Page 30 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
Tobias pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you get through the piranhas out front without talking out of turn?” he asked, his eyes landing on Sampson and Hendrick. Guess he assumed it wasn’t going to be me or Otto getting snappy at the press.
“Mostly,” Sampson replied, holding Tobias’s eyes with an intense stare. Apparently, if anyone could hold the signature Sampson Rubio glare, it was this man.
Tobias huffed. “Well, that's better than I was expecting.” He turned to his two associates. “You can go for now.” They left, and he sighed. “You never know who’s being paid off, even within the firm. Senator Kenley could give a hefty payoff if he gets his hands on your money.” He sifted through the files in front of him. “Honestly, it should be easy enough to get this conservatorship thrown out. Your medical files alone should be proof enough of abuse.”
There was not an ounce of feeling in his voice; he could almost have been reading the stock pages in the newspaper. But I could see the slight tensing of his jaw, like he was grinding his back teeth.
“The judge has no public political affiliations, but that doesn’t mean he won’t lean toward the senator out of principle. You have a reputation that will have preceded you, and that is going to be what we have to overcome.”
We spent an hour going over Tobias’s plan, what Hendrick should say and what he should absolutely, under no circumstances, let past his lips. That mostly included the length of time we’d known each other, that I was in a relationship with all of them, or the fact that we broke up in Yokohama. Anything but monogamous wedded bliss.
Finally, we were as ready as we were ever going to be. I held Hendrick’s hand as we walked into the courtroom, side by side.
Leaning toward him, I kissed his shoulder through his suit. “Love you, Hendrick Kenley. We are going to beat this monster, and then we can get on with our happily ever after.”
“Love you, Aviva Kenley. And I dream of that moment every night when I fall asleep.” He let go of my hand as he took a seat beside Tobias and his associates. I sat on the bench behind him, between Sampson and Otto, with Evan right at the end.
I startled slightly as the bailiff’s voice boomed around the room. “Court is in session.”
It was infinitely less dramatic than they made it seem in movies. I mean, when I’d gone to court, it had been like a production line. Read the charges, make the judgment, next. They had dozens of cases to get through every day, mostly misdemeanors and parking violations. The judge had been tired and clearly defeated with life, though honestly, I owed her my life. Maybe I should send her a thank you card. She’d saved my life, but I suspected she knew that already. Though she probably couldn’t have predicted this.
But this was infinitely more technical—a lot of legalese, like arguing with the wall until they called witnesses. The opening statements were pretty obvious: what Senator Kenley wanted and why. What we wanted, or at least a watered-down version of it. What we really wanted was for him to choke on his own vomit and die, but having his ability to be a conservator revoked was a pretty close second.
The first person up was Senator Kenley himself, who had indeed pushed for a closed court. He was lucky this was a civil case, allowing that to be an option. Part of me wanted Hendrick to press charges so the whole world could know what a sociopath this man was, but the last thing Hendrick needed was for his wounds to be spread over the front page for public consumption. Sometimes, the need for revenge only hurt the victim.
No matter how badly I wanted Ted Kenley to rot, I wanted Hendrick’s happiness more.
“Theodore Kenley, do you swear that the testimony you are about to give in this court will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, under pains and penalties of perjury?”
“I do.”
I hadn’t realized I was clenching my fists, until Sampson’s knuckles ran over mine. I relaxed them, shooting him a grateful smile. It physically hurt me not to press myself into his side, or to hold Otto’s hand. To seek comfort from Evan. But it was only until we were back home, where we could be ourselves again.
The opposing counsel stood, walking toward the stand. The attorney, Roger Waters Jr., was a genial-looking man who led with his hips, making him look like he had a giant stick up his ass. He had gray on his temples, and slight jowls. But none of that erased the sharpness of his eyes, the coldness in them as they landed on Hendrick.
“Senator, when did you first realize your son was mentally ill?”
“When he was around nine. He was our sunshiney little boy one minute, and then it was like he was an entirely different child, screaming and smashing holes in things, throwing himself down the stairs, or slamming his head into the wall until he bled. If I was a man who believed in the supernatural, I would have thought that he was possessed.”
The lawyer nodded. “That must have been difficult for you and your wife. What did you do?”
“We got him the best therapists money could buy, and when that didn’t help, we sent him to wellness retreats, and I’m ashamed to admit, mental health facilities to get him the intensive help he needs.”
“And when was the last time you had your son admitted into a mental health facility?”
“Three months ago.”
“In your opinion, has the intervention helped?”
Senator Kenley actually looked distraught. “For a little while, they all work. But then the medications stop being effective, or the therapy wears off, and we are back at square one. He’ll start taking risks again, drinking and doing drugs, crashing his car and having casual sex with women who just want him for his name. But I won’t stop trying. Hendrick deserves everything life has to offer.” He literally choked up at this point, and honestly, I hoped he just kept choking until he suffocated on his own poisonous lies.
I could feel my teeth grinding but I kept silent.
“Why do you feel conservatorship is the best option for Hendrick?” the lawyer asked softly, like the senator was an emotionally vulnerable older person.
Senator Kenley looked over at the judge. “I love my son, and I just want what is best for him. But sometimes, that means him not having access to everything. Giving him unlimited funds is like putting a gun in the hands of a child. He doesn’t fear consequences, and doesn’t understand the need to plan for the future. So he spends it on around-the-world trips with girls he barely knows, on fast cars he destroys in weeks, and on alcohol he uses to self-medicate. I don’t want Hendrick to be penniless and have to beg for every dime. I just want to restrict it so he isn’t a danger to himself or to anyone else.”
When he said it like that, it all seemed entirely reasonable. And if that was where we stopped today, we’d lose this case. Because it was true, everything that scumbag just said. Hendrickdidblow his money on things to numb the pain. The only thing the good senator forgot to mention was that he was the cause of that pain.
