Chapter 5 The Vulture’s Verdict
1138 Words
Jaxson King
I sat in the hard wooden chair, leaning back with my arms crossed. I didn’t care about the dirty looks Matthew Lorne was throwing my way.
Jade Holt looked like a stiff breeze could knock her over. Her hands were shaking so badly I thought she might drop the warrant.
But the moment she opened her mouth, everything changed.
“Detective,” she said, her voice sharp as a blade, “did you just admit to a felony on the record?”
A slow smirk spread across my face.
Marcus Hayne—the golden boy from Lorne & Associates—scrambled forward like the floor had just caught fire beneath his feet.
“Perjury?” he snapped, his voice cracking. “That’s impossible! I interviewed Detective Tiller myself!”
Jade didn’t flinch. She just tilted her head slightly to eye him.
“Prosecutor Hayne… are you insinuating that you told him what to say?”
The room went cold.
Marcus’ face turned the color of a ripe tomato.
I leaned back, impressed.
She was calm, almost gentle, but every word cut deeper than the last. She was tearing him apart without even raising her voice.
“Jade! How dare you—!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Judge Miller slammed his gavel so hard it echoed through the courtroom.
“Thirty-minute recess!” he barked.
Jade exhaled, her shoulders finally dropping.
She turned and walked back toward the defense table, biting her lower lip.
The way her teeth sank into her lip hit me harder than it should have—low and sudden, like a punch I didn’t see coming.
My jaw tightened, but I leaned back, masking it before anyone could notice.
“See, Arthur?” I said, patting my accountant’s shoulder. “I told you she was a valedictorian.”
Jade stopped in front of us, her eyes wide.
“The judge… he seemed to know Mr. Lorne. Are they friends?”
I nodded. “They’re close. But Miller won’t risk an appeal hanging over his head on behalf of Matthew.”
She bobbed her head slowly, her gaze drifting toward the hallway where Marcus and Lorne had disappeared.
“This thirty-minute recess…” she murmured. “It’s a chance to settle outside court before he has to make a ruling.”
I smirked. “You catch on fast, Counselor.”
Arthur leaned forward, hope finally breaking through his panic. “Does that mean I’m free, sir?”
“It’s likely,” Jade answered, though she drew in a quiet breath through her teeth
When we stepped into the hallway, Matthew Lorne was already waiting.
He looked like he wanted to burn the building down.
“King, we’ll settle. Ten million. We drop the charges, your man walks, and this never happened.”
I held his gaze and said nothing.
Beside me, Jade didn’t even look at him as she hummed.
“One hundred and twenty million.”
Silence.
Marcus let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. “One hundred and twenty? Jade, are you insane? Have you even seen that kind of money in your life?”
Jade turned her head slowly, her gaze ice-cold.
“It’s not for me. It’s for my client. I only follow my client’s instructions.”
A quiet chuckle built in my chest.
She was using my own words against them.
Smart girl.
Matthew’s jaw tightened and he looked lkke he disagreed, but his lips never flapped again.
He knew exactly what this would cost him if it went back into court. His firm wouldn’t just lose the case—they’d lose credibility.
And that was worth far more than one hundred and twenty million.
“Fine,” he hissed. “We’ll settle. Get the papers ready, Hayne.”
Still fuming, Marcus walked off to do as instructed.
Jade turned to me.
The fire in her eyes was gone. In its place was something raw… something desperate.
“My brother,” she said quietly. “You got your win. Now give him back.”
I reached out and took her arm—not rough, but firm enough to ground her.
“Arthur’s release is being processed. We should be heading back.”
She nodded and followed me to the parking lot.
The drive back was silent.
When we pulled up to the warehouse, the gates were already open.
Lennie was the first to reach the SUV.
“She lost, didn’t she?” he demanded, grabbing the door handle. “Tell me she lost!”
I stepped out slowly, letting the silence stretch.
Every eye was on me.
Then I smiled.
“We didn’t just win—we walked away with one hundred and twenty million.”
For a second—nothing.
Then the place exploded with shouts and laughter.
Lennie froze.
“One hundred and twenty?” he repeated, like the number didn’t make sense in his head. “It was ten… and she got them to pay one hundred and twenty?”
I hummed.
He looked at Jade. Then back at me.
Slowly, he pulled out his knife.
Jade tensed beside me.
Lennie stared at the blade, then dragged it lightly across his own arm. Not deep, but enough for blood to bead.
“I almost killed you,” he muttered, avoiding her eyes. “That was… a mistake.”
Jade clenched her jaw, turning her face away. Then her grip tightened on my jacket.
“Where’s my brother?”
I exhaled slowly.
“Counselor,” I said, “I told you you’d be able to take him home. And I’m a man of my word.”
She looked up at me, hope flickering in her eyes.
“Then where is he? I… I don’t see him anywhere.”
I glanced at Lennie, nudging my head at him
He nodded and hurried inside the warehouse.
Three minutes later, he had some boys dragging out a redhead who didn’t look more than nineteen.
His face was battered and his eyes were so swollen, it surprised me when he stopped and called out shakily, “J-Jade? Sister, is that you?”
She clasped her fingers together, covering her mouth with them to stifle her tears.
“Leo, it’s going to be okay now. I’ve worked out a deal with them so we can now go home.”
I sucked in a deep breath and stretched out a hand.
A second later, a pick axe was slid into my palm.
At the same time, the boy was dragged and placed over the stump of a tree.
“W-what are you doing?” Stammered Jade, running after me.
I stopped before the stump, tightening my grip around the pick ax.
“Counselor, when I said I’d hand him over…”
I lifted the pickaxe slightly.
“I never said he’d be alive.”
- Writer
