Chapter 6 - Behind Bars
The visiting room of the Suffolk County House of Correction smelled of disinfectant, cheap floor wax, and underlying desperation.
Adrian Lark sat on the bolted metal stool behind a scratched plexiglass partition, staring down at his orange jumpsuit with hollow, sunken eyes. The arrogance that had defined his entire life—the tailored suits, the borrowed sports cars, the effortless entitlement—had been stripped away, leaving behind a pale, shaking shell of a man.
The heavy steel door at the back of the room buzzed and clicked open.
Elena walked in, wearing a simple beige trench coat, her expression completely neutral. She didn't look like a victim seeking closure, nor did she look like a vengeful conqueror. She looked like a stranger visiting a stranger.
She sat down on the opposite side of the partition and picked up the heavy black plastic telephone receiver.
Adrian flinched. Slowly, with trembling hands, he picked up his own receiver, pressing it against his ear. He didn't look her in the eye.
“Elena…” his voice croaked, barely audible through the thick glass. “Please. You have to drop the charges. They’re talking about ten to fifteen years. They’re calling it aggravated assault and grand larceny. I’ll lose everything.”
“You already lost everything, Adrian,” Elena said, her voice calm and detached. “The moment you raised your hands against me in that ballroom, you ceased being my brother. You became a liability that the justice system needed to isolate.”
“Mom and Dad… they said they’d mortgage the house to pay for my bail,” Adrian sobbed, tears spilling over his lower lashes. “Won't you talk to the district attorney? Just tell them we were having a family argument that got out of hand. Tell them I slipped.”
Elena let out a quiet, humorless breath.
“Do you remember what you yelled as the paramedics carried me out, Adrian?” she asked softly. “You yelled that I slipped. You tried to cover your crime before I even hit the floor. And when I woke up, the first thing you did wasn't ask if I was okay—you begged me to lie for you so you wouldn't have to face the consequences.”
Adrian pressed his forehead against the plexiglass, his shoulders shaking with wretched, unvarnished grief. “I was scared. I didn't know what I was doing… I just wanted the company. I thought if I had it, Dad would finally look at me the way he looked at you.”
“That,” Elena said, standing up from her stool and smoothing down her coat, “is a conversation you can have with your therapist and your cellmate. My attorneys will ensure you never come within five hundred yards of me, my husband, or any asset bearing the Lark name for the rest of your natural life.”
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“Elena! Wait! Don't leave me here—!” Adrian screamed, slamming his fist against the glass as the guards stepped forward, pinning his shoulders to the chair.
Elena hung up the receiver with a soft, final click, turned her back on him, and walked out into the sunlight.
