White Collared Part Four: Passion by Shelly Bell Page A

families that they had lied. As you will read in the transcripts, allegedly after the reverend raped his victim, he would chain her to the floor and perform an unsanctioned exorcism.”
    The audience grew completely still, no one twitching a muscle, likely in shock from the information. Tears welled in her eyes. Even though she’d been immersed in the case for months, the pain of their stories wrapped around her heart and squeezed with an unforgiving fist as if she was hearing their tale for the first time.
    She’d never know who was responsible for her own sexual assault, but helping these women find justice brought a glimmer of hope that someday she’d bring justice to her rapist as well. And if not, helping these women was enough.
    It would have to be.
    “While the statute of limitations protects Reverend Pierce and the church from civil liability, the church has offered ten million dollars in reparations to the women we’ve found. An additional five million will be set aside for those unknown victims, and any money remaining after five years will be donated to a local women’s crisis center.”
    The low murmuring of the reporters reached her ears. She was surprised that they’d managed to stay quiet this long. In the front row, waiting to shout out her question, Rachel squirmed with discomfort. Her friend’s inquisitive mind ran a mile a second, and no doubt she had dozens of questions.
    Looking like he was melting in his suit, Logan stood off to the side of the tent, staying out of the limelight. Reaver had given her and Logan full reign on this case since the firm wasn’t going to accept a dime for their work. It was an attempt to repair its image after having employed two attorneys responsible for murder.
    Kate held back a smile. “At ten this morning, Brighton police arrested Reverend Pierce on multiple charges of criminal sexual conduct. On behalf of Reaver, Markson, and Long, we hope the victims and their families receive the peace they deserve. Thank you.”
    Lisa sidled up beside her and leaned into the microphone. “We’ll now take a few questions.”
    Hands shot up in the air and reporters shouted their questions all at once, creating a chaotic blend in which not one was decipherable. Thank goodness for Lisa. She’d familiarized herself with almost every reporter in the crowd.
    Lisa pointed to the front row. “First question goes to Rachel Dawson of Channel Three News.”
    Rachel stood and tossed her long black hair over her shoulder. “How did you come to initially learn about the alleged assaults?” She retook her seat and gave Kate a little wink.
    Unprepared for the thickness of emotion clogging her throat, Kate coughed and swallowed back the grief brought on by the question. It didn’t even matter that she’d known it was coming.
    “Alyssa Deveroux was one of Reverend Pierce’s victims. The abuse and her parents’ refusal to believe her led to a lifetime of psychological pain. Nicholas Trenton may have taken her life, but he’d also kept her alive since they became friends at Camp Angelus Tredecim at age thirteen. The world may see him as a monster, but I knew him as someone who cared deeply about the people he loved. He fought tirelessly for those who couldn’t fight for themselves, and Alyssa was his first. Before his death, he’d started a complaint against Reverend Pierce, the camp, and the church and asked me to continue on his behalf, to give closure to the victims. It was his way of continuing his fight for Alyssa and honoring her memory.”
    It had taken her several months of counseling to overcome her anger at Nick and choose forgiveness. Until then she had drifted in a sea of uncertainty as to whether she wanted to practice law at all after graduation. Once she had started to heal, she allowed herself to remember his final request. At first she didn’t understand why he’d risked everything by drawing up the complaint, but slowly she came to realize that unlike Miles