第2章

That afternoon, Beatrice came to my office.

Jasper personally escorted her in.

Her white hair was carefully styled.

She was old, yet her face was completely free of wrinkles.

Every gesture spoke of a woman who had lived a life of luxury and never been denied anything.

"So, you are Judge Veyra."

She sat down across from me and looked me over.

She no longer recognized me.

"At least you're pretty."

I had seen that look once, years ago.

The first time she came to our house, she looked at my mother in exactly the same way.

The next day, she ran my grandparents down with her car.

"Seraphina is outstanding, but you turned her down. Why?"

She looked at me with open mockery.

"Women understand women. Tell me. What do you want?"

I looked at her calmly.

"And you are?"

Her flawless expression froze for a second.

Then her contempt deepened.

"Don't play games with me. Money, power—I can give you anything you want. Seraphina wants this position, she will get it."

I looked down at the file in my hands.

"A better candidate has been chosen and the results have been announced. Please leave."

A crack appeared in Beatrice's composure.

"I have seen plenty of girls like you. You think sleeping with a few men means you have someone powerful protecting you? You can't take on the Hales just by sleeping with a few more men! And this profession has no room for a woman as corrupt as you!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She slammed her hand on the desk.

The sound pulled my attention away from the case file I was reading.

Thirty years ago, she had pounded the table and used her unborn child to beg Arthur to acquit her.

Thirty years later, she slammed her hand on my desk and lectured me about justice.

The file crumpled in my hand. I looked up at her and smiled.

"Mrs. Hale, you seem to know a lot about sleeping your way to the top. Is that how you got here?"

Beatrice stared at me, then stood up.

"Judge Veyra, I'm just a mother who loves her daughter. How dare you slander me like this? You are not fit to call yourself a woman."

The commotion drew the attention of everyone outside my office.

A mother who loved her child.

Not fit to call myself a woman.

I thought about those words, leaned back in my chair and looked straight at her.

"Mrs. Hale, stop causing a scene and leave my office."

She was too angry to speak. Before she could leave, the office door suddenly opened.

"Elowen, you have disappointed me deeply!"

Hugo stood in the doorway and brought his cane down hard on the floor.

"Mrs. Hale is Judge Hale's wife. How could you speak to her like that? What will everyone in the legal profession think of us?"

Beatrice scoffed, folded her arms, and looked at me contemptuously.

Hugo came over and looked at me in disappointment.

"Apologize to Mrs. Hale."

I looked at that small, aging man.

He had defended the dignity of the law his whole life.

Yet he had no idea what the people he revered were really like.

I lowered my head and defied him for the first time.

"I will not apologize to her."

"Hire Seraphina for that position!"

I raised my head.

"That's impossible."

No sooner had I spoken than a voice came from the doorway. "Is that so?"

I will not forget that voice as long as I live.