Strange Bedfellows
Fifteen
“I have known the young
Prince since his birth,” Aristide Cassadine replied in response to the
judge’s question. “And his
father Stavros before him. It was
I,” he continued, “who served as Trustee of the family coffers during the
all too brief period of Prince Stavros’ rule...”
Helena allowed her attention
to leave the conversation between Aristide and Judge Cho.
The experienced old lawyer was practiced enough that Helena did not feel
compelled to oversee his every response to the magistrate’s questions.
Her thoughts centered on
Stefan and the maneuver he had attempted earlier. Helena grudgingly credited her younger son for the almost
ingenious choice he had made in Dara Jensen.
Her unsuccessful antagonistic battles against various members of the
Cassadine family were public knowledge. If
anyone could be relied upon to maintain procedure and enforce policy where the
Cassadine Trust was concerned, it was the young Assistant District Attorney who
had been repeatedly burned by them. Dara Jensen was in every way but one an
ideal selection.
Under the previous judge
assigned to the case, there existed a very real possibility that he would have
ruled in favor of Stefan’s petition for Dara Jensen as candidate.
The judge’s views had become extremely liberal after many years on the
bench. His liberality was the
precise reason Helena had arranged for his unexpected promotion to a minor
position among the current President’s Cabinet.
Helena had been prepared to
further orchestrate circumstances, but Judge Cho was announced as the
replacement slated to handle the Cassadine family petition.
After a bit of research on the man, the Cassadine matriarch realized that
fate itself had dealt all the cards in her favor.
She was certain Stefan knew it
as well. Yet he’d nonetheless
held fast to his choice of Dara Jensen for family trustee.
And that fact concerned Helena. She
did not believe for a single moment that Stefan was not aware of the wording of
the original document requiring the candidate to be a part of the Cassadine
family. Her younger son was weak and sentimental, but he was not
unintelligent.
Just what, Helena wondered,
was Stefan up to?
