8 elements: have to say, this may be my longest chapter by far
Yugi: did it take long to write?
8 elements: not really
Atem: my testimony is in this one isn't it
8 elements: yeah, sorry if it's late
Atem: better late than never
8 elements: to true, enjoy the chapter everyone
Chapter 13: Billionaire testimony and Demented lies
The hour break was finally up and it was now time for everyone to return to the courtroom, and that meant Atem would now have to give his testimony.
Judge Brown had returned to her seat at the stand and was taking a quick look at some of the notes that she made before looking over to Warren, who was ready to continue.
"Mr Warren, will you please call your next witness to the stand," Brown said and Warren stood from his seat.
"The prosecution calls Atem Sennen to the stand," he said, not much of a surprise, although Atem could see that Tea was surprised to see him take the stand, oh well. Atem was helped into his wheelchair before he went around and went up a small ramp that was put there for him to reach the stand. After taking the oath, he settled down in his seat as his wheelchair was taken to the side, now Warren was ready to get to the questioning.
"Mr Sennen, how long have you known the defendant Miss Gardner," he asked.
"I have known her since my first year of high school," Atem replied before the questions continued.
"Have you ever dated her throughout the years that you have known her?"
"No I haven't."
"Why not?"
"At that time in my life I was having difficulty with my disability and most people in those days only went out with me because of who my family was."
"When you say that Mr Sennen, what do you mean by people wanted to go out with you because of who your family was?" Now Atem had to show to the world what his childhood was like, taking a quick look to where his mother was, she gave a small nod and a smile, so he continued.
"Throughout my years in high school, I had dated several times, and there was only one that was actually in a relationship with because the person loved me, the others were just in it for either money, looks, sometimes fame and, pardon this, sex." He explained and some people in the crowd were shocked to hear that.
"I see, and was Miss Gardner one of the people who were after those things that you just mentioned?" Warren asked, although he had a feeling that he knew the answer to that.
"She was one of them, she would always try to date the rich people in our year group. To my understanding, she slept with quite a lot of them, and I was probably the first person to turn her down. After that, she practically became obsessed with trying to get me to go out with her."
"Not the best of high school years is it then?"
"No, is wasn't."
"Mr Sennen, before the day of the attack, did you see Miss Gardner at all before hand?"
"I saw her almost a week before hand. I went out with my boyfriend the night before and she happened to see me kissing him that night. The next morning, I received a letter from her in my mail. She had written that she saw us that night and that why would I go out with and these are her words from the letter, 'why would you go out with a faggot like him?' She didn't seem to like the fact that I was dating someone and a male at that as well."
"On the day in question Mr Sennen, how did your day go about before Miss Gardner arrived?"
"I arrived at work at about 6:00 am after being on a two-week recovery period."
"Why did you need to have those two weeks off?"
"I suffer from a very rare disease called Tornado Syndrome, it is a disease that affects the bones in my legs, hips and lower back, which in turn causes me great pain. I had recently started a treatment plan that has potential to help me walk, and the first step of the treatment involved applying the braces that I am wearing at the moment. After they were put on, I would need to take a few weeks off from work to prevent any stress on my body and to make sure that I was as comfortable as possible."
"And after that recovery period, you returned to work, correct?"
"That is correct."
"Mr Sennen, when did you first become aware that Miss Gardner was in your building?"
"I would say about between 7:00 to 7:30 am, I heard what sounded like a confrontation outside my office. I didn't realise who it was until I heard some yelling. My secretary Debra Wilhelm was the first voice I heard, followed shortly after by Miss Gardner's voice. I was not pleased that she was in my building because I had already missed out a lot of work, and when she was around, I'm unable to get much done until she leaves."
"Why wouldn't you be able to get much done with her around Mr Sennen?"
"As I said before, she has been after me for years now, and when she would show up at my office, she would try to get me to go out with her or just try to seduce me, it is something that I detest about her."
"Okay, what happened when you realised that Miss Gardner was outside your office?"
"When I realised she was outside, I went to the door and saw Miss Wilhelm trying to stop her from entering, I told Miss Wilhelm to call some security before I allowed Miss Gardner in my office. After she entered, I told MIss Wilhelm to call the police as well because I had a bad feeling that she wouldn't be leaving easily. When I went back inside, she was sitting on my couches, she was trying to seduce from the beginning. I asked her why she was here and she said that she had come to see her boyfriend. Now I took offence to that comment because we have never been in a relationship. I told her that I was in a relationship with someone else and she made a derogatory term on how my current boyfriend looked like a poor person, saying that I should be going out with someone who is in my league as she put it."
"When she said that, was she referring to herself?"
"Yes she was, I yelled at her that Yugi was more than enough for me and she got upset with what I said. She walked up to me in an attempt to intimidate me and lent on my legs with most of her body weight. That caused me a lot of pain and I pushed her away from me because of the pain she was causing me. As I was checking my legs, she yelled at me 'How could you,' referring to why I had pushed her away from her. I started yelling at her who did she think she was and she came up with one remark that I didn't like."
"And what remark was that Mr Sennen?"
"She said that she was the daughter of Robert Gardner, who was a business partner and a friend of my as well as my late father's friends, but she said 'your business partner and friend, as well as your dear old father who is now 6ft under.' I admit that I slapped her after she made that comment about my father because he is no longer with me and is unable to defend himself. I pretty much yelled at her that I hated it when people would insult those who are no longer with us and I turned around and went back to my desk, hoping that she would get the message that I wanted her to get out, she didn't."
"And after you went back to your desk, what did Miss Gardner do?"
"I don't know where she got where she got my letter opener from, but she hid it behind her back before she called my name which grabbed my attention. I asked her why she didn't she get it when I didn't want to talk to her and to get out of my office. She then sat on my desk in front of me on the work I was doing, saying that she had something to tell me and I asked her what. Her face suddenly turned into a scowl and she yelled 'If I can't have you, then no one can.' She brought the letter opener from around her back and stabbed it into the back of my left shoulder, I screamed in pain and tried to reach back to remove it, but it was out of my reach. She saw that I was struggling and removed the strap around my waist on my wheelchair, she tipped it over and I fell to the floor, it caused me more pain but I was too concerned with trying to get away from her, I didn't get very far. She brought down the letter opener again, but it stabbed my hand that time. I screamed for a second time and as she tried to bring down the letter opener for a third time, my office down was thrown open as two officers rushed in to remove Miss Gardner from me. Miss Wilhelm came to my side and I managed to tell her to try to stop the bleeding, it wasn't much longer later that the paramedics arrived, I passed out as they began to tend to my injuries."
"Do you remember anything else that day Mr Sennen?"
"The only other thing that I really remember is when I woke up for a brief time before my surgery. I looked up from where I was and saw Yugi getting me ready for the operations."
"Thank you Mr Sennen, I have no more questions your honour," Warren said as he took his seat at the prosecution table, while Danielson rose from the defence table. Now came the time that Atem had been dreading for the entire trial, Tea's lawyer trying to get him to slip up on the stand.
"Mr Sennen, you admit to striking my client, do you not?" Danielson asked right off the bat.
"Yes, I admit I did slap her once in our confrontation," he replied and ready for the worse.
"Earlier on in the trial, Deputy Morgan said that you would have a tape that would show everything that happened that day."
"Yes he did say that."
"Do you actually have that tape with you today Mr Sennen?"
"Yes I do."
"Where is it?"
"It is in the suitcase attached to the back of my wheelchair."
"Can I have that tape Mr Sennen?" Judge Brown added in from her seat and Atem nodded. Brown called over a security officer from the doors for him to retrieve the tape. True to his words, the tape was inside his briefcase. The officer gave it to Judge Brown before she nodded her head to Danielson for him to continue.
"Mr Sennen, after to talking to several people, I have learnt that you can have a bit of a temper, is that correct?"
"It is correct, although it takes me a lot to lose my temper."
"It didn't seem to take a lot to make you lose your temper on the day of your attack," Danielson said, which in turn got Atem to glare at him. The glare frightened Danielson enough to take a few steps backwards before Atem gave a statement of his own.
"Let me ask you something Danielson, what would you be like if someone made a remark on how your father is no longer living with you in this world?" He asked, and Matthew Danielson had no reply for that question at the time, but he eventually came up with one.
"I admit I would be offended by the remark, but this isn't about me now Mr Sennen, it is about you and my client in your officer when you assaulted her." He said which caused some negative feedback.
"Objection, he's putting words in the victim's mouth," Warren said as he stood from his seat.
"Sustained, Danielson, please refrain from doing that from now on," Brown told him and he apologized before turning back to Atem.
"Mr Sennen, can you reach the area on your shoulder with your own hands?"
"I can reach them with some difficulty," he replied, having the idea in his head that Danielson would try to make it look like he stabbed himself.
"Would it be safe to say that you could have stabbed yourself, and then try to frame my client to get her out of your life?" Danielson asked with a small smirk on his face.
"That would be impossible for me to do Mr Danielson."
"Why is that Mr Sennen, it is not that uncommon among the world."
"I agree that it isn't uncommon, but I disagree with your assumption that I could inflict the wound on my shoulder, it would be impossible for me to cause that kind of damage by myself, even if I wasn't in a wheelchair." Danielson still didn't seem convinced, so he tried again to make it look like Atem stabbed himself.
"Mr Sennen, would you be able to show the court the location of the injury on your shoulder?" He asked and Atem seemed surprised by the question, he looked at the Judge to see if it would be alright, and Brown nodded to him to go ahead. So Atem turned in his seat, took of his jacket and tie and placed them by his side. He then started to unbutton his shirt, when nearly all the buttons were undone, he lowered his shirt at the back to show the wound that he had. The wound itself had started to heal, but it still looked like it was going to need more time to heal. The skin around it looked a little crusted, but the stitching in it was holding it together. When Atem put his shirt, tie and jacket back on, everyone in the courtroom had to resist the urge to vomit, well, everyone except Tea that is.
"I have no more questions for the witness your honour," Danielson said as he returned to the defence table, with a defeated look on his face. Atem was helped back into his wheelchair before he made his way back to the witness-box.
The prosecution continued for a little while longer with more evidence that involved forensics, which included the letter opener used. It had Tea's fingerprints on the handle and Atem's blood on the blade, which was a damning piece of evidence.
"Does the prosecution have any more witnesses to call to the stand?" Brown asked from her seat, Warren remained seated at his table.
"No your honour, the prosecution now rests," he informed Brown, who nodded before she made a few notes. When she was ready she looked over to Danielson.
"You may call your first witness to the stand Mr Danielson." He rose to his seat and thanked Brown before he began.
"The defence calls Tea Gardner to the stand," he declared and not many people were surprised to see the young woman walk up to the stand. Her handcuffs had been removed after she had taken the oath, now she sat down, ready to try to save her skin.
"Miss Gardner, on the day in question, you told me that you went to see Mr Sennen to try to settle some business, is that correct?" Her lawyer asked her and she nodded her head.
"That is correct," she replied, almost sounding truthful, keyword being 'almost'.
"What business were you going there to settle?"
"We had a confrontation the week before at his home, and I wanted to apologize about my actions," she explained, managing to keep a straight face.
"What happened when you arrived in the building Miss Gardner?"
"I went up to his office floor and was going to go right into his office, I now realise that I shouldn't have done that, but I went to go right in, but his secretary stopped me. We got into a little argument before Atem came to his office door to see us."
"Your honour, I ask that the defendant does not refer to the victim in a familiar way," Warren said as he stood briefly.
"Agreed, Miss Gardner, refrain from speaking of Mr Sennen from now on," Judge Brown said to Tea , who only nodded her head, but inside she was fuming.
"What happened after he came to his office door Miss Gardner?" Danielson asked, and Tea gave her response.
"He told me to come inside, when I was inside, we had a small conversation, but he became angry out of no where. He lashed out at me, striking me in the face. After he had struck me, he went behind his desk to find something to use against me, he didn't find anything, so he came back to me. Out of fear, I grabbed the letter opener that was nearby and stabbed his twice, I was afraid for my life, I didn't know what else to do other than defend myself by any means possible." Tea explained with a surprising amount of emotion in her voice. Over in the witness box, Atem was trying his best to hold in his temper, the only people who dared to touch him at the moment was Debra and Yugi.
"So in a state of fear and panic, you stabbed Mr Sennen as you feared for your life, is that correct?" Danielson asked, glad to see that he may have a chance of winning the case.
"Yes, that is correct," Tea replied and Danielson gave a nod of understanding.
"Thank you Miss Gardner, I have no more questions your honour," he said and took his seat back at the defence table. Now it was time for Warren to begin his questioning.
"Miss Gardner, you claim that Mr Sennen had struck you out of no where, and you do not know the reason to why?" He asked, not really believing her story.
"Yes, that is correct," she replied, feeling slightly worried about be caught in a lie.
"Pardon me if I sound a bit blunt Miss Gardner," Warren said with his hands in his pockets. "With the damage done to Mr Sennen and the amount of force that would be needed to inflict that damage, your story of self-defence doesn't seem to add up," he explained as now he could see the fear in Tea's eyes.
"I mean, if you look at other self-defence cases, not a lot of force is used if a weapon similar to this case was used. We have heard the damage report from Dr Muto, we have seen the result on Mr Sennen, and from the looks of it, you used all of your strength to inflict these injuries," Warren continued, he took his hands out of his pockets and went over to his table to pick up a few things.
"I was scared, I didn't want to die that day, I lashed out in fear," Tea said and Warren now turned to face her with a few things in his hand.
"Don't you think Mr Sennen was afraid that day? Don't you think that he was afraid to die in his own office?" Tea froze at those questions, so Warren held up the papers he had.
"You see Miss Gardner, a team of experts replicated the attack on some animal flesh that had all the same bones and muscles of a human, and they tried to replicate the results to find a comparison." He held up the first piece of paper that had two pictures.
"On the left, we see that test one was done by using the average strength that someone defending themselves would do to someone, and on the right, test two was done with greater force which would replicate the attack in Mr Sennen's office." Indeed, on the piece of paper was two pictures that had pieces of animal flesh that helped with the investigation. Warren handed the picture over to Judge Brown as he held up the second piece of paper, this time showing the damage that was done.
"On here, we have the results of the two tests, as you can see, the one on the right that represents the attack had the same amount of damage that Mr Sennen had suffered, while the one on the left had not nearly half the damage," he explained as he handed over the paper to Judge Brown.
He continued to question Tea for a further 12 minutes before he finished, satisfied with the results. After Tea left the stand, she returned to the defence table and her handcuffs were put back on her. After her testimony, both Charles Warren and Matthew Danielson gave their closing statements, both claiming opposite things. Warren claiming that Tea knew exactly what she was doing and Danielson claiming that it was self-defence, but it was now down to the jury.
"After reviewing the evidence throughout the trial, the jury may now go and decide the fate of the defendant, court is adjourned for now," Judge Brown said, slammer down on her gavel as all the members of the jury left to deliberate their decision, while everyone else left the courtroom, all waiting for what the jury would decide if Tea was Guilty or innocent.
8 elements: well, hope you enjoyed it
Atem: is Tea going to jail?
8 elements: sorry, can't give any spoilers
Yugi: please give a review