Uncorked (55 page)

“You too, Sweetheart,” he said,
caressing her cheek.

“What kind of wedding did you
want?”

“It’s up to you. As long as my
mom and Emily are there, that’s all I care about.”

“Maybe something intimate with
our closest friends—a sunset cruise or something like that. What do you think?”

“That sounds great, but I really
want you to have your dream wedding.”

“My dream wedding is not what you
might expect. I want an intimate wedding, and I definitely want to be on or
near the water.”

“We could get married at sunset
on a boat and have our reception at one of the nice restaurants on the coast?”

“Twenty or thirty of our
friends?”

“Sounds good to me. Now, when do
we have this amazing sunset-cruise wedding?” Mitch asked.

“You tell me. When next can you
take time off?”

“How about when Emily breaks from
school for Easter? That’s sometime in April.”

“April it is.”

Three weeks later,
Mitch and Chella sat with their
lender signing paperwork to their new home in La Jolla, San Diego, not far from
Chella’s old place. They purchased a beautiful, contemporary home on the water
with an infinity-edge pool, and a rooftop deck overlooking spectacular Pacific
Ocean seascapes. This time, when the agent slid the paperwork toward her, she
had no trouble signing her name below Mitch’s.

They had made their first
purchase together as a couple.

Weeks after, Chella
and Mitch sat with their lawyers
and Detective Carter at the courthouse for the sentencing of Aaron Stewart. Ms.
Marlow and her team were in court, as well. Aaron sat with his lawyer in the
front of the room. His father sat behind him. He hadn’t changed much from when
Chella last saw him all those years ago. Aside from Aaron’s father, Chella did
not recognize any of the other people on the defendant’s side of the courtroom.

When the judge walked in,
Chella’s palms began to sweat. The judge zipped through normal court proceedings
then addressed Aaron and his attorney.

“Mr. Jenkins, would you or your
client like to address the court before sentencing?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Stewart has
taken responsibility for his crimes. We ask the court for leniency because of
this. He is undergoing counseling with some of the best psychiatrists in San
Diego, and he now understands the severity of the pain he caused Ms. Noon and
the other victims. For that, he is sorry. Thank you, Your Honor.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. Mr.
Stewart do you have anything that you’d like to add?”

“No, thank you, Your Honor.”

“Ms. Marlow, does the state wish
to add anything?”

“No, thank you, Your Honor.”

Chella was surprised at her
response. After making eye contact with her lawyers, one of them stood up.

“Your Honor, my name is Zack
Rogers. I’m Ms. Noon’s lawyer, and I’d like to address the court on Ms. Noon,
the victim’s, behalf.”

“You may.”

“Your Honor, for years Aaron
Stewart caused Ms. Noon an immense amount of pain. He tried to kill her on
numerous occasions, and when he couldn’t get to her, he targeted the people she
loved. Mr. Stewart had opportunities before to clean up his act. This is his
third strike. By his actions, he has proven he is a danger to the public and to
Ms. Noon. We ask the court that, in light of his past behavior, that he be
sentenced to none other than life in prison. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Rogers,” the
judge replied.

After taking a deep breath and
writing some notes she said, “Mr. Stewart, I have to say I agree with Mr.
Rogers. I’ve read the files, and you seem relentless in your efforts to harm
Ms. Noon. I’m glad you’re getting the best psychiatric help money can buy. You
need it. However, you’re going to have to get your help from behind bars. Mr.
Stewart, it is hereby the decision of this court that you be sentenced to
fifty-years-to-life in prison without the possibility of parole. You will be
immediately taken into San Diego police custody, where they will arrange to
have you transferred to a maximum-security state prison. This court is
adjourned.”

Chella watched the
police slap handcuffs on Aaron
and take him away. She felt great relief knowing it was finally over.

As they left the courtroom,
Aaron’s father approached Chella.

Mitch pulled her to his side,
stepping in front of her.

“This is her fault,” Aaron
Stewart Sr. said.

“Don’t you dare come near her.
Your family has caused her enough pain,” Mitch replied.

“How could I possibly be
responsible for this?” Chella said angrily, being careful not to shout. “All
your life, you’ve bailed him out and made excuses for his bad choices. I
suppose you’re going to blame me for that, too.”

“He’s hurting from his mother’s
death.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking
about. His mother has been dead for years. Are you going to make excuses for
him all his life? Was it my fault when he sent me a package that blew up in my
face, or when he and Jade rigged a bomb to blow up Mitch’s boat, or when he and
Jade destroyed Mitch’s vehicle in a matter of minutes? People like you make me
sick.”

“I can pay for those things.”

“You think you have enough money
to pay for her pain and suffering?” said Mitch. “Do you even care about what he
did to her?”

“He’s sorry. He’s made a lot of
progress in the last few weeks. We’re getting along better than we ever have.”

“You’re delusional if you believe
that garbage,” Mitch responded, raking his hands through his hair.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I
don’t share your optimism when it comes to your son,” said Chella.

She was dying to say something
about her parents, but she promised Detective Carter she’d keep her mouth shut.

“He’s sorry.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore.
It’s useless talking to you. Goodbye, Mr. Stewart,” Chella said, pulling Mitch
away.

“I’m warning both you and your
son. Stay away from Chella and my family, or I’ll come after you and your son
with a civil lawsuit that’s so big, you’ll be broke by the time I’m done with
you.”

As she looked over her shoulder,
so many visions of her past slipped through her mind—from the day she met Aaron
and his parents to that moment. The Stewart family, as of then, would be out of
her life. She was looking forward to finally concentrating on a new family with
Mitch.

Days later, after
Mitch stepped out of a meeting
at his office he listened to a voice message from Chella.

“Hey, hope your day’s been going
well. Mine’s been crazy. I think I might be coming down with the flu. I have a
nasty sinus headache, so I’ve taken two Benadryl, and I’m going to lie down. My
phone’s on silent. It’s been ringing all day. Anyway, don’t be surprised if I’m
still asleep when you get home. These things usually knock me out. Love you.
Bye.”

He smiled as he listened to her
voice at the other end of the line. Half an hour into his next client meeting,
his cell phone rang. Detective Carter’s number appeared on the screen. His
instincts told him to pick up the phone.

“Detective, what can I do for
you?”

“Mr. Mariani, we have a major
problem. Aaron escaped custody.”

Mitch excused himself from the
meeting and stepped out into the corridor. “What do you mean he escaped
custody?”

“His transport vehicle was found
abandoned. We found the guards inside unconscious. We have every reason to
believe he is on the way to your house,” Detective Carter replied.

“Why?”

“We found your address written on
the back of his transfer papers at the escape site.”

“Fuck!” Mitch exclaimed. He
returned to the conference room to pick up his keys. He apologized to his
clients and ran out of the room.

 “We’ve been trying to call Ms.
Noon, but there’s been no answer,” Detective Carter continued. “I’m trying to
get over there, but there’s a bad accident on the freeway. We’ve asked troopers
to get over there, but it might take time. The backup is miles long and parts
of the freeway are shut down.”

“Shit, I’m heading there now.
Chella wasn’t feeling well. She took an antihistamine and went to bed. She’s
sedated.”

“If you get there before me,
please proceed with caution. One of the guard’s firearms was missing.”

By the time Mitch ended the call,
he was driving out of his office parking lot. He tried calling Chella on the
landline and the cell phone several times, but they both rang out. He left her
a message telling her to get out of the house, to go to the neighbor’s or to
the beach. At that moment, he didn’t care where she went as long as she wasn’t
at home. He also reminded her to take her cell phone if she was able to leave
safely.

The deafening alarm
woke Chella out of a deep sleep.
For minutes she couldn’t figure out what was going on. Then the phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m calling from
Security Teknowledgies. We’ve received a signal that your alarm has gone off.”

“Yes, I was asleep. I’m not sure
why it went off.”

“What is your name?”

“Chella… Chella Noon,” she
replied, still dazed.

“Ms. Noon, the signal is coming
from zone two. That looks like your back kitchen window.” While talking, Chella
looked at her phone and saw she had over twenty missed calls from Mitch and
Detective Carter.

“Just a minute…I think
something’s wrong…just a second.”

“Ms. Noon? I need you to tell me
the alarm code.”

“It’s Morro Bay,
M-O-R-R-O-B-A-Y.”

“Thank you,” the security
operator replied. The alarm fell silent.

“Hold on a second please,” said
Chella. She listened to Mitch’s first message.

Her heart dropped to her stomach.

“Can you call the police? There’s
an intruder in the house. I have to call my fiancé.”

Chella called Mitch from her cell
phone, leaving the security company on the landline.

“Chella,” Mitch answered, “I need
you to get out of the house. Now.”

“He’s already broken in. The
alarm went off. I haven’t seen him, but it looks like he’s broken in through
the kitchen window,” she said while locking the bedroom door.

“See if you can leave safely
through the patio door. Take your cell phone if you can get out of the house.”

A loud bang went through the
door.

Chella jumped.

Someone fiddled with the bedroom
door handle. She wouldn’t have time to open the patio doors to leave so she
left the landline off the hook, held onto her cell phone, and ran into the
bathroom, locking herself in the closet beyond.

“He’s in the bedroom,” she
whispered to Mitch. “I’m in the walk-in closet.” While getting the Taser out
and switching it on, she heard Aaron enter the bathroom. “Oh my God…Mitch… he’s
in the bathroom,” she murmured in complete fear.

“I’m on my way to you,
Sweetheart. I love you.”

The door between the bathroom and
the walk-in closet was frosted glass. She saw Aaron’s reflection through the
door. He stepped away from the door. For a second, she felt a sense of relief. That
relief ended when she heard three loud gunshots.

Glass shattered, blasting the
skin on her bare legs. She felt a sting on her legs and saw blood oozing from
her right thigh. One of the bullets hit her and knocked her off balance. Her
body collapsed to the floor. She fired the Taser, but it missed him.

He aimed a gun at her head.

“You didn’t think I’d make it so
easy for you did you?” Aaron said as he looked at her with an evil smile. He
kicked her cell phone, smashing it to pieces as it collided with the wall. The
tip of the gun against her temple sent chills down her spine. Nausea kicked in.

“So much for you changing.”

“If I’m going to jail for the
rest of my fucking life, I’m going to get the pleasure of seeing you dead
first.”

“I’d rather die than spend one
more second of my life being afraid of you.”

He laughed loudly. “By the time
I’m done with you, you’ll be wishing you were dead.”

“Go to Hell!” Chella replied.

“The only person I’d enjoy seeing
dead more than you is that little boyfriend of yours. I’d love to see the look
on your face if I killed him in front of you. If he loves you so much, he
wouldn’t mind swopping places with you. He and I have some unfinished business
we need to settle.”

“Leave him out of this.”