II: Not Guilty
"I HEREBY DECLARE THE DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY" I let out a breath of air I hadn't realized I was holding and slumped down into my chair. Turning to face my attorney, I gave Remy a relieved smile which she returned with a cocky glint in her eye.
"Never lost a case yet, Poppy. Told you not to worry!" I opened my mouth to respond when suddenly my attention was yanked in the direction of the opposing side.
"What?!" Olivia Richmond-Prescott hissed as she stood. She pointed a deadly finger in my direction and I instinctively flinched at the menacing look on her face. "You little--"
"Come on, Poppy. Let's get you out of here before things escalate." I nodded and followed Remy out, but not before glancing worriedly behind myself one last time. Her family was gathered around Olivia, trying to calm her down.
Almost as if he sensed me staring, Cole looked up and met my gaze with a glare. I froze on the spot, never having had felt that much loath directed at me, and was powerless to do or say anything. Some voice in my head told me I should just leave, but I couldn't.
"Poppy?" Remy asked as she lightly touched my elbow. My eyes flew between Remy's warm look and Cole's icy glare. "We have to go."
I sent him an apologetic gaze and allowed Remy to lead me out of the courtroom.
"What's the matter, Poppy? You should be happy. We won." I nodded but I didn't feel all that victorious. I'd inflicted pain on their entire family, the news of Mina's inheritance must have been a terrible shock, especially so soon after her death.
"Remy," I said hesitantly.
"Yes?" she responded as she fixed a few files into her briefcase.
"I-I don't think I want it anymore. The money, I mean. Is there any way you could help me to legally sign off the inheritance back to the Richmonds?"
Remy looked up in surprise. "I'm just your lawyer today, and as such I can say that decision isn't in your best interest. You've just won the trial not even five minutes ago. Let it sink in for a few days, and if you still feel the same then I'll draw up the paperwork. Does that sound okay?"
I nodded and smiled in thanks. My eyebrows shot up in amusement as I watched Sebastian Gates approach us. The Richmond attorney eyed me with uncertainty before giving me a nod in acknowledgement and turning to face Remy. I looked on with interest as the two locked gazes and seemed to radiate awkwardness. "Can--Can I speak to you for a second, Ms. West?"
The curiosity inside me built as my eyes took in Remy's faint blush as she tried to play it cool and professional. "Of course, Mr. Gates. Just give me a moment to bid my client farewell."
"Take your time...I suppose I'll meet you outside?" Remy nodded and bit down on her lip as we both watched him walk away.
"Somebody say 'conflict of interests'?" I teased as I fought the laughter at the dreamy look on Remy's face.
"No, don't be ridiculous Poppy! He's a colleague, an old friend from law school. Perhaps he wants to discuss the case."
"Or," I said with a snicker, "He wants to shack up, I mean catch up! You are old friends, aren't you?" Remy rolled her eyes at me.
"Fine, so we were a tad bit more than friends, but that was years ago! Granted we hadn't seen one another until this morning but we ended things then. We're over it."
"You sure about that? Because that heated look in there says otherwise."
"What heated look?" Remy gasped in outrage.
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "He was practically stripping you with his eyes when you made that objection. Guess that's what gets lawyers off."
"Oh, shut up. He was not!"
I smiled with a suggestive look, "Sure, love. Now I'll leave you so you can go get reacquainted with Mr. Gates."
AS SOON AS I CLIMBED INTO A CAB I DIDN'T QUITE KNOW WHERE I WAS GOING. The driver had asked for an address, but I didn't know if to give the one to my shabby Brooklyn flat, or Mina's Manhattan townhouse. I finally gave the address to the Upper East side and sat back into the leather seat. Why wouldn't I go there, I reasoned with myself. It is my home now, at least one of them.
Upon my arrival at the familiar black fenced building, I hesitantly walked up the steps and made my way through the door. In the foyer I was met by Ingrid, the help. I smiled wide and enveloped her in a tight embrace. She pulled back with wide eyes and shook her head. "Miss Poppy--"
"Please don't call me that! Poppy is just fine," I said stepping further into the townhouse.
"No, you don't understand Miss Poppy, they're here."
"Who is?" I whispered back. Ingrid looked behind herself and leaned forward to speak softer.
"Madam Olivia and master Cole." My eyes widened. "She's going ballistic, snatching jewels and taking down paintings. Shall I fetch Mathew?"
At the mention of the security guard Mina kept on at the house, I began to panic. Was it that awful?
Reluctantly, I gave a nod. "Right away, Miss Poppy," Ingrid said with a determined nod and quickly dashed off to find Mathew.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way up the stairs and followed the sound of glass shattering in Mina's bedroom.
"That dirty, little English brat!" I heard Olivia shriek.
"Mother, calm down," Cole's soothing voice said. "You're acting crazy."
"Perhaps I am Cole! Seeing as how that opportunist orphan just inherited 1.15 billion dollars, our 1.15 billion dollars!" I heard something else shatter, most likely glass, and stepped into the room.
My eyes took in the thrashed room and I felt my blood run cold. They'd ruined Mina's bedroom. "What on Earth are you doing?!"
"You!" Olivia screamed as she lunged at me. I stepped back in alarm but Cole caught her before she could touch me. "You stole my fortune! You good-for-nothing, money leach!"
I winced at her words and felt tears well up in my eyes. "I-I.."
"Well go on, say something you hussy! Why have you gone so quiet?!"
"Is everything alright here, Miss Poppy?" Mathew said in a firm voice behind me. I shook my head mutely and blinked away years as he tried to usher them out of the townhouse.
"I'm not setting foot out of here until I collect my things!"
"Everything in here is now the property of Miss Poppy White. I'm going to ask you to remove yourself from the premises once more before I call the police to report a break-in." Olivia gasped in horror and lunged at me again.
The men in the room instantly jumped forward to keep Olivia Richmond-Prescott's claws away from my face while I stood there in agony.
"I-I never intended this to happen," I spoke so quietly I was surprised Cole heard me over the hysterical shouts of his mum, but he did. His icy glare zeroed into my own, and a shiver ran down my spine.
"It's a little late for that, don't you think? You've already done too much damage." I slid my gaze down to the floor and caught sight of a diamond pendant. It had belonged to Mina, and it was about the single-most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on. She never took it off, and yet here it was on the floor in the middle of all this havoc. It made me blind with fury to see her image being disrespected so, and with anger in my eyes I raised my head to stare the Richmonds down.
"You both need to leave. The only one who's done damage here is the pair of you." Everyone froze to listen to my oddly calm voice, even Olivia stopped fighting Mathew long enough to watch me clutch the diamond pendant to my chest. "Look at this place. This was where Mina died, yet you've come and destroyed this hallow spot. Leave. Now."
With one more glare in my direction, Cole dragged his now mutely fuming mother out of the room, and seconds later out past the front door.
Utterly defeated, I slid down the wall to the floor and swept my eyes over the room. The pillows had been ripped apart, leaving feathers spewed everywhere. The duvet and sheets lay scattered around the room, perfume bottles shattered, curtains ripped, and shoes and handbags carelessly thrown in every direction.
Mathew cleared his throat and offered me his hand to lift me to my feet. "Are you alright, Miss?" I shook my head and eyed the saddened sight once more.
"Could you please tell Ingrid to clean this up? I don't want to look at the mess they've made a second longer." Mathew nodded and I walked around him to climb down the stairs and out the door.
Taking a walk down the busy Manhattan streets, I hugged myself as I fought the tears away. These were horrible people, it was no wonder Mina did not leave them a single cent. She'd entrusted billions of dollars in my hands, and I was going to make something positive come out of them.
A/N: So the beginning is going to be a tad bit boring but I promise it'll soon pick up. Just to clarify, the first chapter starts off a year after Stealing the Groom ends. We'll be seeing some familiar characters in the next few chapters ;)