Chapter 10 - The Final Three Minutes-10
The holding cell behind Courtroom 4B was tiny, enclosed by heavy iron bars and thick plexiglass.
Julian sat behind the partition, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He looked pale, gaunt, and completely shattered. His hands were shaking so violently he could barely hold the plastic telephone receiver.
I picked up the matching receiver on my side of the glass. I didn't say anything. I simply waited.
"Clarissa..." Julian wept through the receiver, his voice muffled by the glass. "You... you changed the company name? You gave it to your grandfather's name?"
"It was never your company, Julian," I said flatly. "Your father stole it. You exploited it. I simply took back what belonged to my family."
"Please, Clarissa," Julian pleaded, pressing his trembling hands against the plexiglass. "I have nothing left! The lawyers took my remaining savings for their retainer fees! The bank seized my sports cars! My sister won't even answer my calls! They're going to give me twenty years in prison!"
"You earned every single day of those twenty years, Julian," I replied without a shred of sympathy.
"I made a mistake!" he screamed, his voice cracking with pathetic desperation. "I was stupid! I was foolish! But I loved you, Clarissa! Deep down, I always loved you!"
I let out a soft, dry laugh. It was the most absurd lie I had ever heard.
"You didn't love me, Julian," I said softly. "You loved having a servant who didn't complain. You loved having someone to clean up your mess while you played the powerful tycoon. You didn't even love your own mother."
I glanced at my wristwatch. Two minutes had passed.
"I have one minute left, Julian," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "So listen carefully."
Julian quieted down, staring at me with desperate, tear-filled eyes, clinging to the tiny hope that I might offer him a lifeline.
"Tomorrow, you will plead guilty to all charges," I commanded. "You will surrender any remaining offshore claims, and you will accept your sentence without appealing."
"And if I don't?" Julian rasped.
"If you don't," I said, leaning closer to the glass, "I will personally fund the civil prosecution against your sister Audrey and your uncle Marcus, ensuring that every single member of your corrupt family spends the next decade in bankruptcy court and prison right alongside you."
Julian stared at me, paralyzed by the realization that I held absolute power over his entire world.
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"Your three minutes are up, Julian," I said softly.
I set the telephone receiver back onto its hook, turned my back on him, and walked down the hallway toward the courtroom doors, leaving Julian screaming my name into an empty receiver.
