Page 143 of Crocodile Tears

Alex bowed his head, accepting his fate. His father had made the right choice. He didn’t blame him any more than he blamed Neil; the only person he blamed was himself.

“Mr Lytton, just to be completely clear… you didnotgive your son permission to take the money?”

“No. And he’s not my son.”

Alex jerked up his head in shock, but Noah avoided his gaze.

“I disown him. I don’t want anything more to do with him. He’s dead to me.”

A buzz immediately went around the courtroom, but Noah didn’t react. He stared straight ahead, cold and angry.

The rest of the trial passed in a haze. Alex didn’t hear much of what was said. All that reverberated in his head were his father’s words:He’s dead to me.

The lawyers seemed to be the only ones enjoying themselves. Bailey’s witless utterings became part of the pantomime, seized upon by the media as comic relief in the train wreck that was Alex’s life. He cringed every time the man opened his mouth.

When the inevitable guilty verdict came it caused him no surprise, but a murmur went around the courtroom anyway. He was commanded to stand, which he did, shakily. Holding on tightly to the dock, he listened as the judge delivered her sentence.

“You were born into privilege, but you wasted your talents and squandered your good name. You have lied, stolen, and cheated, and deserve no mercy from this court. Those with far fewer opportunities than you have been held to account for their actions, and we do not think you are deserving of special lenience because of your name orposition. You are a common criminal and will be treated as such, as a lesson to all those who think they are above the law.”

She paused to glare at him, her nostrils flaring angrily.

“This was not a crime of violence – you do not pose a threat to the public, and therefore it is not in the country’s interest to waste scarce and precious resources by sending you to prison.”

He took little comfort from that. He could guess what was coming next.

“The court is required to retrieve as much of the money you stole as can be collected from your estate. As you have no assets, and the sum you have stolen is so significant, the court orders that you be sold into indentured servitude. Your contract will be offered for sale on a lifetime basis to raise as much recompense for Lytton AV as possible, with the added stipulation, as punishment imposed by the Crown, that you must serve at least seven years in servitude before your contract holder can release you, if they so choose. To ensure that you are justly punished for your crime, no family member may purchase your contract before that time has elapsed.”

It was a common punishment for theft. Those who were found guilty were sold into servitude, the length of their contract commensurate with the sums they’d stolen. Some only had to serve six months, but Alex’s crime had been on an altogether bigger scale.

As he was young, and it was likely someone could get fifty years’ work out of him, it was possible he might fetch a decent sum. He’d never heard of an IS being bought for £140 million, though, and that was the sum required to save Lytton AV from bankruptcy.

The judge had ordered that he must serve at least seven years before he could be freed, to ensure he couldn’t simply be bought and then released. It was unlikely that anyone who had paid a substantial sum for a servant’s lifetime contract would free him early in any case, but the court made that impossible.

If the media wanted him to yell, scream, faint, or do anything newsworthy at all, they were disappointed. He took the news of his sentence silently, his head bowed.

He was to be held in prison while the judge arranged the closed auction bids that would decide his fate. However, he was allowedvisitors before his servitude began. He knew his father wouldn’t want to see him, and Solange had disappeared, but there was one person he knew still loved him. He therefore wasn’t surprised when he was escorted into the visiting room to find Charles sitting there.

“Alex, I’m so sorry,” his brother whispered, his eyes full of tears.

Alex looked away. “How is Dad?” he asked.

“I don’t know. He doesn’t say much, but I’m sure he must regret cutting you loose to save the company.”

“He shouldn’t. He made the right decision.”

“No, he didn’t. If I could have saved you, I’d have done it. You know that!” Charles cried fiercely.

“My loyal brother,” Alex said softly.

“Of course. No matter what happens.” Charles reached across the table and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. “As you are mine?” he asked softly.

Alex gave a wan smile. “Always. You know that.”

Releasing his hand, Charles leaned back in his chair. “I’m sorry I couldn’t afford to pay for a good lawyer. That idiot Bailey.”

“I know. It was embarrassing.” Alex grimaced. “Still, it gave the media a good laugh.”

“I should be better with my money.”

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