Adam slowly climbed to his feet in the dock the next morning. He had hardly slept the night before and it showed. He'd also tried his best to hang his suit and tie up in his small cell, but it now had creases just like his face. He'd seen the wrinkles of exhaustion in the small smash proof mirror above the sink. Damn, Danielle and Charlotte would pay for this. He may have teased Danielle about him wearing his suit, but now it really was a mess and that angered him. It wasn't even his conscience which had kept him awake. As far as he was concerned, that bitch Danielle had deserved everything she'd gotten from him, and now, so did Charlotte.

That was a woman's place. They did as they were told, end of story. People nowadays are a bunch of pussies, too afraid to put women in their place.

He couldn't sleep because the bed in the cell was hard and uncomfortable, not to mention the racket from the drunken assholes in the cells next to his.

There he was again, Alan Goodwin. Adam sighed inwardly. This guy wasn't going to relent, Adam could already see that. He was a shrewd lawyer, and although it angered him to admit, damn good at his job. Slowly, he approached the dock like a cat stalking a mouse. Just his manner of walking made Adam's heart go cold with dread. Not for those bitches, but for himself. He didn't enjoy the thought of going to prison.

"Please continue from the end of last night's proceedings, Counsellor," Judge Spinner said from her bench. Adam inwardly cursed. Shit, this is bad. He knew exactly where this was going before the lawyer had even opened his mouth. Judge Spinner didn't like him, that much was obvious. Thank goodness she had to hear all the evidence pre-decision. He had friends who were willing to lie through their teeth for him. Oath, Bible or not. He felt himself relax. He wasn't going down. Not him. Not Adam Dawson.

"Thank you, Your Honour. So Mr. Dawson. I'd like to go back to where we stopped last evening. The cane. A white cane is, as I'm sure everyone in this room knows, a blind person's product. So please tell me the following? First, if Danielle was monitoring your internet access, why didn't she just buy it herself?"

Adam took a deep breath. This was another reason he hadn't slept. He'd been rehearsing this answer all night, expecting this question. "Danielle wasn't very good with computers, so she demanded that I log-in and buy it for her and as it was my house, I was set up as the Admin."

"Second, there is an email we recovered which says, 'approve or deny transaction', A. D-12, Admin? This came from an email address which is. Why would you swap usernames for such a transaction, and if she was monitoring your internet access, why would you have to approve your own transaction? Especially if it's something you don't need?"

"Due to the settings, I had to approve it afterwards. Danielle couldn't do it as it was visual."

"Really? After you said just now that she signed in as you? Then how would she have gotten past the visual settings to do this?" There were a few seconds of silence. Adam knew Goodwin had immediately caught his slip. "That being the case, why didn't you just buy it on your own account?"

Again, Adam had an answer ready. "Because Danielle has a page saved with all her measurements for her cane on it and I didn't know them. It was easier that way."

Adam looked at Barlow expecting him to shout an objection! But the lawyer just looked at the table. What the fuck? Why wasn't he defending him?

"Could you have just asked her what she needed - if she was monitoring your access, she'd know if you'd bought her the right one, wouldn't she?"

"I didn't think of it at the time."

James Barlow shifted in his seat. 'I can't do this anymore,' he thought. This man was as abusive as Danielle said in her statements. He was quitting as counsel. He needed to talk to his office.

"Excuse me, Your Honour," he said. "Please, may I have a moment?"

"My chambers please Counsellors!" Judge Spinner banged her gavel against the bench. "15 minutes. Dawson, stay where you are."

…

"Your Honour, I'm sorry," James Barlow looked straight at Judge Spinner and Goodwin. "I can't do this anymore. I can't represent that son of a bitch. He's a liar! A fucking abusive liar! Excuse my language, Your Honour."

Judge Spinner smiled slightly at him; Barlow was sure of it. "I can tell he wants me to interrupt Mr. Goodwin and object, but I can't. Something about him makes my skin crawl. I wouldn't let my daughter anywhere near him. Is there any way I can get out of this Your Honour? I think I'm starting to understand why Miss Hayward tried to hang herself that day." Goodwin nodded.

Hannah Spinner had never seen defence and prosecution lawyers united before, but she did now. The sight tugged at her heart, especially for Barlow. He knew he was defending a guilty man and he just didn't have the stomach for it. "He hasn't admitted it to me," Barlow said as if reading her mind. "I almost wish he would. Then I could legally drop him as a client. But he doesn't have to! He's…"

"An abusive liar," Alan Goodwin finished. Barlow nodded to the prosecutor.

"Fuck me," Goodwin breathed. "Lock him up and throw away the goddamn key Your Honour."

"There he is in a suit and tie," Barlow continued. "We've seen Miss Hayward's statement, she said that he'd tell her he was in it because she loved men in suits, only to not let her touch him. I'll bet anything he was lying then, too." Goodwin nodded grimly.

"Please Your Honour," Barlow said softly and Goodwin was sure he was blinking back tears. He reached over and squeezed the other man's shoulder. "I can't defend him. I'm sorry. I want out of this trial. Find him someone else! I've got a wife and daughter and his loathing of women… I just can't!"

Judge Spinner nodded to him. "I will tell Mr. Dawson that you received an urgent call from your office, informing you of a conflict of interest that would prevent you from providing an adequate defence and had to be dismissed. We'll get him another lawyer. I wish you luck Mr. Barlow."

"Thank you," Barlow stood up and practically ran for the doors. Goodwin raised a hand in respectful well-wishing and was sure Barlow returned it.

…

"I'm sorry Mr. Dawson," Judge Spinner said 10 minutes later. "Mr. Barlow's office has called to inform the court of a conflict of interest that could possibly prevent him from providing you an adequate defence; he had to be dismissed. He can't represent you further. So, the choice is yours. We can call in another lawyer and you will be remanded until we find one, or you can carry on and represent yourself without legal aid."

Adam had to exercise all his self-control not to glare at the bitch of a Judge. He didn't believe it for one second. That fucker Barlow didn't believe him. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"I'll do it alone then," he muttered eventually. "I have nothing to hide Your Honour." At least he hoped he could pull off his lies successfully with no lawyer.

Judge Spinner nodded to him. "As you wish Mr. Dawson. In that case, Mr. Goodwin, we're ready for your first witness."

Adam tried to hide the rising dread as the witnesses began to give testimony against him. They all said the same thing. His isolating of Danielle from them, her withdrawal, shyness, fear every time her phone rang. But he could lie. If there was one thing he was good at, it was lying. Consistent or not, he could persuade them that these statements were not true. That was what he thought until the 4th witness walked in and he had to wrangle in his anger and yes, fear. Because it was Charlotte.

Adam glared at her, his anger rising. 'What the fuck was she doing here? He'd told her not to! She'd pay for this! She was to do as she was told, and she was flat out disobeying him!' He gritted his teeth as she started to speak, cross examined by Goodwin. Adam didn't believe for a second why Barlow had left. Conflict of interest? Adam scoffed. Bullshit! 'Fucker didn't want to do it anymore! He didn't believe me! Well, I guess he is smart, so why am I surprised?' Charlotte talked about Adam's abuse, which was similar to Danielle's, her having to call him Sir in private. Although Adam didn't know this, she hadn't seen Danielle's statement, and some of the things he'd done to the both of them, began after Charlotte had sent Danielle that text message. Well, she was going to anyway, he just… Hurried it up a bit. He wanted to smirk at the memory, until Goodwin's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"Miss Avery, I'd like to ask about your internet access in Mr. Dawson's house. Were you free to use it as you pleased?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Absolutely not! He monitored everything I did. I couldn't go on websites if they involved money, or domestic violence help." For the first time since the trial started, Adam Dawson felt fear for himself crawl up into his crotch, turning his balls to ice. This was exactly what Danielle had told the pigs and Charlotte had no way of knowing this. Now he was starting to think he needed a lawyer, who didn't care that he was lying. The heat was coming down and it was very hot indeed. He needed criminal aid, and now, or he was going to be spending God knew how many years of his life behind bars. "I changed my mind," Adam Dawson interrupted. "I want a lawyer."

…

"The funny thing is," Danielle said to Joanne and Dr Stark, just before being guided back to her cell. "Jefferson was the one who told me Michael was on my left. 'Never speaks, him,' he said. 'Although I think he's fucking awesome, I wouldn't want to be alone with him. Murderous son of a bitch he is.' Then he goes and provokes him which gets him killed."

"So do you still believe Michael doesn't care about you?" Dr Stark asked. This time Danielle knew, she had to shake her head. "Jefferson did and said one wrong thing too many about me in front of Michael, and he just snapped. Is anything going to happen to Rick and Joanne because of what happened?"

Dr Stark smiled at Joanne, who smiled back. "No. For all intents and purposes, Rick and Joanne were doing all they could to stop Michael from killing him. They just… Well, couldn't. However, due to the fact that Michael did kill someone today, you won't be able to go to his cell tonight. I really hope you understand. We have no idea how he's feeling or if…"

"He's still lusting for blood," Danielle finished with a queasy smile. "Got you. It's ok. It's only me and him in the corridor anyway now so…" She couldn't finish.

They entered the block just as Rick was un-cuffing Michael, then locked his cell door. Dr Loomis gave the killer a small smile as the others entered, Danielle guided by Joanne. "Hi Danielle, are you ok?"

She nodded. "Thanks Dr Loomis, I'm just tired."

"Can I do anything for you?" Joanne asked, as Danielle lay down on her bed. "Can I get some tea please?" Danielle asked.

"Sure, on its way."

"You ok if I leave now?" Dr Stark asked. Danielle nodded. She was absolutely exhausted. "Ok, got that button if you need us?" She smiled at her and touched it. "That's the one," She could tell Dr Stark was smiling at her. "Good."

"Thank you, Dr Stark, for everything."

"No problem. Goodnight." The doors slid closed, and she was gone.

A short while later Joanne came in with her tea and evening meal. After she finished eating, she lay down on her bed and surprisingly to herself she found that she had fallen fast asleep.

She was woken sometime later by a sound she'd never have expected. Her phone was ringing.

"What the fuck?" She muttered groggily as she reached for it, thankful it was only on vibrate. It would have echoed badly in here. It was after midnight. She started to panic for a second. It wasn't Adam, was it? Then she quashed the thought. She was safe, Adam could not reach her here, and then there was the man on her left… "Hello?"

"Danielle," I'm really sorry to wake you!" Danielle hadn't looked at the ID before answering, but she didn't have to. She knew Charlotte's voice instantly. Her friend sounded as if she'd been crying. "Danielle, please just listen to me! I'm so, so sorry babe! You were right all along. Adam is an abusive son of a bitch, just like you always said! I made the stupid mistake to get with him and, and…" Charlotte broke down sobbing, unable to speak. "He made me send you that text," she managed eventually. "I'm so, so sorry! I'm not asking for forgiveness Dan, I'm just… I would've called you much earlier, but I've been in court all day testifying against that bastard for you! Not me, you! I deserve what I went through! I didn't listen to you and let my desire for him rule over our friendship! I…"

"No one deserves to be abused," Danielle said, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb Michael. "No one, Charlotte. He's an abusive prick! Now perhaps you understand why I jumped from that chair that day."

"I do," Charlotte's voice was still clogged with tears. "Are you still in Smith's Grove?"

"Yes, and I'm not leaving anytime soon. To be fair, all the staff have been fabulous to me, I'm not exaggerating or being sarcastic. They've really, really helped me. I don't know where I'd be without them. They genuinely seem to care about me. So does one of the other patients, the one in the cell to my left. Can I tell you something, Charlotte?"

"Anything, Danielle! Anything!" Danielle didn't know why she was desperate to tell her friend, but she was. She never hated her for sending that text, she'd known it was Adam all along. "I know he made you send that text," Danielle said, before beginning her story. She told Charlotte about Jefferson's sexual advances on her, right down to his throwing his cum in her face. Charlotte gasped. "Oh my God! What a prick! I'm so sorry!" She knew Adam had done similar things; Danielle had told her at the time.

Danielle went on to explain how Jefferson was now dead, how a fellow patient had smashed his skull against his own cell bars and by all appearances the guards and doctors hadn't been terribly sorry to see him go. "But this is the part I don't understand," Danielle said, then told Charlotte of how the patient on her left had cared for and protected her. How he'd held her throughout the night.

"Wow! He sounds like a good man. Are you going to keep in touch with him when you leave?"

"If he lets me, yes."

"Cool! If/when he's released, I'd love to meet him! I'm glad, Danielle. You deserve to be treated well. What's his name?"

This was the part she had been dreading. But there was no way she was going to lie to Charlotte. She took a deep breath and spoke her two-word answer.

"Michael Myers."

"Michael Myers?!" Charlotte's voice was only just above a whisper. "Holy fuck! You're kidding?"

"No, I'm not. Jefferson died after he threw his cum in my face."

"So let me get this straight. You've been held by a cold-blooded killer? How the fuck are you not dead?"

"Believe me, I've asked myself the very same thing for weeks. I've gone through the whole, but I can't trust him, he's a killer riot. But I do and I can't help it, I shouldn't jump at the first man who is kind to me, battle. And I lost."

"Jesus." Charlotte whistled. "You're brave, Danielle."

"Or stupid," Danielle said with a small laugh. "I haven't quite worked out which one yet."

"But by the sounds of it he genuinely likes you. I'm also going to take an educated guess. He's the one who killed Jefferson?"

"Yes," Danielle said softly. "And Yes."

After Charlotte hung up a few minutes later, Danielle lay still in her bed, thinking. She had to think. She'd always hoped Charlotte would realise the truth, just not in the way she had, by literally experiencing it herself. Danielle had pleaded with her not to date Adam, but Charlotte had ignored her and boy had she paid for it.

…

"Adam. First things first, you need to listen to me and trust my guidance if we're going to get you a 'Not Guilty' verdict. Whether you're guilty of what you're accused of or not is irrelevant to me and I don't need or want to know. My only concern is defending you and if it turns out that you are in fact guilty and you had divulged that to me; I wouldn't be able to defend you. Got it?"

Adam stared at the sharply dressed lawyer across the desk from him in the court's visiting room. Good. Finally, he might be getting somewhere. "Got it Sir," he said.

"They've got you by the balls right now," Kevin Roland said. "Regarding the internet access and the swapping of accounts to buy the white cane. You said you did it because you didn't know the cane's measurements, yes?" Adam nodded.

"Well, that sounds reasonable to me," Roland said. "So, you approved the transaction?" Adam nodded. He was going to continue lying, good lawyer or not. He knew he had to. Roland might say he'd defend him regardless, but Adam didn't trust him. Not yet. "Of course, I did. I'd never have denied my Danielle anything. She was my world before she tried to kill herself! That broke my heart."

"Of course," Roland said. "But we have to convince the jury, because right now Adam, you're the number one suspect of the domestic abuse. Those scars she has… Well, they're horrific and there's a strong argument she couldn't have caused them herself and that came from medical experts."

"So, what does that mean for me?" Adam asked.

"That right now you're in deep shit," Roland said bluntly. "Which is my job to get you out of, But you need to work with me. Did Danielle ever do anything to annoy you, or do you just hate women?"

This time, Adam told his lawyer the truth. "Can't stand the sluts," he said. "Bitches. All they're good for is sex. They do as we men tell them. Society is made out of a bunch of pussies to make it the law."

Roland said nothing, just wrote on his legal pad. Adam was starting to like him already. "So did she?" He prompted. "Annoy you with anything specific?"

"Apart from being a shitty cook and equally shitty in bed you mean, and disobeying me? Not doing as I tell her? She knew I was in charge, and she still defied me. Not that I can think of, Counsellor. Women in general just annoy me. Why is the fucking Judge a woman? That's not going to help me, is it?"

"Adam, I know Judge Spinner. She's fair and the fact she's a woman will make no difference in this case. You have two female jurors as well. Again, no difference. Her Honour listens to all evidence before decisions are made, plus the verdict."

"I'm trusting you," Adam growled. "To get me out of this. Just because it's not yet legal to show women whose boss, that's not my fault and I refuse to go down for it. One day it fucking will be, because some man will finally realise it should be, apart from me! One who's in power and can actually do something about it!"

Roland was silent as he wrote. Adam didn't care if he agreed or not. That wasn't his job. His job was to get Adam out of the shit he was in, so he could take revenge on Charlotte. How dare that bitch testify against him! She'd pay for it alright.