Too Late for Regret novel Chapter 114

Under the Bus

Chapter 114

Sasha’s POV

“So you have a plan in place. That’s good. Because I believed her when she said she was going to deal with us. I only wanted to get my son’s designs back. Are you sure that copies of your first drafts are going to hold up in court?” Joyce asked.

“Of course they are. There is nothing on them. Even though I can’t prove their mine, she can’t prove they belong to her either. We’re at an impasse. Now that we’re pushing Fashion Forward to act, they will force her to return them to us. They can’t be involved in this kind of scandal. Their business will take a hit. They’ll probably fire her, and that will also work in our favor. Once she’s forced to return them, she’ll be unable to get a job. Not with a plagiarism scandal hanging over her head. Because why else would she hand her own designs over? It’s the perfect plan. We will make sure everyone knows it when she returns them; maybe we should call a reporter to record it. It’s as good as an admission of guilt on her part, even if she were forced into doing it. She’s got plenty of money from her parents. It’s not like she’s going to starve to death now, is it?” My mocking voice was way too clear.

How had Joyce gotten this recording? It’s not like she’s good at anything technical. Did she install a camera inside her home? I can’t believe this b***h is actually going to do this to me, after everything I did for her. She has some real nerve. We were in this together. Why is she trying to ruin my reputation? Wait. Is this because she wants me to take all the blame? I might have said it, but Joyce has gone too far now. I remember that day. I came down to get something to drink and decided to vent a little.

“When was this audio recorded?” he asked.

“Two days before we were served for this trial,” Joyce answered.

“Had Sasha ever said something like this to you before?” Ana’s attorney replied.

“Yes, but we had just been served. I made it as a sort of insurance, I learned I couldn’t trust Sasha by that point. I just wasn’t aware of how inflammatory it was actually going to be,” Joyce answered.

“Your honor, I would like to play exhibit M at this time,” he called out.

I had looked down to write something for William. He needed to get to work, to stop this witch hunt. I had a bad feeling in my gut that I knew which conversation she meant, but I was praying that I was wrong. William just looked at me. He then shook his head and faced the judge again. If he doesn’t get with it, I’m going to fire him, no matter what the judge says.

1/4

< Under the Bus

Claim

I knew what had happened. I remembered when that first one was recorded while she was speaking to Ana’s attorney. Joyce had been sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee. She had been moping around ever since Scott and Roger moved out. I forced myself to focus, trying to remember any other conversations we had that might reflect badly on me. I needed a way to work around them. William doesn’t care about even pretending to defend us anymore. Joyce’s actions indicate that she has given up. Well, I haven’t. I’m not going to until the bitter end.

The next recording began as Joyce poured herself another cup of coffee. I remember she had been looking down at her phone when I entered the room. I had thought that she was looking to see if Scott or Roger had texted her. She was pathetic, caring if they did try to contact her. Instead, she was setting me up. She got me, I fell for it. She has been so malleable since Scott and Roger left. My voice came through the recording as I entered the kitchen. “Can you pour me a cup, too?”

She poured a second cup and walked it over to me before returning to get her phone and coffee cup. She didn’t look like her usual self. She usually got up each morning and did her hair and makeup, but not today. She was wearing leggings and one of Scott’s old shirts. I can see that she’s depressed and taking a trip down memory lane. I knew I needed to stop her. She didn’t even argue about me drinking coffee like she used to. Not since she found out that the baby I was carrying wasn’t her grandchild.

“Joyce, I know you’re sad. I get it. I lost my husband, too. Life really isn’t fair. You need to remember that everything we’re going through is all because of that uppity b***h. Now is not the time to lose focus. We have to stick together in this. Otherwise, the whole thing falls apart. So snap out of it. You’re still an attractive woman. You can move on and find someone else, another successful man. You’re life isn’t over, Joyce. You just need to focus on what we need to do now. Have you spoken to Regina?” I asked.

“I love Scott, Sasha. He wasn’t rich when we got married. We were a team. I had a strict budget, but I always made sure that my family had what they needed. I worked just as hard as Scott did to take the extra weight off of him as he got his business off the ground. I ironed his clothes so he looked presentable. I packed his lunch, I repaired clothes, and cleaned our house from top to bottom. I did that with three children under school age here with me for several years. I did that without complaint, because I loved my husband. I was incredibly proud of him and how hard we worked together to make his dream a reality. I didn’t even notice when I changed. I don’t know when I decided that our life together wasn’t enough. But doesn’t every mother dream of their children doing better than them? Of a day when they realize just how much I did for them? I went without for over ten years, so that my husband and children could thrive. I would do it all over again if I had to. But if I could go back and change anything, I wouldn’t have encouraged Roger to do what he did to Ana. I was wrong,” Joyce’s voice, filled with sadness, rang out.

2/4

:

< Under the Bus

Claim

“You got used, Joyce, and that’s on you. You willingly did all that, and look at you. You need to take care of yourself. You wanted what’s best for your family. What’s wrong with that? Scott is still an attractive man, he probably dropped you for a newer model, it happens. You need to be prepared to have to accept a much older man when you get back out there. They always want a younger model, regardless of their age. However, that won’t happen unless you take care of yourself. We need to focus on our defense, all three of us. No deviations. We have to stick together. I have an in on the jury. He’s going to help us,” my voice rang out.

My eyes flew to the judge to see if she heard what I’d said. The small lift of one side of her mouth, not a real smile. She knew she would get in trouble for that. But she knew, and my stomach somersaulted. How did she already know to look at me? Had she already heard this evidence? How did she know what I was going to say? My words had just been spoken when

I looked at her.

“Can you pause the recording?” Ana’s attorney asked, as I was looking at the judge. “I want to bring an official charge against Sasha Cook for paying a jury member to vote with the defendants. Judge Cramer, before he stepped down, had been given the evidence of their collusion. Texts, calls, and an electronic transfer were provided as evidence. The jury was eleven to one, with Juror Joshua Greggs being the lone holdout, despite the evidence before him. He overplayed his hand, and we have his recorded statement that I would like to play after we complete the evidence that Joyce Cook provided.”

“Attorney Briggs, I already had her charges updated to add obstruction of justice, collusion, jury tampering, and contempt of court. I will be adding her attempt to evade punishment by attempting to flee before her sentencing this afternoon,” the judge advised.

“Thank you, your honor. I just wanted to request it when I heard her mention that she had someone on the jury. She has done so much to try to stall this trial. I just wanted to make sure that none of her charges managed to slip past,” he replied. “Please resume the evidence.

“1

“Sasha, why would you do that? I don’t want to be involved with that kind of illegal activity.

You said that it wouldn’t come to this. That Ana wouldn’t be willing to take it to court, that she would be scared of being exposed. Everything you swore to me isn’t true at all. I don’t want to do this. I would rather pay the fine and avoid court. This is going to ruin my name. What else is going to go wrong? What other surprises are going to pop up for us? I don’t want to go to jail, and neither does Regina. Sasha, I think that it’s best just to let it go, apologize to Ana, and pay the fines. Things will only escalate if we go to court,” Joyce’s voice rang out through the audio.

“That’s not going to be happening, Joyce. You’re just being paranoid. I’m not going to admit that those designs aren’t mine. I need them to grow my portfolio. Roger promised them to me, and I’m not going to allow her to keep them. She’s got plenty of other designs. She can

3/4

< Under the Bus

Claim

always make more if needed. I don’t mind Roger using them to help save his business, but I need to get them away from her. If you drop out on this now, it makes us all look guilty. I promise you it would be a huge mistake on your part. I’ll tell the jury all about the bogus deed and who got it for you. I already have a copy of it. I’ll tell everyone who actually started this whole thing. Don’t forget, you were always much more vicious with your words, from the beginning. I’m not going down alone, Joyce. You’re either in it with me, or you’re against me. You won’t like going up against me. I won’t let you or Regina walk away. You two are just as guilty as I am. So suck it up, I won’t let you get out of this,” I told her.

I

“I never agreed to this. It was only intended to be a little pressure to get the designs back for Roger, not a lawsuit against us. I don’t want to be involved in this anymore,” Joyce’s voice sounded desperate.

“Well, too late, dear mother–in–law. You’ve been involved since the beginning. We need to practice what we’re going to say to our attorney and get it straight before the trial. We need to start tonight. No mistakes, Joyce. Because if you think I’m unkind now, wait and see what I’ll do to you and Regina if you cross me,” my voice delivered the threat like it was nothing. It was clear I meant every word I spoke; this was really bad.

KatVonBeck

#Vote#

7