AN: Hey guys! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed on the last chapter; Leapyearbaby29, Jem 4ever, Dobby14, hellohaleb, valescagnoli, Sam (guest), haaaleb, Halebxxx, prettylittleliarshaleb, StelenaClaceLover09, Hannah (guest), hollyhalebnichorelloregelolove, Halebzzzz (guest) and three other guests! I appreciate it so much, you guys are the best :) I know haven't updated in a while and I'm sorry about that, but I've been working on this very big chapter for a long time. I didn't really know how to write the trial since I know close to nothing about how court works in the US, so it took me a long time since I had to use google a lot XD I hope you enjoy this chapter and if anything doesn't make sense, sorry I tried ;)
''All rise'' the judge said as everyone but him stood on their feet. ''Good morning ladies and gentlemen, the supreme court is now in session. Calling the case of the People of the State of Pensilvania versus Archer Dunhill, is the prosecution ready?''
''Yes you Honor'' Spencer confidently replied.
''Is the defence ready?'' Judge O'Connor asked.
''Ready your Honor'' Archer's lawyer said standing up. Hanna couldn't take her eyes off of the man sitting next to him. She was still processing the fact that she was in the same place as Archer, something she never thought she would've done again, ever. The blonde hated the power that he had on her, just his presence was making her want to crawl into a hole and never come back. The only thing that was keeping her sane was the support she was getting from her friends and family.
Hanna surely hadn't expected that this many people would've came here for her. Caleb, her parents, Ted, Isabel, all of her friends and their parents, Malcolm and some of her college friends and teachers that she hadn't seen in years. Even Mrs. Grunwald was there and honestly, Hanna had no idea how she was still alive.
''Will the jury please stand'' the judge told the little group of randomly selected people that would choose the faith of her rapist and kidnapper. ''Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court, and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court?''
''I do'' all of the jurors answered in sync.
''You may be seated'' the judge said before looking at Archer and his lawyer. ''Mr. Clark, on the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, how does the prosecution plead?'' he wondered.
''Not guilty your Honor'' Archer's lawyer, Mr. Clark, replied.
Hanna nervously swallowed and looked at Spencer who gave her a reassuring look.
''On the charge of rape in the first degree, how do you plead?''
''Not guilty your Honor.''
''On the charge of murder in the first degree, how do you plead?''
''Not guilty'' a loud voice echoed in court room which resulted in making Hanna shiver. This time, Archer was the one who answered. Spencer had already mentioned to her that he would probably plead not guilty to most of the things he was charged with and Hanna could live with that, but for the murder of her son, she needed justice.
''On the charge identity theft, how do plead?''
''Guilty your Honor'' Archer's lawyer said after whispering in his client's ear to stay quiet.
''Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury'' Spencer began standing up once again. ''The defendant has been charged with stealing the identity of deceased Elliot Rollins, kidnapping my client, Hanna Marin, six years ago, when she was only nineteen years old, raping her multiple times during her captivation and murdering her son only minutes after he was born. The evidence I will present and the testimonies you will hear are going to prove to you that the defendant is guilty as charged.''
''Thank you Mrs. Hastings Cavanaugh'' the judge said as Archer's lawyer stood up once again.
''Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury'' he started ''legally, my client is innocent until proven guilty. During this trial, you will hear no real evidence against Archer Dunhill. He is one of the best doctors the state has ever known and saved hundreds of lives. Archer is a great man and deserves to be heard. You will come to find the truth on why he stole deceased Elliot Rollins's identity and may I add, he had good reasons. Therefore my client is not guilty of the crimes he is accused of, except, of course, identify theft.''
''Thank you Mr. Clark'' judge O'Connor replied ''the prosecution may now call its first witness''.
''I call on the stand, Malcolm Westley Fitz'' Spencer confidently announced as their oldest nephew stood up before walking to the witness's stand.
''Do you promise that the testimony you will give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?'' the clerk asked. After Malcolm answered, they made him state his full name and then Spencer began to ask questions.
''Malcolm, you're the one who found the the defendant, Archer Dunhill, with Livia Shae Rivers, Hanna Marin's daughter, May 20th is that correct?''
''Yes'' the young teenage boy answered clearly a little nervous about being in-front of so many people.
''And you knew Mr. Dunhill before right?''
''Yes, I thought of him as an uncle'' he answered.
''Can you now please tell the jury what it is that you saw exactly that day?''
''I was walking home from my soccer practice when someone bumped into me, I turned around and saw a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes laying down in the grass, at the time I didn't know it was Livia'' he said. ''She was crying so I thought that maybe she got hurt when she ran into me, but then I saw a guy grabbing her by her shirt….hum, I realized that it was Elliot, I mean Archer, sorry'' he apologized.
''It's fine, you may proceed'' the judge told him.
''Well I asked him what he was doing because I had never seen Livia before and she was crying a lot. Archer didn't answer me so I told him I would call 911 because it really looked like he was hurting Livia''.
''What did he do after you said that?'' Spencer asked him.
''He dropped Livia on the ground and ran into his truck-''
''Can you describe the truck?'' the brunette interrupted him.
''It was a red truck with only two doors…hum'' he hesitated ''it looked a little old, but it was pretty clean''.
''Thank-you'' Spencer said ''you can continue''.
''After, Archer left, I tried to talk to Livia, but she wouldn't say anything she was crying and she looked really scared so I called 911. After about ten minutes, my uncle, well he's not really my uncle, but he's one of my parents best friend, hum, Toby'' Malcolm pointed to Toby who was siting next to Caleb in the front row behind Hanna and Spencer ''arrived with his partner Lorenzo. They told me to go in the car and call my parents, then we drove to the station and I was questioned by another cop''.
''Thank-you Malcolm, nothing further'' Spencer said before going back to her seat next to Hanna and writing a few things down in her notebook. ''It's going really well'' she whispered to the anxious blonde.
''Does the defence have any questions for the witness'' the judge asked Mr. Clark.
''Not at the time your Honor'' he answered.
''Alright, the witness is excused, the prosecution may now call its next witness'' judge O'Connor told Spencer.
''The prosecution calls on the stand Officer Cavanaugh'' Spencer announced.
''Objection your Honor'' Archer's lawyer exclaimed ''the prosecution cannot call on the stand her husband''.
''Mr. Clark is right Mrs. Hastings Cavanaugh'' the judge announced after quickly consulting the clerk.
''I understand your Honor, the prosecution now calls Rosewood's police department's sergeant, Mrs. Linda Tanner, on the stand'' Spencer said. ''Are you okay Han?'' she then asked Hanna as the clerk was talking to Tanner.
''I don't know…'' Hanna anxiously asked looking around at all of the people, one more than the others.
''Hey, he can't hurt you anymore'' Spencer reassured the blonde ''everything is going to be okay'' she added before walking over to the judge.
Hanna couldn't help to look at all of the people sitting behind her. In the first row was Isabel, her dad, Ted, her mom, Caleb who had Livia on his lap, Emily, Alison, Aria, Ezra, Malcolm and Toby. She couldn't help to look worriedly at Livia. Earlier when they walked in and the tiny blonde saw Archer, she had a pretty big meltdown and it took Hanna at least half an hour to calm her down. It looked like she was a little calmer now, although she still seemed very nervous and would sometimes hide her head in Caleb's chest. Thankfully, someone who worked at the courthouse had offered to install some kind of curtain in between the defendant's side and the prosecution's side as soon as it was time for the first break.
''Detective Tanner'' Spencer began breaking Hanna out of her thoughts ''you were the detective in charge of Hanna Marin's case since she was reported missing December 21st 2013, is that correct?''
''Yes it is'' Linda confidently answered.
''Can you please read the jury your official report on the events that leaded to Archer Dunhill's arrest on the 20th of May?'' the brunette asked.
''Yes, of course'' Tanner answered taking out what Hanna assumed to be the report. ''Well at 4:17 pm we received a 9-1-1 call from Malcolm Westley Fitz saying that a guy had abandoned a little girl on the side of the road, just passed Bridgewater Terrace. At the time, we didn't know if it was a child abandon case or a kidnapping one so I decided to send two of my officers, Officer Cavanaugh and Officer Calderon to check it out'' she stopped to take take a sip of her water bottle before continuing. ''When they came back at 4:42 pm, they had the information that Elliot Rollins was the one who abandoned a little girl on the side of the road, however the little girl, who we now know as Livia, told officer Cavanaugh that his name was not Elliot, but Archer. I assigned a few of my officers the job to look through the system for all of the Archer they could find while Officer Cavanaugh took Livia to the infirmary. A few minutes after, he came back out convinced that Livia was Hanna Marin's daughter and that Hanna was held captive in Archer's shed. At the same time, we also had enough information to confirm that Elliot Rollins was, in fact, Archer Dunhill-''
''Can you please tell the jury what you found when you and your fellow officers arrived at Archer's house?'' Spencer cut her off.
''Hum well…'' Tanner began ''we found his wife, Alison Dilaurentis, tied up in a chair in the living room and we found Archer and Hanna in the shed. Archer was trying to leave and Hanna was on the floor, she had bruises all over her face and a knife in her stomach''.
''Thank-you detective Tanner'' Spencer said ''I would like now to introduce our first piece of evidence, exhibit A'' she added taking a plastic bag out of the box. Hanna already knew what was inside the plastic bag, it was the knife Archer stabbed her with. Although she didn't really remember much about what happened that night, she still had goosebumps just thinking about it. ''This is the knife we found implanted in Hanna's stomach, the only fingerprints on it were Archer Dunhill's. Nothing further'' she concluded.
''Thank-you Mrs. Hastings Cavanaugh, Mrs. Tanner. Does the defence have any questions for the witness?'' the judge asked.
''Yes your Honor'' Archer's lawyer replied. Hanna couldn't help to swallow nervously. Up until now, they had staid mostly quiet. She didn't really know if he was a good lawyer or not, or even what Archer had told him, but she knew how smart her rapist was and she had no doubts that if he really wanted to convince the jury that he was innocent, he could.
''Detective Tanner, correct me if I'm wrong, but this isn't the first case you've had involving Hanna Marin is it?'' he asked.
''No, it isn't'' Tanner answered as Hanna looked nervously at Spencer.
''Oh, would you mind sharing with us, what it is exactly that you investigated in in the past concerning Hanna Marin'' Mr. Clark questioned.
''Objection your Honor'' Spencer exclaimed standing up ''this isn't relevant.''
''Mrs. Hastings is right Mr. Clark, get to the point or change the subject'' the judge decided.
''Linda, can I call you Linda?'' he asked cockily ''correct me if I'm wrong but you already arrested Hanna Marin for being in possession of an unlicensed gun, you've arrested both her and her mother for murder, you've arrested her for-''
Before he could finish Spencer stood up once again ''objection!'' she yelled. ''My client was declared not guilty for all of those things, she doesn't have a criminal record and the person she was accused of murdering is sitting in the second row right there'' Spencer exclaimed pointing towards Mona.
''Oh sorry Spence, I forgot to include you in my little revelation right there. You were arrested for murder as well, weren't you… First for Alison, then Ian, Bethany and finally Mona'' Archer's lawyer rudely answered.
''Enough!'' the judge exclaimed ''Mr. Clark, you are being out of line here, calm down and ask the witness questions that are relevant to this case.''
''Fine'' he sighed ''Mrs. Tanner, is it true that your first information in this investigation comes from a four year old?''
''Well, we have a lot more than one clue…'' Tanner began, but was quickly cut of by Archer's lawyer.
''Please, answer this question by either a yes or a no'' he insisted.
''Yes'' she answered after thinking about it for a second.
''How do you know that she's telling the truth?'' Mr. Clark questioned.
''Excuse me, but what are you trying to prove here?'' Linda confusedly accused him. Honestly, Hanna was asking herself the same thing. From what it looked like, Archer's lawyer was literally accusing her four year old daughter of being a liar and she was not okay with that.
''I'm trying to prove that my client is clearly getting set up here'' Mr. Clark exclaimed. ''I mean, doesn't it seems like a weird coincidence to you that the only person who saw my client trying to kidnap a child happens to consider Mrs. Cavanaugh Hastings as his aunt, that the officer who found Hanna is married to her lawyer, that Archer's wife, Hanna, Mrs. Cavanaugh Hastings and four other people who are going to be called on this stand are best-friends and that they've all been in trouble with the law for setting up things just like this multiple times?!'' he raised his voice. The tone he had was making it hard for Hanna to stay in the present. She kept having flashbacks of all of the times Archer yelled at her and she's pretty sure Spencer was seeing it as well.
''I can ask for a break if you want Han'' her friend told her, but she couldn't find the strength to answer. Before she knew it, it was getting harder to breath and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She could vaguely hear Spencer talking to her, but she was stuck somewhere else. All she could see were the four walls she was locked in for almost six years and the man who made sure she didn't leave. Hanna tried to tell herself that she was okay and that Archer couldn't hurt her anymore, but whenever she really opened her eyes, there he was sitting a few meters away from her.
''You're never going to get away with this!'' nineteen year old Hanna Marin yelled at her captivator.
''Shut up'' he screamed back.
''I'm telling you, my friends are going to find me, you can't keep me here forever'' she replied confidently. It was a pretty weird thing to say, but she was getting really used to being in these kind of situations… After -A, the other -A, the last -A and A.D. she knew how to handle this.
''But you don't even know where you are'' he laughed as angry tears rolled down his cheeks. He surely didn't look anything like the man she found looking for his puppy in the park earlier.
''You don't even know me'' she talked back.
''Is that really what you think Hanna'' he challenged her as she looked at him confusedly. How did he even know her name. ''God, you even more self-centred than I thought, you really have no idea who I am, don't you…''
''Well'' she shrugged ''why don't you tell me''.
''No'' he answered looking right in her eyes.
''O-okay, that's f-fine'' Hanna replied with a shaky voice. She was starting to get a little anxious.
''However, I'm going to tell you what I do know about you'' he said with a creepy British accent. ''You're full name is Hanna Lee Marin, daughter of Tom and Ashley Marin, of course your parents are no longer together anymore. You're relationship with your precious daddy is a little rocky at the moment, but you're planning to give him a call soon aren't you?'' he smirked. ''You want to ask him out on a little dinner so you and your lover boy can tell him some pretty important news-''
''Lover boy?'' she interrupted him confusedly.
''Caleb Rivers, congratulations on your engagement by the way, sorry you're going to miss the wedding''.
''How do you know all of this stuff?'' Hanna asked nervously.
''I've been observing you for months dear'' he smiled rubbing his left hand on her cheek.
''What do you want?'' she snapped turning her head away from the unwanted touch.
''I just want to know you Love'' he answered through his teeth pushing her on the little bed with an old metal frame. ''You'll see, we have a lot in common you and I.''
''I don't think so'' Hanna nervously shook her head.
''Why is that?'' he smirked getting on top of her.
''Let me go!'' the blonde yelled her eyes suddenly filling up with tears.
''Oh, don't cry Love'' he replied wiping her cheek more roughly than he should have. She's pretty sure he cut her soft skin with is big nails. ''Let's start over'' he suggested ''it's a pleasure to meet you Hanna, I'm Archer''.
''Han?'' Caleb's voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she blinked her eyes rapidly a few times. ''Hanna, are you okay princess?'' he asked pushing a piece of hair behind her ear.
''W-what happened?'' she confusedly replied looking around. The curtain that the woman who worked at the court house had talked to her about earlier had been placed, so she could no longer see Archer, even though she knew he was still there, Spencer and Mr. Clark were talking to the judge and the clerk, some of her friends parents, Isabel and Ezra now had coffees in their hands… How long have I been out of it she couldn't help to think.
''I-I don't know, you just stopped responding, I wasn't sure if it was a flashback or the same thing that happened the other day…'' he shrugged.
''I'm okay'' she cut him off looking down.
''Han, you know you can tell me anything'' Caleb softly whispered clearly not believing that she was okay.
''I know'' Hanna smiled at him ''I just…I don't want to talk about it right now'' she trailed off looking around.
''That's fine'' he said rubbing her knee ''what are you looking for?''
''Livia, I can't see her'' the blonde panicked.
''Oh, you're mom just took her to the bathroom and to go grab a little snack with Mrs. Fields, Mrs. Montgomery and Mrs. Hastings. They should be back any seconds'' just as Caleb finished saying that, Hanna's mother walked back in with Livia and her best-friends mothers.
''How much time do we have until it starts again?'' the blonde wondered slowly getting up to go see her daughter.
''About five minutes'' Caleb answered following her.
''Hey, Hanna'' Mrs. Montgomery smiled as she approached.
''You're doing so good sweetheart'' Mrs. Fields added while her mother handed her Livia.
''Thanks'' she shyly answered looking down at her daughter, happy to see her eat some cheerios as a snack. The little girl still hadn't put on much weight since they had been out of Room and it was starting to worry her. Everyone kept telling her that it would just take some time for the tiny blonde to adjust to her new routine and to all of the new food she could now eat, but it was still hard for Hanna. She knew a little more on why it was so difficult for Livia than everyone else… She couldn't breastfeed her anymore. In Room, she didn't have the choice, but now with all of the medicines she was taking, the surgeries she went through and the stress, she couldn't really do it anymore and it was pretty hard on her daughter.
''She looks just like you did when you were her age Hanna'' Spencer's mother said ''Blake won't stop talking about her.''
''Yeah, we hear a lot of stuff about Blake at home too'' Hanna smiled happy that her friend's mother had changed the conversation. Ever since she had staid over at Spencer's house for about two months when her mom was in jail, she had grown closer to Veronica. They were a lot of days when she just didn't feel to go to school with Spencer and had ended up bonding with the woman for hours instead.
''Mama'' Livia whispered pointing to her tiny wrist.
''Oh that's right'' Hanna immediately understood what her daughter was trying to tell her ''Blake made this bracelet for you'' she smiled as Livia nodded.
''That's the cutest thing'' Mrs. Montgomery gasped at the little friendship bracelet with the letters B-L-A-K-E written on navy blue and green pearls and the letters L-I-V-I-A written on light blue and pink pearls.
''He's such a little charmer'' Ashley giggled.
''That, he is'' Veronica agreed.
''Han, I think it's about to start again'' Caleb told the blonde who looked back to the front of the court room and took a deep breath when she saw that everyone was getting back to their places.
''It's going to be over soon Livi, then we're going to go home alright'' she whispered to her daughter before handing her to Caleb and going back to sit next to Spencer. All of her friends gave her some thumbs up and reassuring smiles, but it didn't help the anxiety that was once again growing inside of her as she watched Archer step forward on the witness's stand.
''Tell me if you need a break okay?'' Spencer told her while she slowly nodded.
''Ladies and gentleman of the jury, your Honor'' Mr. Clark began ''I would like to introduce you to the real Archer Dunhill, one of the finest doctors this town has ever known, a man who saved hundreds of live, who gives his time to take care of sick people everyday, a man who certainly doesn't belong in jail'' he said making Hanna want to throw up. She surely hoped no one in the jury fell for his act.
''Mama'' the blonde immediately recognized her daughter's little voice calling out for her. She looked behind and saw the tiny girl reaching her little arms out for her with big fearful tears rolling down her pink cheeks. ''Mama!'' Livia cried a little louder interrupting whatever it was that Archer's lawyer was saying and making basically everyone in the court room stare at her.
''Can she come here Spence?'' Hanna asked her friend knowing just how scared Livia was of the man looking at them.
''I'm not sure'' the brunette answered, but before she even had the chance to ask, the judge said that it was fine and Caleb, who had been holding the little girl, brought her to Hanna.
''It's okay baby, mama's here'' Hanna whispered as Archer's lawyer proceeded and people slowly started to look back at what was happening rather than the very upset toddler.
''Bad man'' the little blonde cried in the fashionista's neck while she rubbed some soothing circles on her dress.
''I know princess, it's okay'' Hanna repeated in order to calm down her daughter so she could hear the lie Archer was about to invent.
''Mr. Dunhill, did you or did you not see and had a conversation with Hanna Marin at the Rosewood park the day she was reported missing?'' Mr. Clark asked.
''I did'' Archer answered surprising Hanna. Is he going to confess now? She wondered.
''Can you now please tell the jury what this conversation was about?'' he questioned him, sending a little smirk in Spencer's direction.
''When I saw Hanna that day'' Archer began his voice sending chills down the blonde's spine She looked very out of it. She was crying, had trouble breathing and told me that she knew I worked in a psychiatric hospital…She wanted me to admit her there'' he lied. Hanna couldn't believe it. ''I tried to talk to her and calm her down, but she was having some kind of emotional break down so I just told her to come in my car and we drove to Welby State, the hospital where I work'' Archer explained.
''What happened when you got there?'' Mr. Clark asked.
''I tried to talk to her again, I even offered her to call someone, but she refused a-and then she told me that she had an history with a lot of things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, eating disorders and different types of anxiety disorders'' Archer answered.
''Huh, is that so'' his lawyer questioned before taking out a file of his briefcase ''I'd like introduce exhibit B, one of Miss Marin's medical document where it clearly states that at the time of her disappearance she was indeed on medication for PTSD and anxiety, that she suffered from bulimia in high school and there was even one recommendation from her doctor that she should be placed under psychiatric care'' he revealed before handing the document to a member of the jury.
Hanna looked at Spencer worriedly still rubbing some soothing circles on Livia's back. She knew her friend was aware of her medical history, after what they went through with Alison, -A and the dollhouse, they, plus Aria and Emily, had very similar stuff written in their files.
''It's fine, that only evidence isn't solid enough to prove his innocence'' Spencer reassured her.
''After that discovery what did you do?'' Mr. Clark asked Archer.
''Well, I admitted her'' he answered. ''Hanna didn't want me to call anyone, she wanted to keep it private and she was an adult so I didn't have the choice to listen to her even though I would've liked to at least tell her parents or her fiancé… When I heard on the news that she was missing, I seriously thought about going to the police, but we have a specific rule where I work that stops me from revealing any information about a patient to anyone, even the cops if they don't have a warrant'' Archer finished as Hanna swallowed anxiously.
Are they really going to fall for this? She worried cautiously scanning each of the jurors faces.
AN: So... Did you like it? Loved it? Hated it? Any ideas on what the jury's decision should be in the end? Any ideas for the next chapter or the story in general? Leave it all in your review XD I'd also like to mention that the trial thing will have 2, possibly 3 parts since there's so much stuff to talk about. Anyways, I hope you liked it and please review ! :)
