from the press. I also have schizophrenia. I am mentally ill, and my illness makes me see, think and say things sometimes that are far from reality. I got hallucinations after stopping to take my medication after Nicolai's death. I had lost my appetite and retreated into my shell after seeing my love burn into ashes. I needed a getaway from all the painful memories and decided to fly to Chicago. And as I said, I didn't take my medication, and starting to see the reality in an abnormal way," I explained him, taking a deep breath.
"And that's how everything started turning into a disaster. One day I left my hotel room and met Roman. We got along well. The first week we get to know each other. The second week he asked me out on a date and I said yes. One week later, we got together and I asked him if I could move in with him, I felt sick and lonely in this hotel room. After I moved in with him, Roman noticed that something was wrong with me. I don't want to go back to into detail as it's a little person for me, but the way I started to behave, after not taking my medication for a long time, made him uneasy. He happened to have a doctor friend whom he invited over after I refused to see a doctor. She prescribed me some pills. I started taking them, but my disease made me feel like there was nothing wrong with me. Then, Roman introduced me to Valerio. And I seduced his brother and slept with his brother, thinking he was Nicolai. Roman found out I had slept with his brother the day I called the police. As I saw them fight, I imagined in my head that they kidnapped me and ran out of the apartment before calling the police."
I licked my dry lips, after being finally done with my story, and went to Mr. Jackson, taking the files from him to hand them to the judge.
"And here is the evidence that I'm sick. These are doctor reports on my clinical history, they include reports on my drug addiction and schizophrenia. Roman's doctor friend is also here to testify about the day she visited."
I looked at the audience before saying, "Mrs. Dr. Eleonoro Alarnez, would you please tell your Honor about the day you visited Roman and me in his apartment?"
The doctor I arranged got up from her seat and came forward. "Good afternoon, your Honor. I'm Dr. Eleonoro Alarnez and would like to testify about the day I visited Roman and Rita in his apartment," she said.
The judge nodded his head. "Go ahead, Dr. Alarnez and please tell us what happened," the judge said.
"Roman called me and asked if I could come over if I had time because he was worried about his girlfriend and she refused to see a doctor. When I visited her and met Rita, she acted paranoid, and was really disorganized. Her mood swings weren't normal. I immediately noticed that something was wrong with her. I thought she had schizophrenia, but I needed to do few tests on her to diagnose if she really had schizophrenia or not. Therefore, I only prescribed her antidepressant. Mrs. Volkov refused to go to the hospital, claiming that nothing was wrong with her. And I couldn't really check on her lately as I was drowned in work in the hospital and didn't have time to call them. I didn't know she accused Roman of all these things. I didn't know Roman was in jail, otherwise I'd give a testimony sooner," she lied for me as I had requested.
"Well, thank you very much for your time and honesty, Mrs. Dr. Alarnez. You can take a step back," the judge said.
"Of course," she muttered before returning back to her seat.
"You can also go back to your seat, Mrs. Volkov," the judge said.
"Before I go back to my place, I want to show you one more thing, your Honor," I said before handing him an iPad, "the footage from a mall where Roman and I were. As you can see on the footage, I was not kidnapped when I was with Mr. Roman Esposito. You can see me happily walking around the mall with him as we enter different stores."
"Thank you, Mrs. Volkov for your honesty. You can step back now," the judge said after watching the footage. "Of course," I said before taking a seat next to Mr. Jackson.
"Does the other party want to object to Mrs. Volkov's allegations?" the judge asked and Roman's and Valerio's attorney rose from his seat before saying, "No, your honor. Everything happened as Mrs. Volkov claimed."
I got up from my seat too, looking at the judge, before saying, "With your permission, your Honor, I want to make it up to the Esposito brother's in front of the law."
"Of course, Mrs. Volkov," the judge said, nodding her nodded. I smiled and took the documents, from Mr. Jackson, that were saying I would give all my shares to Roman. Then, I walked up to Roman.
"I am giving all my shares to Roman Esposito. I'm doing this with my own free will and without being under pressure from anyone. My mother, who is also my deputy because of my illness, agreed with my decision and the documents relating to this procedure also have her signature. I made this decision after talking to three psychologists, who
claimed I'm mentally healthy enough to take this decision. I'm on my medication and I'm all right now, but I know I'll go through bad times again because I'm sick. I am unable to run multi-million dollar businesses and I don't want to bankrupt the hard work of my husband and father. And I know Mr. Roman Esposito has enough experience to run these companies. Therefore, I am giving him all my shares as a compensation because he was the main victim of my illness."
I handed the documents to Roman as he looked at me unfazed. He didn't look surprised, which confused me. Why wasn't he surprised?
He just looked at me coldly as he took the documents from me. Was he still mad at me for reporting him? Was he ever going to forgive me for reporting him?
Did I really do something terrible by reporting him? I was only trying to save him. I was still trying to save him.
Couldn't he see how much I was struggling to discharge him? I sacrificed my position in society for him and he still looked at me with hatred in his eyes. I did everything for him, and I still hoped he'd forgive me one day for reporting him.
"And I am also willing to pay his brother a compensation. I am ready to pay Mr. Valerio Esposito two hundred thousand dollars as an apology for the situation I put him in," I muttered, giving his brother the check.
"Mr. Valerio Esposito and Mr. Roman Esposito, do you accept the compensation or do you want Mrs. Volkov's arrest?" the judge asked.
Roman told the judge that he accepted the compensation. Valerio mumbled that he'd would also prefer shares rather than money, but agreed to the money and told the judge that he also accepted my compensation.
"Okay, do any of the parties want to say something before I impose a sentence?" the judge asked and nobody appealed and he pronounced the verdict.
"Mr. Valerio Esposito and Mr. Roman Esposito are discharged because their innocence has been proven. Mrs. Volkov should pay a compensation or go to jail for the troubles she caused the two young victims. The compensation has been paid in front of the law and the two victims accepted the compensation. Thank you, jury, for your service today. The court is adjourned."
*****
"Roman," I muttered, running after him as he left the courtroom. "Roman," I said, grabbing his arm, making him pause in his track and turn around to look at me.
"What do you want?" he asked me callously. "I..." I mumbled, too hurt by his coldness.
He snorted before grabbing my jaw and pushing me against the nearest wall. His sudden movement startled me and I looked at him taken a back.
"I didn't know you had such great acting skills. You really managed to deceive everyone, even me. But I
will show you soon what it means to play with me. You will pay for betraying me and breaking my trust," he hissed at me as I looked at him lost for words.
He thought I used him? He thought I betrayed him? He really thought I was going to turn my back to him, and leave him in the hands of the justice?
"R-Roman, I didn't betray you, I was trying to protect you," I tried to explain myself, tears forming in my eyes.
"Save your bullshit, I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth!" he snapped at me, his grip on my face tightened, making me wince in pain.
"Y-You are hurting me," I stuttered, looking at him hurt, but it seemed like he didn't care if he hurt me or not. He only smiled at me darkly, his grip tightened even more, making me whimper.
"I am hurting you? Am I? Well, let me something ragazza," he told me with a creepy smile, "If you don't want to get hurt, you shouldn't play with fire."
"Aren't you exaggerating? I saved you!" I desperately, making him chuckle. "Why? Is my dick that good so that you changed your mind and decided to keep me?" he chuckled.
"No—"
"I am not a toy you can throw out and get back when you seek pleasure, bitch! And I will make you regret toying with me." Then, he let go of my face and walked away — not hearing me out.
I looked after him with tears running down my face. What have I done? Did I lose him while trying to save him?
Antonio's pov
I watched the fool look after Roman. I knew my plan would work. I found out three days ago from the spy I managed to get in her home that she had planned to transfer all her shares to Roman.
And I've used that information to my advantage. I told Donny to tell Roman we found a dirty secret about Rita, and blackmailed her into giving him all of her shares.
Donny and I made him believe that Rita was his enemy. And the idiot believed everything we told him. He was blinded by her betrayal.
Now he wanted revenge from her for using his trust, and I would love to help him get revenge on her.
But he wasn't the only one who wanted revenge on her. I wanted to make her pay for slapping me and kicking my dick. It was time for her to pay for disrespecting me, and this time she had no one. She was alone.
She really was a fool. I wondered what she was thinking as she transferred all her shares to Roman, but it really was a big mistake.
She has given up all her power to Roman, and Roman would not be there to protect her, he would be by my side to end her.
Now I would make them both pay. Her punishment would be death. And Roman's punishment would be to kill the woman who sacrificed everything for him.
Roman and Donny made a plan to tie her up and bring her to my basement.
Tonight she would be completely at my mercy.
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