Page 68 of Now Their Starlet

“So what you’re saying is Gina’s whole strategy relies on ‘rules for thee not for me’?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“This is ridiculous.”

I stare out the floor to ceiling windows of my corner office, but the view of downtown LA holds nothing of what it originally did for me. The pride of my achievements, the hopes and dreams I harbored when I was younger—when I was Andi’s age—pale in comparison to the emotional reality of my present.

The skyscrapers represent a cage of glittering glass and twisted metal. This luxury is built upon the back of a system that allows for innocent omegas like Andi to be locked away under the guise of “helping her.”

“Like I said earlier,” Charles says, running a hand through his neatly trimmed, snow-white beard. “The other videos your omega sent are excellent evidence. We should be able to prove that Gina isn’t fit to be a conservator over Andi.”

Part of me wants to say that she’s not my omega. Not yet, anyway. The last thing I want to do is assert any form of ownership over her without her explicit consent in a moment where she’s not in fight-or-flight mode.

The other part of me knows why he said it. Because the acknowledgment of my baser instincts—the ones that scream at me that she’s mine and I’ll spend my days up until my last breath ensuring that she’s happy—send a wave of calm determination through me.

“To be frank with you, when I watched those videos with the others last night, I let my hope get the best of me. I thought the case was open and shut. That now that we had this evidence, Andi would be set free completely.”

“I… can’t say I completely understand, because that would be a lie…”

“Understandable. This is a ridiculous situation.”

“It is. Truly. In all my years practicing law, I’ve never seen a case like this one. My point is, that I sympathize with your efforts, Everett.”

Charles is trying to help. I know he is.

But sympathy gets me nowhere.

They get Andi nowhere.

Sympathy is the kind of thing people feel when looking at something tragic before walking away.

“Just… make sure Andi gets out of that hellhole tomorrow.”

“I will.” Charles nods. “At the very least, the application to have me appointed as her council has gone through. I’ll show up at Gina’s residence to ensure that Andi gets to the courthouse, in case Gina decides to do anything to prevent her from being present.”

“Keep us updated,” I sigh, running a heavy hand through my salt and pepper hair. “I will have to break the news to the others that this won’t be an open and shut case.”

“I hope that goes well,” Charles says, extending his hand for a shake.

The courthouse looks simpler than I thought it would, considering the gravity of the case.

The drab carpet that likely hasn’t been changed for the past two decades is a muddy green with a textured pattern I’m sure is supposed to help hide dirt.

The judge’s stand looms over the rest of the room, empty for now.

The rest of the room is split into two sides, with one larger table on the left and two smaller tables on the right.

Edison is already seated with his lawyer. He insisted on keeping his own lawyer separate from the firm I hired, even though they’ve worked together extensively on the case.

I’ve spent enough time around Andi’s father to notice the slight tension he carries, concentrated around his right shoulder, despite the calm expression he’s wearing. I meet his gaze and he offers me a slight nod.

The five of us sit in the pews right behind where Andi should be.

“Beck, calm down,” I murmur, my breaths shallow as his caramel scent swirls around in the air, burnt with his stress. The last thing I’d want is to create a feedback loop of intense hormones.

“Yeah, sorry,” he mumbles, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “At least Andi will know I’m here, if she’s not allowed to turn around to look at us.”

“We’d like her to know we’re here to support her,” Leo says, offering Beck a small reassuring quirk of his lips that doesn’t match the way he’s gripping his slacks over his knees.