A/N I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING! I ONLY OWN THIS PLOT! THANKS TO MY AMAZING AND WONDERFUL BETA ELENA RAIN! Ok, so...this was going to be the last chapter then my never stopping mind came up with the idea for Gabriella's big secret and I decided to break it up into two chapters so this is the first one. Hope you enjoy :)
The day of the trial arrived quickly. Gabriella had been quiet the entire day and not leaving Troy's side, he was starting to worry about her.
As they entered the court house Gabriella clung tighter to Troy and started to shake.
"Brie, Sweetie, are you ok?"
"It's so small in here." She said with a shaky voice.
"Would you rather wait outside?" Troy asked knowing her claustrophobia was kicking in.
Gabriella nodded and buried her face into his side feeling sick to her stomach. She groaned. "Troy, please."
"Gabriella, you need to stay here." Mr. Danforth said "You need to come inside and sit down and prepare for the trial."
Gabriella whimpered and flinched back into Troy. Troy hugged her tighter.
"She has claustrophobia, Mr. Danforth you know that. She's uncomfortable enough as it is, knowing she has to testify against her father but being a small room knowing she won't be able to leave is only making it worse."
"I'm sorry, I know it's not what you want. But you two both need to be inside waiting for the Judge to come in."
"Well just come get once he's ready to start the trial." Troy said.
"Troy, you need to be there before he comes, if you're not there when the Judge comes in he assumes you don't care and both Carlos and Lucille will get off free."
Gabriella whimpered at that thought.
"Ok, come get us like two minutes before the Judge comes in." Troy growled hugging Gabriella tighter to his side.
"Troy, going back outside is not possible right now Plus it's better to get Gabriella used to it than to take her out and then bring her back in later. She'll calm down in a few minutes."
Troy sighed and growled. "You don't know that."
"I do, now trust me, come sit down, Troy. That's not a question either."
Mr. Danforth turned and walked away. Troy sighed and looked to Gabriella. She looked close to throwing up and she was shaking…trembling was more like it, as she panted hard for air. "Baby, I want you to tell me what you want. If you want to go wait outside we can, or I can give you a pill and that will help relax you. The choice is up to you. I'll support either."
Gabriella just shrugged.
"Baby, that's not an answer. What do you want to do?"
Again Gabriella shrugged. She knew what she wanted but she was scared of what would happen if she decided not to listen.
"Brie, I need you to answer me."
"I'll get in trouble." Gabriella whimpered.
"Oh, my Sweet Angel Girl, I won't let that happen. I just need you to be honest and tell me what you what to do."
Gabriella still remained silent. Troy sighed and rubbed her back. "I know you're scared of making your own choices and you just do as your told, but Baby, I won't get angry with you. I want you to do what makes you comfortable."
Gabriella still didn't speak.
"Do you just want me to tell you what to do?" Troy asked softly.
Gabriella shook her head. "What I want to do and what I should do are two very different things."
"So what do you 'want' to do, Brie?"
"I want to leave, not just go outside for a little while but leave and not come back."
"You know that we can't leave. We can go outside for a little while but we need to come back inside."
"But I don't want to come back."
"I know, Baby. But you need to decide if you want to wait here or outside."
"We're not allowed to wait outside."
Troy sighed. "Ok, how about if I give you your pill and we can just go sit inside and wait for the judge."
"Ok." Gabriella muttered.
Troy rubbed her back. He took her over to the water fountain and gave her, her medicine and she took it.
Then they went inside and sat down at the table. Gabriella rested her head on Troy's shoulder. He smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "Hang in there, Baby, this will all be over soon."
Gabriella just nodded.
The Judge walked in and after that the trial began. Gabriella shut it all out. She didn't want to listen to what either side had to say, she didn't want to hear her father pled not guilty for reason of insanity, she didn't want to hear people defending him and telling the Judge that he was insane and just needed help. She didn't want to hear any of it.
She jumped out of her skin when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.
"Sorry, Brie, didn't want to scare you, but you're up next to give your statement. I just wanted to warn you." Troy cooed gently.
Gabriella sighed and nodded. She was warned but that didn't mean she was ready. She'd never be ready, but she had to do this, if not for herself than for everyone that her father hurt.
"We now call Gabriella Montez to the stand."
Gabriella inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. She stood up and made her way to the stand. Mr. Danforth stood up. "Your Honor, I just wish to remind you that Gabriella is suffering from server Claustrophobia and may need a break from questioning to step outside for a moment."
"I will keep that in mind." The Judge spoke.
Troy muttered "Now he bothers to care." He was still angry at him for scaring Gabriella into not wanting to go outside.
"May I question her first?" Mr. Danforth asked.
"Yes."
Gabriella sat down in the chair taking a deep breath and letting it out. Mr. Danforth smiled nicely at her.
"Gabriella, who is that man to you?" He asked pointing to Carlos.
"Depends, are you looking for legally or personally?" Gabriella answered.
"Both, is fine."
"Legally, he's my father but personally…" Gabriella scoffed softly. "I honestly have no idea who he is anymore. He's a stranger to me."
"What did he do to you?" Mr. Danforth asked.
"Locked me away in a storage room for almost a year, made everyone believe I was dead, physically, and mentally abused me."
"Was there ever any sexual abuse?"
"No."
"What happen after you were found and freed from the storage room?"
"He came back and kidnapped me again, only this time I tried to fight back and I hit my head causing me to lose my memory of everyone and everything. Then he brainwashed me into believing I was someone else and my boyfriend was a rapist pig, but none of what he told me was true."
"I see, how did he treat you when you were with a second time?"
"Same as before, physical and mental abuse."
"And you mentioned before this man is supposed to be your father?"
Gabriella nodded. "Legally."
"Yet, he has been treating you as if you were a bug under his shoe?"
"Yes, it feels as if he's been treating me this bad since the day my mom left."
"So you're saying this man is just grieving and needs help?"
"No, I didn't say that. I was just saying that he's been treating me badly for a very long time.
"I understand. You said before that he was like a stranger to you. Tell, how you feel about him, how would you feel if he were to get set free?"
"Scared, I'm scared of that man and I always will be. If he gets set free I'll never be able to move on with my life because I'll always be fearful of him coming to hurt me again."
"What about the woman next to him, Lucille Bolton?"
"Same way, I'm scared of her and I always will be. I wouldn't be happy if she gets set free. She's tormented me mentally since the moment she found out I was alive."
"Who is she to you?"
"Legally, my boyfriend's mother, but personally…she's just another monster who hurt me like the man sitting next to her."
"What has she done to you?"
"When I was first rescued she tried to get me onto her TV show to talk about my experience, she didn't bother to care how I felt about it or even ask me if I was comfortable with it. Then she went as far to trick me onto her show and threatened me if I didn't do as she said."
"Is that all?"
"No, she helped my father kidnap me and brainwash me. She pretended to be my mother when she wasn't and she knew the entire time where I was being held at and how Carlos was treating me and she didn't tell anyone. Once I had been rescued she harassed me with her camera crew trying to once again get me to talk about my experience without first asking if I was comfortable with it."
"No further questions."
Mr. Danforth went to sit down.
Lucille and Carlos's lawyer got up and went over to Gabriella.
"Ms. Montez, you said your father started to treat you badly after your mother left, is that correct?"
"Feels that way yes…"
"What was he like before your mother left?"
Gabriella shrugged. "Um…well…I guess like any other father,maybe a little over protective…"
"Define over protective."
"Um…well he wouldn't let me go out with my friends after dark, I wasn't ever allowed to have sleepovers, and I could never have friends over if I was home alone, even if my dad knew my friends and their families."
"When your mother left, how did you handle it?"
"Um…I cried a lot for a while. I had trouble trusting females. But I got through it. I had amazing friends."
"So as your father it's his job to protect you from ever feeling that hurt and pain ever again, right?"
"Well yes, but…"
"Ms. Montez, was your father hurt when your mother left?"
Gabriella nodded. "Of course he was, he tried to hide it but I heard him all those nights he cried himself to sleep. I heard all those time he left her messages to her phone that she never returned. I hated to see him hurting but he never let me help comfort him."
"So, I'm sure after seeing you hurting your father would have done anything to protect you, even if it seemed…not normal…right?"
"Yes." Gabriella squeaked out. She knew where this was going and she didn't like it.
"So, Ms. Montez, isn't it possible that overwhelmed by grief, hurt, and pain, your father tried too hard to protect you and wasn't thinking clearly. Is it possible that your father is just a sick man who needs help?"
"No…" Gabriella squeaked out.
"Why not? Would a sane man lock his only daughter in a storage room and fake her own death just to protect her?"
"No…" Gabriella continued to squeak.
"So what makes you so sure that your father isn't just a sick man who needs help?"
"Be-because I…I just…I just know." Gabriella answered.
"How can you know that? You're no doctor. You said it yourself. There is no sane man who would lock his daughter up."
Gabriella started to breathe harder. "We-well um…tha-that's true. Bu-but he-he's not…si-sick."
"How can you be sure, you say that he isn't sane when he locked you up and when someone isn't sane they are mentally sick?"
"Um…I…I…um…" Gabriella started to breathe harder. She had a secret, a secret nobody, not even Troy knew about and that secret was seconds from being spilled to the entire court room and she had no idea how to stop this.
"Ms. Montez you need to answer the question." The Judge told her.
"Um…" Gabriella started breathing even harder. "He…He…I…I can't…I can't breathe."
Troy stood up ready to help her but Mr. Danforth pushed him down. "She's fine."
"Fine, she's having a panic attack, She can't breathe!"
"She's stalling, what is she doing? I told her what to say for this question, why isn't she saying it?!"
"Get her down from there and I'll try and find out!" Troy growled.
"She needs to answer the question before she can go anywhere."
"Um…I…" Gabriella was panting now, hyperventilating trying to get air to her lungs. "I…I…I…I …I…I…"
Troy couldn't watch anymore. He stood up and pulled away from Mr. Danforth grip and went over to Gabriella. He wrapped his arms around her.
"It's ok, It's ok, I've got you. I've got you." Troy cooed softly to her. "Shhh, shhh, shhh, you're safe. I've got you, shhh, shhh. Calm down, calm down, it's ok, shhh take deep breaths, shhh."
"They can't know, Troy! I can't tell anyone! He's going to kill me if I tell anyone!" Gabriella screeched as tears started falling down her cheeks, still hyperventilating.
"All right, Baby, all right, shhh, shhh, just take deep breaths, shhh." Troy comforted rubbing her back.
"NO! I CAN'T TELL THEM! I CAN'T TELL ANYBOODY! MAKE THEM STOP ASKING ME!"
Troy looked to the Judge. "She's having a panic attack, surely you can give her a break."
"I will allow a break, however, whatever it is that Gabriella is keeping from us, she will have to tell us what it is."
Troy just nodded as Gabriella screamed and cried harder. Troy lifted her up and carried her out of the courthouse and sat down at a nearby bench. He hugged Gabriella close to his chest and rubbed her back. "Shhh, shhh, whatever it is, whatever you're hiding it's ok. You can tell me, your father can't hurt you anymore. It's safe to tell us."
"NO! I can't! I can't!" Gabriella cried.
"Can you just tell me, Angel? I'll tell anyone else who needs to know, but can you just tell me?"
Gabriella sniffed calming down slightly and looked to him. The hurt and pain that was written all over her face made Troy want to cry. He used this thumb to wipe away her tears. "You can trust me, Angel. Please, will you tell me. What are you hiding?"
"I've been lying to you since we met, Troy. I don't know if I can tell you."
"Baby, you can tell me anything. What have you been lying about? DO you love me?"
"Yes, I always have."
"Then there is nothing else you can say you lied about that would make me angry. Please, Sweetie, please, tell me."
"You…you promise you won't hate me?" Gabriella whimpered out still softly crying.
"Oh Baby, I promise I won't get angry, will you please tell me. Have you been hiding this from me since we met?"
"This secret, I've never told anyone, Troy. Nobody knows about this except my mom and dad and they only know because they were a part of it all. I've spend my entire life hiding the truth and keeping this secret, Troy. I never, ever talk about it so it's really hard."
"Just take a deep breath and tell me as much as you can."
Gabriella inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath. "Ok, I tell everyone that my father started being mean to be the day after my mother left…that's only partly true…" Gabriella confessed in a whimper.
"Partly? Brie, please tell me I haven't been so blind that I missed all the signs of child abuse?"
"No…not really, I just…I…"
Gabriella buried her face into her hands.
"Brie, Sweetie, whatever it is you can tell me."
"Troy, do you know how babies are made?"
"Um…yes…when a mommy and daddy love each other very much…" Troy gave her a confused look.
"Yeah, well my mommy and daddy didn't love each other very much at all." Gabriella started slowly calming down.
"Ok, so you were born on a drunken night, that's not too bad."
"It was worse than that, Troy!"
"What do you mean?"
"Troy, growing up I believed that woman were put on this earth to be slaves to men, I believed a man could treat a woman anyway he wanted and the woman wasn't allowed to fight back or have any say in that. The reason I believed all that…for as long as I can remember my father treated my mom like she was dirt. He was physically, mentally, and…and sexually abusive to her. That's how I was born, Troy! There was no mommy and daddy loving each other in my story! That's why she left! It's why she left she couldn't take anymore so she left! She left me home with that monster!"
"That's why you tell everyone it started after your mom left because once your mom left all that abuse was turned on you?"
Gabriella nodded. "For the longest time it was mental, that why I never showed any signs. It was something I was used to living with him. It only turned physical once he locked me away! But he's been tormenting me for 16 years, Troy! THAT'S HOW I KNOW HE ISN'T CRAZY! THAT'S HOW I KNOW HE WON'T BE HEALED IN A DOCOTRS OFFICE! HE'S BEEN A MONSTER SINCE THE DAY I WAS BORN! HE DROVE MY MOTHER AWAY AND TORMENTED ME FOR 16 YEARS OF MY LIFE!" Gabriella screeched out.
Troy hugged Gabriella to his chest. "That's why you were always so shy and shut down when we first met and why you had a hard time trusting our friends."
Gabriella nodded. "All the things Carlos told me when I was Sandy was similar to things he told me when we first moved here."
"Oh my sweetie, I hope you know it's not true. It's over, the Judge is going to send that monster to jail and he'll never hurt you again."
"What if it's not, Troy? What if he gets off?"
"He won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you're going to tell the judge everything you just told me."
Gabriella curled into a ball on his lap and shook her head. Troy sighed.
"Baby, it's the only way to ensure your father won't get off free."
"I can't tell them, Troy! Carlos will kill me!"
"How can he kill you if he's in jail?"
"He'll find a way!"
"Baby, it's ok, you don't need to be scared anymore." Troy told her.
"I'm not scared." Gabriella lied.
Troy just looked into her eyes and she quickly looked away. "Ok, I'm scared of him, I always have been." She whispered.
"After everything he put you through that doesn't surprise me, but you don't have to be anymore. The Police have him he isn't going to get off free. He's done too much bad Brie. He can't hurt you anymore."
Gabriella just sniffed back tears.
Troy rubbed her back. "Baby, you have to remember why you decided to do this in the first place. To get justice for all the families that Carlos hurt."
"That was before I figured out he was pleading insanity!"
Troy sighed. "Gabriella, listen to me, he's caught, the police have him and you've got the last piece of the puzzle to put him away. You've got to tell them, if not for yourself then for those two small girls who will never see their father again. Who will never be able to hear their father laugh or never have their father tuck them in at night."
Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut. She knew he was right, but that didn't make the fear lessen. She opened her eyes and nodded. "O-ok, I'll tell them everything."
"That's my brave girl." Troy kissed her head. They both stood up and went back inside.
"Your Honor, I'm sorry about before. I was feeling very overwhelmed, but I'm ready to finish." Gabriella said strongly. All her fear had vanished and now all she felt was anger and boy was she about to let Carlos's Lawyer have it.
"Please take the stand, Ms. Montez and understand you're still under oath."
Gabriella nodded. She and Troy shared a small kiss and she went back up to the stand and sat down.
Carlos's lawyer smirked. "Ms. Montez, same question as before."
"Can you repeat it once more please?" Gabriella asked nicely.
"Of course, you said your father was insane but you didn't believe he was a sick man, is this correct?"
"Yes." Gabriella nodded.
"Well, how can you be sure?"
"Because…" Gabriella looked to Troy. He nodded softly at her and mouth "I love you."
Gabriella smiled and looked to the Lawyer. "Because from the day I was born, I saw my father being physically, mentally, and sexually abusive to my mother."
Everyone gasped.
Gabriella gulped back the fear that was forcing its way out. "When I was 13 I learned that I was born through sexual abuse. My father betrayed my mother and hurt her up until the day she left. She had always protected me from being hurt physically and sexually but that didn't stop his mental abuse. That's how I know he isn't sick, because he hasn't been a loving caring father since I was born."
"Ms. Montez you said under oath that the abuse started after your mother left why are you suddenly changing your story?"
"Maybe you need to get your ears checked then, I said it 'felt' like it has been happening since then, I didn't not say for a sure fact that it had been happening."
"Your Honor?" Carlos's Lawyer asked.
"She is right, because she phreased it a way that made it sound more uncertain, because of all she has been through making the timeline fuzzy in her head so she is right, she told the truth and did not lie or change her story." The Judge said.
Gabriella smirked at him. But the Lawyer smirked right back. "Ok, fine, let me ask you another question, Ms. Montez. Are you a selfish person?"
Gabriella shook her head. "I don't think so, but no selfish person would ever admit to being selfish."
"Well, I think you might be, if you were selfless you would have put a stop to your fathers abuse against your mother, would you not?"
"I don't see what you would have expected, I was just a baby, I didn't know any better."
"Once you were old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong, when you were 13 and you found out how you were born."
Gabriella bit her lip. "I…I tried to." She whimpered out. "Carlos threatened my mom's life and when my mom tried to get help he threatened my life."
"That's is why you kept quiet for sixteen years? To spare your own life?"
"No, weren't you listening!" Gabriella growled with tears in her eyes. "I kept quiet all these years to spare the life of my mother!"
"What about after she left you? Why not tell your boyfriend or one of your other friends?"
"Because it was all only mental abuse, I was used to that! Then he went and locked me in a storage room and made everyone believe I was dead! That's when he started to hit me, and starve me! By that time I couldn't get free!"
"Why not escape? Surely your father came to feed you opening the door way to your freedom."
"I TRIED TO! THEN HE CHAINED ME TO THE BED! I COULDN'T GO ANY FURTHER THEN THE BED! I COULDN'T MOVE, I BARELY HAD ROOM TO MOVE AROUND! IT WAS DARK AND COLD AND I COULDN'T SEE! I HAD NO IDEA WHAT TIME OF DAY IT WAS OR EVEN HOW LONG I WAS IN THERE FOR! I COULDN'T ESCAPE, I COULDN'T GET HELP! I WAS TRAPPED WITH NO WAY OUT!"
"Why not scream?"
"I DID! I SCREAMED FOR DAYS, I SCREAMED UNTIL MY VOCAL CORDS WERE SORE! I SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED AND SCREAMED BUT NONE CAME TO HELP! DON'T YOU DARE ASK ABOUT THE OWNER BECAUSE HE WAS IN ON THIS ENTIRE THING! HE HELPED MY DAD HIDE ME!"
Gabriella was panting hard as tears streamed down her cheeks. She could feel the room growing smaller but she forced herself not to give into it yet. Not until she was done.
"Um…" The lawyer was speechless, he hadn't expected her to give those kinds of answers. He had hoped he could break her down until she admitted to her father being insane, but that didn't happen. "No further questions your honor." The lawyer went to sit back down. He leaned over to Carlos and whispered something in his hear. Carlos shook his head. "Don't worry, I've got one last trick up my sleeve."
"Due to this new information I have to ask Mr. Danforth do you have any questions?" The Judge asked.
Mr. Danforth had a ton more questions that went deeper into her childhood and more about her mother's life and once she left. But one look at the panting, shaking, crying child and Mr. Danforth knew she couldn't handle it. "No, Your Honor, I think it's time to move on. Ms. Montez has had more than enough."
The Judge nodded. She looked to Gabriella. "You may step down."
Gabriella nodded and stood up and ran into Troy's waiting arms. She cried softly into his arms clinging to him tightly. He rubbed her back and whispered soothing words into her ear. They called up the next witness but Gabriella didn't care to hear them. She had done her part, she was done, not all she had to do was wait.
A/N Phew! So does anyone else want to take a guess at what Carlos's plan is? Will it help his chances of getting off free or will it help put him in jail? Leave me your thoughts in a review.
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