Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 368

Abby

“Do you, Abby, swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?”

I hold my hand up in the air and nod solemnly. “I do.”

“Let us begin.”

Despite the lump in my throat, I feel shockingly optimistic about today. Maybe it’s the fact that the sun is shining through the large window of this conference room, promising the warmth of spring outside. Maybe it’s because Karl is by my side to support me.

Or maybe it’s the fact that Damon is sitting across from me, surrounded by lawyers with a terrified look in his eyes.

I want nothing more than to put this man behind bars for a long, long time after what he’s done, not just to me, but to other women as well. That’s why I agreed to Officer Martinez’s request for me to show up at this deposition—so I can give my side of the story in front of a judge.

Beside me, Karl gives my hand a bolstering squeeze beneath the table. I meet his gaze briefly, and he gives me an encouraging nod. Our lawyer, Mr. Hayes, sits calmly shuffling papers beside Karl.

“Please state your full name for the court,” the judge says.

“Abigail Marie Howard,” I respond, straightening in my chair.

The judge nods. “Very well. Ms. Howard, please give your testimony. Start from the beginning.”

I nod and swallow, shifting somewhat uncomfortably in my seat as I begin. “I’m not really sure where Damon’s obsession with me exactly began,” I start. “But the first day I recall meeting him was at my ex-fiance’s restaurant, just a few weeks ago…”

Over the next hour, I recount in dizzying detail every little event leading up to Damon’s arrest. I don’t leave a single thing out; I tell the judge and the lawyers everything. Even the embarrassing things.

“And you say that Prince Damon bumped into you, knocking the pregnancy test out of your hands?”

“Yes,” I say, my face reddening ever so slightly beneath the gaze of everyone in the room. “At that moment, I didn’t realize it, but Damon actually used his power of authority over me to force me to write a letter turning Karl away. The memory had been blocked out until I saw the letter.”

“Please see evidence 7b,” my lawyer says calmly.

The judge nods and flips through his binder until he comes to the letter; sealed within a plastic envelope, crumpled and stained with blood but still readable.

“And you allege that Prince Damon used this power of authority on you multiple times?” the judge asks a moment later after reading the letter.

I nod vehemently. “Yes. Twice, as far as I know; once at his gala to force me to fall silent when Karl was trying to speak to me. The second time was when he was putting me into the cell he built especially for me.”

The judge listens intently and clicks his tongue at Damon. “The power of authority has been outlawed for decades,” he says.

Damon opens his mouth to protest, but then one of his lawyers leans over to him and whispers something in his ear. He falls silent, his face turning a shade paler.

“Go on, Abby,” the judge continues. “You left off where Damon knocked the pregnancy test out of your hand.”

“Right. That night, I returned to my room…”

I continue my story in as much detail as before, sparing nothing. The evidence eventually comes to a head when I recount what happened on the final night, when Damon put me in that damnable cell.

My leg shakes a bit beneath the table as I speak, but then I feel Karl’s hand on my thigh; warm and strong. His presence steels me, and I continue my recounting of the most harrowing moments of that entire trip with a renewed sense of confidence.

But then, just as I’m telling the judge about how Damon had his butler lock the door from the other side, the conference room door opens. I fall silent, my head lifting to see a man in a black suit and sunglasses poke his head in.

“Apologies for the delay, Your Honor,” the man says.

The judge simply nods. “Come in.”

A moment later, three men come in; two men in suits and sunglasses, flanking a regal-looking man in a plain black suit.

My heart skips as I realize that I recognize the man from somewhere: the art gallery in Damon’s estate. That dark hair, those brown eyes…

It’s Damon’s father—the king. Here to witness his son’s shame.

Seeing him in person like this seems to make my heart stop; not even really because he is a king, but because I can feel Karl seem to freeze beside me. When I glance over at Karl, his eyes are locked on Damon’s father as if he’s just suddenly realized something.

“Please continue, Abby.”

The judge’s voice pulls me out of my reverie, and I quickly blink and continue my story where I left off.

“Yes, um, as I was saying… Damon snapped his fingers, and his butler locked the door from the other side,” I say slowly. “I tried to get out, but the door was locked tightly. When I turned, Damon was right behind me…”

As I finish telling my story, I can sense three things: Damon’s rising panic across the table, his father’s disappointed glare, and Karl still sitting ramrod straight beside me, staring intently at the king.

Once I’m finally finished, there’s a silence that falls over the room. But it’s short-lived.

“It’s not true!” Damon bursts out suddenly, half-rising from his chair. His lead lawyer tries unsuccessfully to pull him back down. “She’s lying, they all are! I’d never do such a thing!”

The judge’s gaze narrows at Damon’s insolence. “I must have order in my court,” he says coolly.

But Damon doesn’t seem to hear him. “T-The drug tests were faked,” he says, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. “She planted those roofies herself, just like how she planted the food poisoning at the Alpha party. She’s framing me! She—”

Suddenly, the lawyer sitting beside Damon bolts up from his chair. “I formally resign from my position as this client’s lawyer,” he says before gathering his things and storming out, followed by two of Damon’s other lawyers.

Damon tries desperately to make them stop, but it’s no use. Finally, he turns back to the judge, tears filling his eyes—once again like a child who has been caught getting into trouble.

“Look, I never did any of this stuff,” he says. “Abby is lying. She’s the one who wants those kids dead, because—because she wants to make sure that she produces my heir! That those kids can’t be in line for the… for the…”

As Damon speaks, his voice slowly trails off and his eyes widen. Everyone else just stares in shock.

Damon has basically just incriminated himself—because not once was the Alpha party, the food poisoning, or those kids ever mentioned in this room. In fact, as far as Damon is aware, the police never connected him to the Alpha party at all.

The judge, seemingly waiting patiently for this very moment, finally draws in a ragged breath and bangs his gavel decisively.

“Court is adjourned. Bailiff, please escort this man out.”

Damon’s jaw drops. “No—wait—I can explain—” he whines, but it’s no use. The court officer takes him by the arm and guides him out of the room, his cries fading into the distance.

As the room begins stirring, I turn to Karl, my mouth agape with shock. But his eyes are still fixed on Damon’s father, who is now rising from his chair to follow his disappointment of a son out of the room.

Before I can say anything, Karl is already in motion, striding toward the king. I watch as he stops him with a tap on his shoulder.

“Sir, may I have a moment of your time?”