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For my mother and father,

May you both continue to smile

Even when the world has let you down.

“Mea mihi conscientia Pluris est quam omnium sermo”

-Cicero

My conscience means more to me than all speech.

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the publisher

except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2020

ISBN 978-1-71660-368-6

Table of contents

Table of contents

Prologue

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter eleven

Chapter twelve

Chapter thirteen

Chapter fourteen

Chapter fifteen

Chapter sixteen

Chapter seventeen

Chapter eighteen

Chapter nineteen

Author note

Prologue

" Stop!!",the young woman screamed as she ran hitting into the glass coffee table that stood before her. The man bled anger from his eyes, his breathing was shallow and his eyes fixed on the woman.

A little girl maybe about the age of 5 stood at the doorway of the living room holding on tightly to an old worn out teddy bear she held in her arms.

"Maria!!, run baby... hide, hide for mommy" the woman cried out to the little girl but instead the little girl ran to her mother's side holding on to her, hugging her leg telling her not to cry.

Soon another little girl appeared at the doorway; this one about the age of 10. she rubbed her eyes furiously as she tried to get a good picture of what was happening. Her father wasn't a man she had recognized, sweat dripped from his face like raindrops hitting the earth, his face was a bright red and so was his eyes and in his hand held a handgun which was pointed directly at her mother and little sister.

The little girl hoping to stop her father; walked slowly and cautiously towards him but before she could even reach close enough a bullet escaped the gun piercing her little sister in the head. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out, she froze and her blood ran ice cold throughout her body and veins. Her mother screams rang out loud in the apartment and could have broken the glass windows, she turned her head to her father who again pulled the trigger to his gun releasing another death bomb that landed comfortably in her mother's chest. Her mother dropped like a lifeless doll to the floor and as she gargled blood that was building up in her throat and mouth she managed to say one last word, "Annie" she said closing her eyes; taking her last breath.

Her father lowered the gun and turned to face her. His face drowned with sweat and tears as he sobbed,

" I'm sorry Annie, I'm sorry and one day you will understand that this had to be done" he sobbed falling to the carpeted floor on his knees. He raised the gun again this time to his head and pulled the trigger.

Annie's screams finally came out and everything went black as she fainted

Chapter one

Ann was a woman to be feared and admired. She was drop dead gorgeous, a Latina who ruled and controlled the rooms of a courthouse with ease. To the outside she was a dragon; a heartless one in fact but to those who knew her personally she had the heart of a child and though her hazel eyes sought sympathy her small pink lips made her the perfect seductress.

"Ms Murillo, what can can you tell us about the Vince Monroe murder trial?"

" Ms Murillo, do you think Vince Monroe really killed his wife?"

"Ms Murillo, why are you defending a man we all know is guilty?" Asked the reporters that

congregated in front the courthouse.

Ann paused briefly to address the reporters with one simple statement,

"A man is innocent until proven guilty" she said as she walked briskly into the courthouse holding her black briefcase that complimented her navy blue pants suit beautifully.

"Ms Murillo your late" said Vince Monroe as she quickly glanced at his watch while walking towards Ann "if you want to stay my lawyer I suggest you arrive on time!" he exclaimed

Ann rolled her eyes in utter disbelief.

."i am only a few minutes late Mr. Monroe and I suggest if you would like to rot in jail for the rest of your sad, miserable life; you fire me or if you like me to help you win your case and keep the little dignity I suppose you have left, you let me do my job" Ann replied as she gritted her teeth and pushed Vince aside.

Vince stood staring at her with mouth opened wide and he was starting to see why people called Ann a dragon; the words that came out her mouth burned like fire.

"Don't we have a trial to attend Mr. Monroe, I don't have all day nor do I have time to waste and if you would like so much to stare at my ass please do so after we have won the case and are walking out the courtroom not while we are unsure and about to walk in it" Ann said as she and Vince walked speedily down the hall to the courtroom.

" All rise, the Supreme Court of the state of New York is now in session, the honorable James C Dawson now presiding"

" Everything that goes on in the Supreme Court is confidential, we will take an oath of confidentiality. Will everyone please raise their right hand and repeat after me"

" I solemnly swear that I will not divulge , either by words or signs any information which comes to knowledge, in the course of the Supreme Court session, and that I will keep secret all said proceedings which may be held in my presence"

" please be seated"

"Bailiff, please call the first case"

" Supreme Court docket number S046785, entitled the state of New York vs Vince Monroe now comes for hearing.

"Will the defendant please rise, you are charged with first degree murder how do you plead?.

"Not guilty your honor" replied Vince

"Thank you Mr. Monroe"

"Will the prosecuting attorney please her name for the records"

"Ms. Abigail Watson"

"Thank you Ms. Watson"

"Will the defense attorney please her name for the record"

"Ms. Ann Murillo"

"Members of the jury please rise and raise your right hand, do you solemnly swear to listen carefully to the evidence and arguments which are presented in this case and fulfill your duty to determine a sentence that is fair to the defendant, the victim and the community, if say 'I do'; you may be seated" Dawson said as he grazed his eyes over each of the 12 jurors

"you have been picked as jurors and have promised to do a good job. Remember, the defendant is guilty of the charge made against him your sole duty is to determine what sentence is fair and appropriate" he continued

"Prosecution, are you ready to begin?"

"yes I am your honor"

Abigail walked tantalizingly slow from her seat, her eyes fixated on Vince and then the members of the jury.

"you honor and members of the jury, take a good look on the face of Vince Monroe. A man so cold hearted and cruel that he took the life, the breath of his beloved wife, Emily Monroe, the wife who he was married to for 8 years, the wife that bred his two daughters. The defense will argue that Vince was a caring and loving husband that made sure he looked after his family but do you really believe that a man claimed to be loving and caring would brutally stab his wife 42 times in the same bed that they slept for 8 years while their daughters were fast asleep." Abigail paused as she looked for a reaction from the jurors faces and then she continued

"I say this to all of you, look beyond Vince Monroe deceiving outwards appearance and look to see who he really is; a cold hearted murderer"

Abigail looking ever so confident trotted back to her seat, looking briefly at Ann to smirk.

"Defense, present your opening statement"

Ann brushed over her pants and stood from her seat, her eyes wandered around the courtroom then she turned to face the jury and there her eyes stayed fixated; they never moved not even for a second. "your honor and members of the jury, my client Vince Monroe is being wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit, his reputation is being tarnished as he sits in this courtroom today. He had no motive to kill his wife, they lived an almost perfect life and friends and family had nothing bad to say about their marriage. With all due respect he should be at home with his two daughters grieving but instead he's being put on trial because the detectives failed to find a suspect and actually investigate the case to find the true killer. Put yourself in his position just for a minute, how would you feel if a loved one for you was murdered and you were being accused of killing them? You know you're innocent but the law thinks you're not, wouldn't you want to clear your name?."

Ann turned to walk back to her seat stopping for just a quick second to look on Abigail face .

" Does the prosecution wish to call any witnesses to the stand?"

"Yes your honor, the prosecution wishes to call Ms. Rebecka Monroe"

"Raise your right hand, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" "I do"

the judge signaled to Abigail,

"Prosecution please present your case"

Abigail walked slowly from her seat to the witness stand. "Please state your name for the record"

Rebecka mouth quivered as she said her name

"Rebecka Monroe"

"Rebecka, can you please retell the events that occurred on the night of January 25th:"

Rebecka took a deep breath and began to speak slowly, almost as if she was counting her words. "I was in my room, talking on the phone with a friend from school, it was about 11:30 when I had heard the front door open so I figured it was my father coming home from work"

Abigail paused for a brief moment, watching how Rebecka reacted to her question then continued. "At anytime did you happen to check if it was your father?"

Rebecka shifted in her seat.

"No, no I didn't check" she swallowed hard

"what happened next Rebecka?"

"um..." Rebecka said as her eyes wandered around the room

"Do I need to remind you that you are under oath Ms. Monroe, please answer the question" Said Dawson

"um, I came off the phone and I turned off the lights and went to bed'

"Was it at that time you heard the screaming?"

"yes"

"Please tell the court what you heard"

"I heard a high pitched scream, I heard things breaking and shuffling, and movement, lots of movements."

"what did you do when you heard this"

"I ran to the door and pulled it but it wouldn't open, it seemed it was locked from the outside"

"what did you do when the door wouldn't open and the screaming wouldn't stop?"

"I called the police and explained to them what was happening"

"How long did the screams and shuffling last for?"

"A couple minutes, I'm not sure"

"At what point did you find your mother laying in her own blood?"

"when the screams stopped and my door finally opened"

"Thank you Ms Monroe, no further questions your honor"

"Does the defense wish to cross examine the witness?'

Ann looked up from the papers that laid in front her"

" Yes your honor"

Ann approached the witness stand and began her series of questions

" Rebecka , you said you came off the phone when you heard the front door open because you thought it was your father, Am I correct?"

"Yes"

"But you see I was not too long ago going over your phone records and you didn't come off the phone until about 11:50, just around the time the screams and shuffling stopped"

Rebecka began to sweat profusely, rubbing the back of her neck

"I must have forgotten" She stuttered

"Which friend were you on the phone with Rebecka"

"His name is Mark Winger, he's a senior at my school"

" Earlier in the day of January 25th one of your neighbors had reported that you and your mother were having a heated confrontation, what was the argument about"

"She didn't want me to see Mark anymore, she thought he was bad for me"

"So you and Mark were dating, yes?

"yes but she didn't understand, she never did all she ever did was tried to ruin my life, she didn't know the love I had for Mark!" Rebecka exclaimed

Ann was shocked, her eyes widen in disbelief she was certainly not expecting that type of reaction from Rebecka. Rebecka glanced over to Vince who's eyes never left her.

"I'm sorry daddy" Rebecka mouthed

Rebecka returned her eyes to Ann, tears flowing from her crystal blue eyes turning them red

" I told Mark to kill my mother so we could be together, I couldn't allow her to ruin my life further" Rebecka sobbed.

The people present in the courtroom were utterly shocked

"I instructed him what to do, that's why I didn't come off the phone, I even told him to lock my room door so I couldn't stop him, I'm sorry daddy" Rebecka continued

" Bailiff, please take Ms. Monroe into custody and release a warrant for the arrest of Mark Winger I hereby declare the supreme court adjourned"

The judge banged the gavel and everyone exited the courtroom.

"Ms Murillo how can I ever thank you" Vince said as he hugged Ann briefly

Ann patted his back and smiled

"Just go home and take care of the little one" Ann said as she walked towards the reporters that were swarmed in front the courthouse.

"Ms Murillo how do you feel?" asked one of the reporters

Ann smiled widely

"I'm elated for justice was served"

"Ms Murillo What's next for you?" asked another reporter

"I'm not sure, I'm just rolling with the punches" Ann said as she pushed herself through the thick crowd of reporters to her shiny black Saab

Chapter two

"Ann we have to celebrate tonight, you just won your case" Claire said with too much excitement in her voice.

Claire was Ann's best friend since high school and was really her only friend. Ann turned around and faced Claire who was standing by the kitchen sink.

"Claire I honestly don't feel like celebrating tonight, I just want to have a nice glass of wine and get some long overdue sleep"

Claire rolled her eyes

"I swear you behave more like a 60 year old lady instead of a young, hot not to mention single and successful 33 year old woman"

Ann laughed pushing Claire gently

"at least I have my little spirit animal " Ann said pinching Claire's cheeks

Claire chuckled "I'll text you tomorrow old lady, maybe we can have lunch if you're not too busy being a bomb ass lawyer, make sure you get lots of sleep" Claire replied as she hugged Ann tightly and left.

Ann poured her self some white wine, grabbed her phone and headed out to her balcony.

Suddenly Ann's phone began to vibrate and a message came in from a number she hadn't recognized.

Hi Annie, aren't you looking ever so beautiful on your balcony, drinking wine. Shouldn't you be out celebrating?.

10:35pm

Ann was frightened and the wine glass fell out her hand and shattered into tiny little pieces on the floor. She quickly got up and went inside, locking the balcony door behind her. Ann pressed her back against the balcony door and read the text again. The last time she heard that name she was 10, Ann breathed deep and replied to the text message.

Who is this? Where did you get my number?, what is it that you want from me? 10:37pm

To Ann's Surprise the person replied within seconds.

You don't know me but soon you will Annie Alvarado or is it Ann Murillo Now ?

10:37pm

Ann panicked; she looked at the phone screen one more time and quickly switched it off and threw it on the sofa beside her.

Ann began sweating and hyperventilating, she and her adopted parents had tried their very best to keep her real identity hidden away, but of course with books and movies about the incident that happened 23 years ago how did she expect to stay hidden for all her life, someone was bound to find her, but who and why?.

Ann's head with pounding and her thoughts were racing, she had heard her father, the man that had killed her mother and her sister and tried to kill himself was somehow out on parole. Was it he who was finally coming for her or was it someone else?.

Ann raced to her bathroom and rummaged through her medicine cabinet for some pain killers and maybe some sleeping pills because she knew it was going to be a long night.

Ann was awaken

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.09.2020
ISBN: 978-3-7487-5664-4

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