Page 24 of Redemption

The judge puts his head in his hands, pounding the gavel down again.

“My attorneys have the copyright, registered with the US Patent office, Romeo Roque or Twisted Poet? Which is a better title?”

“Savage Poet!”

“Villainous Poet!”

“Get them out of here!” The judge roars at my “#team Roque hash taggers who snuck inside the courtroom.

I snap my fingers at my attorneys, “Write those down. They were good.”

“Step down,” he orders.

“Mrs. Fiorelli, will you please approach the bench with counsel.”

I nodand my attorneys walk with Red. We brush by one another and I stop her, lift her left hand to my lip and grin as I kiss the back of her hand where my ring sits. From my seat I hear every word.

“Ms. Fiorelli is that your diary?” The judge motions for the prosecutor to bring her books.

“No. Those are my writing journals. Roque wrote the antagonist slash hero/villain and I wrote the protagonist. We were supposed to meet up someday and put it all together. But then… we grew up and grew apart.”

“But you both kept writing?”

“I knew. I always knew. Not every girl falls in love at ten. Meets the love of her life that young but I did. The story is my imagination of what would’ve happened if Roque and I really were the enemies our parents wanted us to be, but we never wanted that. We just wanted to be together.”

“At ten?”

She shrugs. “I always had a romantic heart.”

“And your dream man a dark character?”

“I grew up in the mob, sir.”

He waves her away.

“What about the other charges. Trafficking?”

“My client’s a hero. He did what the government couldn’t. When he realized what was happening, he single handedly went in and freed hundreds of missing girls from around the glove, getting shot in the process. Every one of them will testify under oath. All two hundred.”

“We added that to the book!” Romina pipes up.

“Silence. Or you’ll be held in contempt of court.”

“I’m calling a recess while I look over the evidence in my chambers.”

“All rise.”

“I think it worked!”

“Shush, Chloe.” But she’s right. I taste victory and one hell of an unexpected pay day. My attorney shows me the figures Rafe negotiated for a three-book deal with movie rights. During the pandemic, the movie studios started getting into the publishing business to make money and picked their bestsellers to turn into films.

“My phone’s blowing up! The media is going crazy! We are on every major network. YouTube already has two million hits! Chloe, shows me her phone.

Ten minutes later the judge comes back, dismissing all charges. As we rise, he stops. “I expect tickets to the premiere… I like Romeo Roque.”

I turn to Red. “Destination wedding? Elope in Vegas?”

“Hell, no!” Chloe chimes in. “I want the works. The church, the big white dress, and horses. Your love story must end with a carriage and horses.”

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