He keeps asking me to trust him, and I want to, I really do. When I’m with him I’m reminded of all the good times, everything before my life spiraled out of control. I want to get back there, back to happiness.
My arms begin to lighten, going slack at my sides before Beckett begins to speak, he watches me for a moment before he shakes his head. “I wasn’t there.” His eyes move away from me as he avoids my gaze, leaning back in the chair and exhaling a cloud of smoke.
“But you were at the party.” I retort.
All of the inner circle was there that night. Beckett, Vaughn, Pax, yet I’ve never asked a single one of them what they know. What they remember from that fateful night.
He brings the joint back up to his lips, taking another long inhale and blowing the smoke out. “Yeah,” he tells me. “But not at the cliffs.”
I huff, leaning back into my seat again. I have a sudden urge to know the truth, something I thought I had let go of. Now, every inch of my skin is buzzing, begging to know what happened that night. What happened to my sister.
“You should trust him.” Beckett says, handing me the joint again.
I release a harsh breath before bringing it back to my lips. “Why?” I say as the smoke burst from my mouth and the burning in my lungs makes me cough for a solid minute before he can speak again.
Beckett sighs next to me, adjusting his position in his seat so he can see me better. “He loves ya, ya know?” He plucks the joint from my fingertips, taking another pull for himself. “He’s trying to protect you. Hell, Mikaela, I think he would go to prison if it meant protecting you.”
I laugh grimly. “Noah will never go to prison.”
“You think that,” Beckett counters, “But social media is one hell of a tool. It’s harder to hide things these days, and that fucking video is putting Noah under a microscope.” He sighs, leaning back again. “If Noah doesn’t win over the public it won’t fucking matter if the case get’s thrown out, trial by me
dia, ya know.”
Trial by media.
It’s funny, I think. When you're a kid you believe everything is black and white, good and bad. You think all adults know what they're doing and make the right decisions. You have so much faith in the legal system, but that’s just not how things work.
There’s a reason the Bancrofts built their multi-million dollar house so close to Washington, D.C.
Power. So much fucking power.
Their influence in politics can make or break someone, they can spin details, trap their opponents. And at their aid is three of the other richest families.
They can get away with almost anything.
But this.
This trial might be the death of them.
Because of Twitter, of all things. My parents barely even knew what they were doing, it was one of Auden’s friends who filmed the video and helped them get it online.
It was a PR nightmare for the Bancrofts, but the first step in justice for Auden. They filmed it in her bedroom, my mom holding an old stuffed animal on her lap while tears are running from her eyes.
They tell her story.
On Halloween night, Auden Wilder went to a party with friends. Around 11 she left the party visibly upset, calling an Uber to take her to the Bancroft Estate where her sister was. Sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight she’s pushed off the cliff at the back of the Bancroft property. No one sees her leaving out the back door, but Noah Bancroft. Bancroft put himself at the scene, saying he saw her jump. There’s no way the high school honor student and soccer star jumped off the cliff, and a second forensics analysis proves that the way she hit the ground is inconsistent with jumping. She was pushed, and the only one who saw her was Noah Bancroft.
People couldn’t stop watching the video and it spread like wildfire.
I think some just wanted to see an elitist go down, wanted to see the rich and famous be punished for their actions instead of just having everything swept under the rug. Others were moved by my parents, by their tragic loss.
I had begged them not to post the thing, not to go up against the Bancrofts, but they didn’t listen.
I don’t think they cared after losing Auden. They would rather die, go down fighting, than let everything get swept under the rug. Dad quit his job at Bancroft Co. immediately following Auden’s death. They’ve been living off savings for the past year, taking money out of their retirement. They have no plans to enjoy life anymore. The only thoughts they have, revolve around putting Noah behind bars.
And here I am, protecting him.
“Beckett?” I ask softly.