Eventually, I resigned myself to the fact that I was carrying Quigley's child. In time, I began to feel something for this child, I began to love it. The first time I felt it kick, I knew life would be alright. I knew that I could raise this baby.

I started taking pleasure in getting ready for the baby's arrival. I no longer cried when I thought about it or had to but something for it. I had, in fact, been very nervous until the doctor told me I wasn't in danger of miscarriage any longer: it would have been a shame to waste all that money on something that would never happen. I hated having those types of thoughts now.

I sat back in the rocking chair and thought about what to do next. I'd picked out a crib for the baby, I'd bought clothes, and Klaus and Isadora had painted the nursery. He had…everything. No, that didn't sound right. There had to be something….

Car seat! We still needed a car seat! Probably two, if Klaus and Isadora wanted one for their car.

There was still something else, though.

The phone rang, interrupting my train of thought. I answered, "Yes?"

"Violet? This is Det. Benson. I was calling to tell you that the District Attorney will be setting a date for Quigley's trial soon."

"Thanks for calling. I guess they'll be wanting me to testify against him?"

"Yes." After a moment she added, "Well, I'll let you go."

"Good-bye. And thanks again for calling."

Now, what was it I was still missing?

Today was the day. I was being called as a witness in Quigley's trial. The prosecuting attorney had more than enough evidence to convict him. They had several of his hairs on certain articles of my clothing he wasn't supposed to have access to, his semen inside of my body, his skin underneath my fingernails, and a very distinct bloodstain on the floor of my bedroom. They also had witnesses who saw him leaving my apartment at the right time, and neighbors who'd heard my screams. (Although why these same neighbors didn't call the police, I don't know.) They also had my baby's paternity test if they needed it.

Oh, yes, they had plenty of evidence, but they needed my testimony against him as sort of the sad icing on a very sickening cake. I heard a knock on the from door to my apartment. It was Klaus. He was driving me to the courthouse. I was too nervous to drive myself. I was practically crying already. I didn't want to do this, but I knew I had to. It had never really been my habit to shirk a duty. Besides, I wanted Quigley behind bars where he couldn't hurt some other poor girl.

I opened the door. "You ready to go?" Klaus asked.

"No."

"I thought I was early. How long do you need?"

"Eternity."

Klaus sighed. "Come one, Violet. You know you have to do this."

"I know. Let me get my purse."

Everything was a blur until I got up on the witness stand. I swore to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. I got through ADA Haldon's interrogation fine, but the Defense tore me apart.

"Miss Baudelaire, is it not correct that you consensually let the Defendant into your apartment?"

"Yes."

"And is it also not correct that you let him enter your bedroom consensually?"

"It wasn't—"

"A simple 'yes' or 'no' will suffice."

"Yes."

"And is it not true that you let him lay down on your bed with you."

"But—"

"'Yes' or 'no,' Miss Baudelaire."

"Yes."

"Is it not true that you allowed him to kiss you while the two of you were laying down—alone—on top of your bed?"

He was making me angry now. But it technically was the truth. "Yes."

"And didn't the two of you begin to sexually touch one another?"

"No! We have never touched each other like that!" I quickly looked over at Quigley. He was looking down at his jeans. I had a sneaking suspicion he was becoming aroused at hearing me describe what had happened. He looked up again and I saw him grinning. Oh, yeah, he was enjoying it. He was such a pervert.

"Well, you might as well have been! You gave my client all the signs of wanting to further your relationship with sexual intercourse, didn't you? You took him into your bedroom—"

"He—"

"—you laid down on your bed with him—"

"But I—"

"—and you kissed him while he held your body so close to his own! Can you blame him for wanting to make love to the woman he loves?"

"I said no! He didn't listen! I told him no, and if he really loved me, he would have waited six months and married me! He could have raped me any time he wanted then!"

Realizing I had done exactly what he wanted me to, I allowed a few tears to escape. I heard him say, "Thank you, Miss Baudelaire. No more questions."

Mr. Haldon stood up. "Redirect, Your Honor?"

The judge nodded.

"Miss Baudelaire, will you please remind the court how you got from the living room to the bedroom of your small apartment?"

"Quigley and I started walking back towards my room, but I stopped him and told him I was uncomfortable with going any further. I started crying for some reason and he held me and tried to calm me down. Then he picked me up and walked into my bedroom. He sat down at the computer desk, and when I wouldn't stop crying he laid me down on my bed."

"Thank you, Miss Baudelaire."

The jury was out ten minutes. They returned with a guilty verdict.

Quigley was later sentenced to fifteen years in prison.