Secrets by Erosa Knowles Read Free Book Online Page A

or heard from Kenton
since the incident in the office earlier that week. Despite the
crazy words he'd spouted, seeing him brought back memories from her
teen years. He'd changed and so had she. A wave of disappointment
rolled over her and she fought it back. Life moved forward.
Catching sight of Sven and her attorney dispelled her gloomy
thoughts.
    Perfect, now they could settle the matter of
Mr. Baxter's will with as little fanfare as possible. No sooner had
the thought eased her mind, but Maude Stone, her attorney, and
three additional people who looked suspiciously like the press,
barreled around the corner yelling questions.
    “Ms. Stone, do you believe this young woman
stole money from your brother and is hiding it in other
countries?”
    “Do you think this is some sort of love
triangle?”
    “Are you implying she was in some way
responsible for Mr. Baxter’s death? What do you hope to prove?”
    Chastity pushed her legs to move at a faster
clip in her low-heeled pumps, just shy of running into the
appropriate courtroom; dodging the questions thrown at her. “That
bitch,” she huffed, pissed at the turn of events.
    Sven pushed her further inside, toward the
front of the courtroom with Jamison, while he stood near the door,
limiting her contact with the press.
    Breathing a sigh of relief, she sat down
next to her attorney. “This is turning into a circus.” Chastity
glanced at the media people who stood in the back of the courtroom.
“It’s supposed to be a quick hearing, what’s happening?” Worry
threaded her tone and shot down her spine until she glanced at the
opposing table. Maude Stone wore a smug smile on her face. What
was she planning ? Glare for glare, the two women stared at each
other. Did Mrs. Stone want everyone to know what her brother had in
the files? Jamison had warned her, the woman’s greed led her into
places her ego wouldn’t be able to tolerate.
    Chastity grabbed Jamison’s arm. “Please tell
me this will be over today.”
    He rubbed her hand as Sven took the seat
beside her. “It should be, although Maudie seems confident about
something.”
    Tell me something I don’t know .
“Really? I wonder what?” The sarcasm she’d tried to hide slipped
through.
    He shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and
see.”
    Sven placed a file in front of him as he sat
facing the front. She glanced at the unlabeled folder. Her fingers
itched to look inside. His eyes slid to hers and he shook his head,
pointing to the letters on the front. Mr. Baxter’s moniker, NTK
only. The only way to find out the contents in that file was if she
needed to know. Nerves shot, she looked around the room and bit her
lip in frustration. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on Kenton, who
sat two rows behind her. They stared at each other before he nodded
and looked straight ahead.
    Damn. Was he here to support his mom or his
uncle? If Mr. Baxter could’ve counted on Kenton to carry out his
wishes, he would have the file instead of Sven. In her mind, Kenton
had proven he lacked the heart to ride through tough battles. She’d
waited to hear from him for weeks after her birthday. Nothing. Not
even to check to see if she was okay. As usual, the selfishness of
the male species didn’t surprise her. At the end of the day, you
have to look out for yourself. Mistakenly, she’d thought he’d be
different since he was Mr. Baxter’s nephew. That fruit had
rolled into another orchard, he was nothing like her benefactor. He
was just as self-centered as another bastard she’d met long ago. Gypsy baby my ass.
    They stood as the judge entered, and after
they all sat back down, he stated the case. Maude and her attorney
wasted no time painting Chastity as a gold-digging whore who’d
hood-winked an elderly, borderline insane David Baxter. They stated
the boys were Mr. Baxter’s sons and Chastity was an illiterate
whore, unfit to take care of the children. They cited witnesses
who’d seen her prostituting and taking drugs. Maude