Tricked

She turned to her brother, who grinned at her as he held out his arms for a hug. “Don’t worry, Cal,” he said. “Mom’ll be fine. She’s still got me to spoil during my college breaks. You go out there and knock ‘em dead. And when you get that settlement, you can pay off all my student debt.”

Callie laughed. “It’s a deal, baby brother. Take care of Mom and Dad, okay?”

“Will do.” Harry sobered, adding, “Gonna miss you, big sis.”

“We’ll see each other before you know it.” Callie blinked back her own tears. While she was eager to get on with her life at last, it would be hard, and a little scary, to leap back into the fray.

The six-month hiatus had been both difficult and wonderful. It had been hard to have old friends and acquaintances tiptoe around her. They had been kind, horrified and intrusively curious by turns. Even people she barely knew turned their heads to stare at her in the supermarket or at the gas station, especially when Damon’s trial began in Chicago. The criminal case was covered extensively in both local and national news. Callie had flown with her dad to Chicago several times to testify during the trial. It had been harrowing and a little terrifying to take the stand with what felt like all the world now watching her.

Buoyed by the hard work she’d done with her therapist, Callie had stood her ground, even when the defense attorney, a high-powered, high-priced lawyer Damon’s millionaire father had retained, went after her. He’d tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to somehow admit her culpability in what happened, based on her interest in BDSM, which he tried to characterize as a “perversion.” Fortunately, the prosecuting attorney had shut that down pretty quickly, reminding the judge and jury that Callie was not the one on trial, and reiterating that she had done absolutely nothing wrong.

But most of Callie’s time at home was spent healing, both physically and spiritually. She went to counseling three times a week for the first month, and then twice a week in the five months following. She did a lot of painting, a passion of hers she hadn’t really had time for since leaving home for university.

She and her mom took long walks, connecting in a way they never had before. Callie cherished that time, which had given her a better perspective and greater appreciation of her mom as a person. On the weekends, she went hunting and fishing with her dad, or hiking with Harry when he was home from college.

The job back in Chicago she’d never shown up for had been filled in her absence, but there were new opportunities, some even better, opening up all the time. When she finally felt ready, she’d gone for several interviews. She’d received an offer to be associate curator and archivist at a small but well-funded, prestigious art institute, and she’d leaped on the opportunity. She and her mom had found the perfect apartment nearby, close enough that she could even bike to work, weather permitting.

It was time. Time to reclaim a life interrupted.When the plane was in the air, Callie opened her laptop to check her email. Before logging on, she clicked once more on the link to the newspaper article she’d read at least a dozen times before.Millionaire Playboy Sex Fiend Sentenced to Forty YearsAfter only two days of deliberation, a jury of seven women and five men unanimously found Damon Carlisle, international playboy and one of the heirs to the Carlisle Industries fortune, guilty of all 12 charges related to the kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of Callista Anderson, whom he held captive in a luxury villa in Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica for twenty-seven days.She skimmed past the lurid details of the trial, which were permanently imprinted on her brain, to read once more the paragraph regarding Damon’s sentencing.Carlisle will serve a maximum of forty years at the Illinois Department of Corrections, with the possibility of parole after twenty years served. Once released from prison, Carlisle will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Sources have confirmed that Ms. Anderson is considering a sizable private settlement in lieu of pursuing a civil action against Mr. Carlisle, though we have been unable to ascertain the details at this time.As if on cue, her email pinged, and she saw it was the attorney who had been handling the settlement negotiations with Bradley Carlisle, Damon’s father, in his ongoing effort to keep the dispute out of civil court.From: Randall.Smith

To:

Subject: Carlisle SettlementDear Callie,I’m pleased to inform you that we have reached a settlement agreement that meets or exceeds our expectations in this matter. In exchange for your signing a binding non-disclosure agreement (attached herewith as Addendum A), you will receive a lump sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000.00), payable by the end of the month. I believe this is our best possible outcome, and counsel that you accept the terms.