Chapter 13
ILAY
They all looked at me in astonishment and I nodded to them: "Into the judge's chamber, right away," I said, and we all went together into the large room, which was furnished with benches and chairs. It looked like a typical judge's chambers, with a wooden gavel on the table.
"So, Shawn Redington, please take your seat. We have a case to discuss today and we will be hearing it here in this room today," I said, settling comfortably on a bench.
A trial at eight o'clock in the morning was certainly nothing unusual, but after Judge Shawn had passed judgement on his son, he would never appear in this room again, that much was clear.
"Call your son Zamiel in," I urged him. His confused look and furrowed brow told me that he probably didn't know what his son had done.
I snapped my fingers twice "Zack, Zack. I don't have time," I said, yawning.
"With all due respect, Prince Ilay, may I ask what this is all about? You look very upset..." Shawn replied, becoming quite agitated. He was tapping his fingers on his desk with nervousness.
I smiled at Shawn: "Your son will tell us, after all, we want the judgement to be fair. Everyone involved must be present. The victim is in my care and will be brought in if necessary. Agreed?" I smiled at Shawn and looked at my fingernails.
Of course Shawn had to agree. No question, because I was here for a reason. Everyone knew there had to be a reason why I was here.
Finally, he nodded and waved to an employee. "Tell him to come out of his office. He's needed," Shawn said, and his employee headed straight out.
"Shawn ... Do you have Chris Churchill's phone number?" I asked him as I ran my fingers through my hair and changed into something more decent with a snap of my fingers. I was wearing a white shirt and grey trousers. I had my legs crossed and was looking round the room as if we were on a coffee date.
Shawn nodded uncertainly: "Yes, I did, what about Churchill?" he finally asked.
"Call him, he's in on it too," I simply replied and grinned cheekily at him while my eyes looked at him dangerously.
Dominance was marvellous...
Shawn picked up his mobile phone and tapped nervously on it until he finally called Chris. "This is Shawn Redington, Mr Churchill, you're urgently needed in courtroom number two," he said to him. It wasn't long before a puff of black smoke appeared in the courtroom. Chris had teleported here and was looking around. When he saw me, he made a slight bow and greeted me: "Prince Ilay, good to see you," he said to me.
Whether it was really nice to see me was another question, which we would leave for another time.
"I'm glad you came, Mr Churchill, because this morning is going to be exciting for everyone involved!" I put my best smile on Churchill's face and a row of gleaming white teeth came out at him.
Churchill shrugged his shoulders: "I'd be surprised if I'd done anything wrong..." he replied.
I shook my head with a laugh: "No, my dear fellow... Redington's son has done something wrong... We'll pass judgement on that today. What do you think?" I said to him and saw Churchill's face brighten a few notes.
Now it rang a bell with Shawn and everyone in the room understood what was going on.
"What's your position, Churchill?" I asked him. He looked at me with a slightly furrowed brow and finally raised his eyebrows. "I work for your brother Nael, I'm practically his man for everything, his right-hand man," he explained. I had to smile inwardly, because no wonder he had put a bounty on Zamiel and Delilah. He could do that, as the saying goes: if you can do it, you can do it.
My brother just didn't know that Delilah was in my care.
Suddenly, Shawn and Zamiel's employee appeared.
I looked at Zamiel and wondered what Delilah saw in him. Apart from the fact that he was two heads taller than his father, had brown hair and brown eyes, there was nothing special about him.
I also watched as Chris's eyes narrowed to slits. If I didn't know better, he wanted to kill Zamiel himself at that moment.
"Father, have you been looking for me?" he asked without looking back. It wasn't until later, when his eyes wandered round the room and he spotted me and Chris, that his expression became serious.
Shawn said nothing more and looked at me: "Prince Ilay, the people you wanted here are now present... Tell us your case," said Shawn, who still seemed clueless.
"It's my pleasure Judge Shawn," I said and stood up, signalling Zamiel to sit down.
"You'll need the strength in your legs for the escape," I muttered to myself, turning my gaze to Chris.
"Delilah Churchill... Does that name mean anything to you?" I asked the group and they all looked at me in silence. Zamiel dared to swallow.
I walked up to Zamiel and looked him in the eye "Tell me Zamiel, what does that name mean to you? Answer me," I asked him and walked across the room. You would have thought I was the notorious evil prosecutor fighting for his client.
"She was my mate..." Zamiel said quietly, to which Shawn frowned and looked at him questioningly.
"Was?" he finally asked, giving Churchill a questioning look, who didn't say anything back.
"Come on Zamiel, explain the 'Was' to your father in relation to Delilah... We need to know all the details in order to make a difficult decision... I don't have all day," I urged Zamiel, rolling my eyes.
Churchill watched the scenario and listened in silence. Delilah was his female version. He was tall, had blue eyes and black hair. He wore an expensive black suit and looked like a rich businessman.
Zamiel hesitated for a moment, then began to speak "I rejected her..." he croaked softly, lowering his eyes to the ground.
"You turned her down?" Churchill asked in astonishment, looking at me in confusion.
"Oh, that's not all he's done so far," I replied with a smile and nodded at Zamiel again.
"What did you do after you rejected her? Tell us more about it, now it's getting interesting," I said and sat back down next to Churchill.
Churchill looked at me and turned his gaze back to Zamiel. He didn't seem to realise that he had rejected Delilah.
Zamiel shook his head "I didn't do anything... I swear!" he said, which made me laugh.
"You didn't do anything and you swear? Who are you swearing to? God or Lucifer? Which one do you think is more likely to forgive you?" I laughed at his words and shook my head in bewilderment.
"Tell our Mr Churchill how you sold his daughter and she was enslaved," I crossed my arms in front of my chest and looked at Shawn with a grin. It was written all over his face how he felt about it.
"Y-You what?" Shawn asked in astonishment and seemed visibly disappointed.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Churchill shouted at Zamiel and was about to walk towards him when I grabbed his shoulder.
"Slow down Churchill, I've saved the best for last," I walked up to Zamiel and stopped in front of him. Chris was about to lose it, because he really hadn't expected anything like this.
"I'm really not in a good mood right now, Zamiel... Instead of continuing to lie, you now have the chance to confess everything. Maybe your punishment will be less severe, don't you think?" I said to him in a calm tone.
"Everyone makes mistakes," I whispered quietly in his ear, intending to deceive him.
Zamiel was scared. Very scared. What he didn't realise was that I was worse than Churchill. Churchill might have been dangerous, but I was deadly.
"Y-yes, I sold them out! Please understand me... I had to turn her down, it wouldn't have worked with us!" said Zamiel, to which I clapped my hands in applause.
"Wow, Mr Redington, Mr Churchill... Who would have thought that such words would come out of the mouth of a decent man? I certainly didn't," I walked up to Shawn and picked up his hammer.
"Since his confession is in, I would say that the victim and any other witnesses need not be questioned," I looked at Shawn and bit my lower lip.
"Well, Judge, as you can see, we have a problem. What is the penalty for violating a woman and enslaving her? I've never heard of a case like this, it's beyond the pale. Even my father is against enslavement and a person who contributes to it is already dead," I rubbed my temples and sighed, while Zamiel already looked pale as a corpse.
"I want the ultimate punishment!" demanded Chris Churchill, already on his feet.
The angry look on his face said it all, and if Shawn didn't do it, at least he and I would. That much was certain.
"Where is she?" Churchill asked me with a serious look on his face.
"That's a fair question, and there's a story to go with it," I replied, pacing the room.
"On an early morning like this, my father had asked me to go and check the black market."
"But what I saw were several naked women being forced to stand on a stage. If you ask me honestly, Churchill, I only saved Delilah because she looks so much like my companion at the time," I bit my lower lip and sighed softly as I leaned against the platform Zamiel was sitting on and looked over at him.
"She's safe, with me..." I replied, looking at Churchill.
"Do you need more proof, Redington? Is your son's testimony and that of a prince enough for you?" I asked him, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
Son of a bitch, this was just the beginning of the end...
He nodded slightly and seemed speechless. Damn, what have you done Zamiel..." he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.
Shawn finally looked at me: "Let the victim decide what happens to him. I won't get in the way," Shawn replied.
Zamiel's eyes widened and he looked at his father, stunned, "You can't do this!" he yelled at him, looking at me and Chris. "Please... I regret it..." he said desperately.
I couldn't help but smile, "Are you afraid to face her, Zamiel?" I asked provocatively, leaning forward.
"You brought that on yourself Zamiel... Mr Churchill, I am truly sorry. I didn't realise what my son was doing behind my back. I apologise on behalf of my family..." Shawn was truly sorry and he really couldn't help his son's stupidity.
Chris remained silent and said nothing. "I beg you to bring Delilah here, Prince... I'd like to see her," Chris said to me and I nodded.
I wonder if Delilah would like that?