Learning to Love | ✓

Chapter 33

[JULIAN]

I watched as people walked into court. I was at home watching from Zeus' laptop. Leonardo Zeus' lawyer had pulled me aside to plead that I didn't come to court with Zeus. I had argued saying that Zeus needed me.

"A scandal isn't what he needs at the moment," I remember Leo saying. And I agreed so we came to a compromise, Leonardo took a camera in the form of a brooch to his suit so I could follow up live on proceedings.

"Order," the chief female judge said hitting the podium with her gravel. He looked a little over hair prime. Her caramel skin was already wrinkling at the corner of her eyes. I could see the hint of white hair beneath the wig.

"Thank you," she said, dropping the gravel.

"We are here today to review the case of Zeus Darcanius. He has been accused of living under a fake identity to which he pleads guilty. However, he wishes to have all charges removed on counts of a desperate cause. The case can now proceed."

Someone read out loud before returning to the seats resided to the jury. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath. Hearing the whole thing aloud made it sound or the more impossible to get out of. I opened my eyes to continue watching. I had to be there for Zeus somehow.

"Mrs. Parthoropeons please come up to the stand," the person reading the order said.

The camera diverted a little giving the view of a classily dressed woman taking her time to get up. My brain fumed with how much she resembled Zeus. Her hair and sharp facial feature being one of the things she passed on to Zeus. As she walked forward with elegance the court silenced, the white trail on her hairdo was like that of a skunk's. It was the first time I laid eyes on the woman that birthed Zeus.

"Your grace," she said, bowing before the judge before proceeding to the witness stand.

That's unnecessary. I thought as she finally got behind the witness stand.

"Are you religious?" the judge asked, carrying out the proceedings.

"No, I swear on my own head," she said, raising her hand in pledge.

"Mrs. Vera Parthoropeons, do you swear that everything you are about to say is the truth and nothing but the truth?" The judge asked.

"I swear," she said.

"You may begin," the judge said using gravel to hit her table again.

"Imagine me a mother to realize her only son had not died but run off..." Vera trailed.

"Describe your encounters before he went missing," the judge said, looking a bit uninterested.

"I had seen Zeus go off with his car late in the evening, he didn't return and we started looking for him about a day after. We found his car submerged under a nearby river and made our assumptions — "

"Objection," I heard Leonardo's lawyer say in a French accent laced voice as the camera got raised a bit.

"Accepted," the Judge said.

"A person isn't meant to be verified as dead until after a year."

"What did you expect us to think?"

"He never left with the car." Leonardo insisted sternly.

"You had proclaimed him dead just over three weeks of his leaving, you had already fixed a burial date, but I ask you with which body?" Leo stated as the camera got closer to the witness stand.

"It was symbolical."

"But you stated it like a normal burial in the newspaper, even mentioning the finding of his body." Leo continued.