Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 108

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Chapter 108

Roger’s POV

I had finally admitted it. The truth was out. I had messed up the whole thing, but I was trying to make it right again. My mother looked shocked that I said it, but Sasha was pissed. I’m onto her tricks now, and I know what happened. Dixon had always liked her, but she always ignored him. I knew that she was willing to make a trade if it meant she would come out on top. He had been dancing all over the place and not answering direct questions.

I was going to admit what I had done. It had already been exposed, so there was no point in trying to hide it. Now that Dixon had finally realized what Sasha had done, he was looking at me in shock. It was clear he hadn’t even realized just how wrong he was about either of them. He glanced over at Ana. He looked like he wanted to apologize, but I knew she wasn’t going to accept it. Not after how he had acted towards her all these years.

“Did your CFO, Dixon Chandler, know Ana was your partner?” Rodney asked.

It was clear he didn’t want to let Dixon go. I knew why. Dixon had given Ana a really hard time over the last five years, especially lately. Her attorney wasn’t just her attorney. He was her friend. He was like a bulldog, refusing to let go until he got her justice. I couldn’t fault him for

1. it.

“No. I never told him. He thought she was the Director of Design. My friends, Dixon and Conner, both thought that my company had reached its current level because of me. I liked being respected. No one at the company was aware that she was a co–owner. That’s why she didn’t get the respect she deserved, and that’s on me. I knew in my heart after she was arrested, she was going to let me fall, and honestly. I needed the wakeup call. She was the entire reason my company flourished, not me. I know that was the reason she announced that she was no longer with Cook’s Custom Jewelry when she was arrested. She was warning the investors that she was no longer supporting me. I just didn’t know it at the time,” I answered.

“Which brings me to my next point. Did your mother know that the villa you and Ana were supposed to live in actually belonged to Ana? Before she had her arrested?” Rodney asked.

“At first, Sasha told her that I bought it for her. She also said that I had bought all the artwork in the home, and I went along with it. But I admitted that it belonged to Ana when she sold it, and we had to move in with my parents. So, she knew before the arrest. Mom’s whole goal in life was for her children to marry up. She always felt Ana was beneath us and treated her that way all the time. I never stopped it, and I should have. Mom felt like she intentionally

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humiliated us at the auction. My family had been allowed to enter for the past four years. Mom and Sasha took it personally. Things went downhill fast after that,” I responded.

My overwhelming guilt over what I’ve done made me want to set things straight. But it was still hard to admit what I had done. I felt a great deal of remorse for my actions. Especially after seeing that video play earlier. I was a complete asshole. Everyone here saw just how low I was willing to go. I needed to make this right. Ana didn’t have to help me out by allowing me to use her designs, yet she did. I could have lost everything, all because of my pride. But Ana was willing to pull me back from the precipice. She was willing to save not only my company, but also my employees. She was kind when she didn’t have to be.

I glanced over at my mother and Sasha. They were both furious, which I expected. I knew contradicting what they swore happened would get them in trouble. But I no longer felt any compulsion to help them. My doing that had ended up ruining everything. It should’ve never come to this. If they had just backed off when Ana asked them to. This wouldn’t have happened. I know it, and I believe they know it too. Even after she was arrested, she gave them another chance. Instead of being thankful for it, they doubled down, adding more lies to it. If they thought I was going to perjure myself, they were dead wrong.

“Roger, we did this for you. We were trying to save your company. How can you do this to us? I’m your mother, your own blood. I was only doing what I thought was best at the time,” my mother sobbed out.

“Mrs. Cook, please refrain from interrupting testimony. You’ll get your turn on the stand. I know that you’ve heard the warnings I’ve issued. Don’t disregard them,” the judge warned.

“So what changed your mind, Mr. Cook? You seemed determined to follow through with everything you mentioned in that video. Why were you suddenly willing to help the woman you plotted against?” Rodney asked.

“At the time of the video, I believed what my mother and Sasha had been telling me for months. I allowed them to fill my head with lies, I thought I was capable enough to be able to continue running my successful company. I believed that, until reality set in. Investors were jumping ship. I had no designs I could send to production, as Ana prevented me from using hers. The design team wasn’t inspired enough to create anything worth creating. My mother showed up with the police to arrest Ana on bogus charges. I didn’t know that was going to happen. I tried to stop her. I told the police that it was Ana’s home. I also told the reporters it was a misunderstanding. Yet the three of them stayed behind at the company and lied on camera. Nothing they said that day was the truth, and it ended up going viral,” I replied.

“Did you ever speak to them about their actions?” Rodney asked.

“I did, and they all swore they would stop. Then they immediately followed me to Fashion Forward when I went there to smooth things over. I went there to apologize and beg Ana to

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come back. Everything at my company was falling apart. I knew I needed her, but they showed up with another group of reporters. They refused to let her go, even after she warned them multiple times. They ended up making everything much worse. I was doing all I could to keep my company afloat. It was like they didn’t care that they were ruining everything for me,” I replied.

“So, despite the fact that they were causing a disturbance and trespassing on private property. They continued to spread lies about my client?” Rodney stated.

“Yes. I told them they were going to cause my company to be destroyed. They didn’t care. They said it was all Ana’s fault for not complying, and they were going to get her back for it. But it wasn’t Ana’s fault. Sasha lied about being a talented designer. She couldn’t create anything. She couldn’t lead the design team or assist them in making corrections to their work. I tried to get Ana to return, but she refused to do so. I knew that even if she did, my mother and sister wouldn’t leave her alone. But I needed her. I still can’t understand how Ana was hired on so quickly by Fashion Forward. You have to know someone to get hired on there. Sasha was jealous, and Mom was angry that she ended up working there. So they changed tactics and started to badmouth the company. I asked them to stop. I also told them to leave, but they refused,” I answered honestly.

I wasn’t going to get in trouble by lying about something they did ever again.

“Didn’t you just say that Ana was a talented designer? Why is it so hard to believe that she would be able to get a job there?” Rodney asked.

“She is a talented designer, but Fashion Forward is a leader in the design world. They only employee the best of the best. Which Ana is extremely talented, but if she could work there, why would she have stayed at my company?” I asked. It just didn’t make sense.

I grew uneasy, as Rodney smiled at me. I guess he was directing me to where he wanted me to go. “Now that’s an excellent question, Roger. No more questions. Your witness, Counselor, “Rodney replied.

“I have no questions for this witness,” my mother’s attorney stood up to reply.

“You need to ask him why he’s lying, William. He’s not telling the truth. I didn’t know when I came here that his fiancée was a co–owner. I just thought she was the Director of Design. I thought it would be simple to replace her. Joyce kept insisting that losing one employee wouldn’t hurt anything. I just did what Joyce wanted me to do. Joyce was pissed at her and wanted to punish her. I didn’t understand what was going on. You need to defend me, defend us. We don’t deserve to be punished for a simple misunderstanding,” Sasha insisted.

“Say something, William. We paid you a substantial amount of money to assist us. You couldn’t even do that. How can you call yourself an attorney behaving like this? You insisted

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that we could win, now, all of a sudden, you’ve got nothing? How is that fair to us? We trusted you. You need to provide a compelling defense for us,” my mother snapped out.

They weren’t talking in their normal tone, but they weren’t being quiet either. Their attorney didn’t give them any face. “I asked you both last night if I had all the information I needed about this case. You both assured me I did. If that’s the case, how did we end up here? I saw the evidence they had, but the crucial points of our case hinged on the fact that she was an hourly employee. Yet you both knew she was the co–owner. The regular rules don’t apply. She wasn’t on the clock. I explained that to you both. We could have saved a lot of time here if either of you had managed to be honest with me. How is it my fault for not realizing that you two lied to me?” their attorney hissed out in a low tone.

“Counselor, do you have any questions for this witness?” the judge asked. I could tell that he felt bad for the guy. He had three clients who had all lied to him. It’s no wonder he’s frustrated. The judge, along with the jury, and anyone within ten feet of them, had heard their

discussion.

“I have no questions for this witness, your honor,” he replied.

“If you’re not going to do anything. I can defend myself here. I can fire you and get a mistrial. I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t get a fair trial because her family is one of the most powerful in the city. It’s just not possible for someone who’s not wealthy to be able to win against her,” Sasha cried out and then burst into tears.

Someone from the back cried out, “You’re upset because we know you’re guilty, Sasha. Now that you’re exposed, you want a redo.”