CHAPTER TEN
NOTE: This chapter is also longer then the rest because I'm going through all of the trials in one chapter. I'm not really good at this 'judge talk' so if I don't say somethings right, sorry!!
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Luis asked Theresa.
Theresa looked up, shook her head no, and then looked back down to the floor.
Luis shrugged and turned to Sam, "Ok Sam, she's all yours for questioning." He turned back to Theresa and gave her a smile as he closed the door.
Theresa wanted to scream for Luis not to go, she was so scared in that dark, small room. She didn't want to remember what happened that night, it hurt her to remember.
Sam cleared his throat. "So, the main question is why did you do it?" he questioned.
Theresa wiped her eyes and looked up at him. She began to tremble as she spoke "B-because he was cheating on me with Gwen and I found them..."
"Found them where?" he asked.
"In his house, in his bed...They were- he was-" Theresa didn't finish her sentence and began to cry.
Sam handed her a box of tissues. Theresa was such a good girl, he never thought he would see her end up in a situation like this. "How about I question you a little later, ok?" he said softly.
Theresa nodded and stood as he helped her from her chair. She walked out of the room to find her family facing her-Pilar, Antonio, Luis, and Miguel. They probably hated her for what she had done.
"Theresita, how could you? How could you do such a cold thing?" her mother automatically began to say as tension rose in between them.
Theresa opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She looked down to the ground, too ashamed to look her mother in the face. Miguel reached over and placed a loving hand on his sisters shoulder. It comforted Theresa to know someone still cared about her.
"Mijo!" Pilar snapped, "You must not ever go near your sister again! Not after what she's done, she took two innocent lives just because of the pain she felt in her life! You must never think of her as your sister again! That goes for you too Luis and Antonio!" she took one last look at Theresa, turned on her heel, and disappeared down the hall.
Theresa was startled by her mothers speech. Her family couldn't abandon her! Not when she needed them the most! She wanted to run after her and tell her she was sorry, that she would do anything for her to forgive her. But her legs were frozen, and she just stood as she watched her brothers walk down the same path that their mother took. And Theresa knew she was now alone.
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Ivy was sitting down to her cup of coffee and toast when Julian walked in.
"Good morning." he said happily.
"Quit the act Julian. What's going on thats making you so happy?" she asked curtly.
"You haven't heard?" Julian exclaimed and then laughed. He picked up the Harmony newspaper and handed it to Ivy. "Theresa was the one that killed Ethan and Gwen! Ah, I just love the drama! Who would have ever thought Theresa could do such a horrible thing?"
Ivy nearly choked on her coffee when she read the headline. Theresa had turned herself in for the murder she hadn't committed! The murder that Ivy committed. No. Things didn't turn out the way she planned them. They were supposed to believe that Ethan and Gwen committed suicide! How would Theresa think that she killed them? "Well," she thought, "at least that means my butt is saved from being thrown into jail." She smirked and took another sip of her coffee.
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Theresa awaited nervously for Fox to come in and tell her it was time to go into the court room. Today was her arrainment and she was going to plead guilty. "I just want to get this over with as soon as possible." she said to herself. Then she heard a knock and Fox stuck his head through the door.
"You ready?" he asked.
Theresa nodded. She was so grateful for Fox, he was the only one who stood beside her even after the horrible truth came out. He didn't have a lot of experience as a lawyer but he was the only person Theresa could get to defend herself. Hank walked in and led Theresa into the court room. As she walked in the heads of all the Harmony citizens who filled the room turned to face Theresa. Some shook their heads in disbelief while some cried. She passed by Miguel who gave her a weak smile and then looked away. Luis, Antonio, and her mother didn't even turn towards her. Whitney sat next to Pilar with tears in her eyes as she comforted her. She too avoided Theresa's gaze.
She sat down in the chair in front of the judge, "How do you plead?" he asked.
Theresa looked at Fox and then turned back to the judge. "Guilty." she said as the defeaning silence filled the air.
Ivy shook her head at Theresa's plee. It was sad to see her plead guilty to something she didn't do. "Tell them Ivy. Tell them you were the one who killed Ethan and Gwen. It's all your fault." a voice whispered inside her head. Ivy shook her head to get rid of the voices.
"Session adjourned. We will have recess until 9:30 A.M. tomorrow when the trial of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald begins." the judge said with a final blow of the gavel to the desk.
Theresa stood from her chair and closed her eyes as the guards led her away.
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"All rise." the officer said, "Court is now in session."
Theresa took in a deep breath as the judge sat down at his podium. This was going to be a long day and she wanted this to be over as soon as possible.
"Prosecution, please call your first witness to the stand." the judge said.
"I call Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald." the lawyer said looking at Theresa as she got up.
"Good luck." Fox whispered to her.
Theresa slowly made her way to the stand and took the oath. She sat down in the seat and tried to straighten herself up.
"Theresa, am I not mistaken or had you and Ethan Winthrop been dating?" the prosecutor asked.
Theresa gulped, "Yes. We were dating." she replied.
"For how long?"
"Before I went away last summer we had been dating for 4 months and then we broke up and got back together for 6 months." she slowly answered.
"Why did you two break up?" he questioned.
"Because he got married."
"And he got married to Gwen Winthrop, am I right?" he asked throwing her an icy stare.
"Y-yes." she replied.
"What did you do when you found that Ethan and Gwen had gotten a divorce?"
"Ethan asked me if I could give him a second chance." she said looking down at her hands.
"And you said?"
"I said yes." she whispered as the tears began to stream down her face.
"When did you find out you were being used?" the lawyer asked.
Theresa's head snapped up. "Excuse me?"
He smiled and began to pace the floor, "Let me better clarify that for you. When did you find out Ethan was cheating on you with Gwen."
Theresa hesitated for a moment and then answered the question, "A couple of months ago."
"A couple of months ago which means you had plenty of time to carefully plan the murder of Ethan Winthrop and Gwen Hotchkiss." he concluded as he stopped in front of her. "No further questions your honor." he said taking his seat.
"Defendant?" the judge asked.
Fox shook his head, there were no questions he could ask Theresa to make her look not guilty. She was too stubborn to believe that she didn't kill them.
"You may step down." the judge said to Theresa.
Theresa gratefully nodded and headed back to her seat.
"I now call Whitney Russell to the stand." the prosecutor said.
Theresa watched Whitney as she sat down in the seat. Whitney looked at Theresa for a second and then looked away.
"Whitney, how acquainted are you with Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald?" he asked.
"Theresa is- well was, my best friend." Whitney replied as her sharp words cut deep into Theresa's heart.
"Did you know anything about Theresa knowing about Ethan and Gwen's affair?"
"Yes. I was the one who told her." Whitney said looking down.
"How did she seem to react when you told her?"
"Angry, sad, betrayed."
"No further questions your honor. Your witness." he said looking at Fox.
Fox got up and approached Whitney. "Knowing Theresa as well as you did, would you ever think that Theresa could committ such an act?" he asked.
"No."
"So what makes you believe that Theresa did in fact kill Ethan and Gwen?" Fox persisted.
"Objection! Badgering the witness!" the prosecutor yelled.
"Sustained, Mr. Crane, please re-state your question." the judge said sternly.
"I will." he said hesitating, "Does Theresa tell you everything?"
"Well, she did. I mean we were best friends." Whitney replied.
"But she didn't say anything to you about wanting to kill Ethan or Gwen, did she?" he asked.
"No."
"No further questions your honor." Fox said as he sat down. He leaned over to Theresa and whispered, "If we don't find something miracleous proving that you didn't kill Ethan and Gwen, we're screwed."
Theresa sank down in her chair. She already knew that she was cooked, and there was nothing that could change that.
"I call to the stand Ivy Winthrop." the prosecutor said.
Ivy took in a deep breath as she stook the stand, praying that she wouldn't accidentally give away that she was the murderer.
"Mrs. Winthrop, when and where were you when your son was killed?" he asked.
"I-I, was in the uh, I was in my bedroom." she said stumbling on her words. Nice going Ivy she scolded herself.
"Did you hear the gunshots?"
"No, Yes. Yes, I did." she replied kicking herself.
Fox sat up in his seat and concentrated on his mother. Something was very fishy.
"Did you ever see or hear Theresa come in or exit the house?" he asked.
Ivy gulped and nervously looked around for an answer. "I, I don't remember."
"Your witness."
"Looks like we have our bait." Fox whispered to Theresa as he walked over to his mother.
Theresa sat up in her seat, waiting to hear what Fox had.
"Sorry if this question was asked already, but where were you when Ethan was killed?" he asked.
"In-in, the kitchen." Ivy said, she forgot what she had said before.
"Am I not mistaken or did you just tell the prosecutor that you were in your bedroom when he was murdered?"
"I, I forgot."
"And why did you forget? Is it something you're hiding for the court?"
"Objection your honor! Badgering the witness!" the prosecutor said.
"Mr. Crane, for the last time, please get to the point." the judge said.
"Yes. How close were you to Gwen." Fox asked.
"Not that very close even though she was married to my son for awhile."
"And why is that?"
"I never really seemed to share any interests with her."
"How did you feel when Ethan divorced her?"
"Grateful. She really but my sons life through a living hell. She spent his money left and right. And she was the one who told the tabloids about Ethan's paternity."
"How did you feel about Theresa?"
"I think," Ivy said pausing looking over at Theresa, "I think that Theresa is a very wonderful girl and I am SHOCKED to think that she has done such a thing."
"Remember, innocent until proven guilty." Fox said. "Now, how did you feel when you learned that Gwen was the one who gave the tabloids the truth?"
"I felt angry."
"Angry. Angry that she ruined your sons inheritance, ruined your reputation, or caused you too loose the man you love?"
"Yes!" Ivy blurted.
"So when you had your perfect chance you decided to kill them. You had nothing left to live for. Everything was lost to you. Everything."
"Yes! Yes! It's true! I'm sorry Theresa, you were there when I was about to kill them, but I had to do it or I wouldn't have the guts later on!" she cried.
The court room stirred and Theresa gasped at Ivy's response.
"Order! Order in the court!" the judge said.
"This is starting to make sense. I don't actually remember pulling the trigger..." she began to say to herself.
"How did you do it?" Fox continued to questioned.
"I, I took a gun from Julian's study and I, my God! I killed my own son! I killed, I killed Ethan! The one thing I shared with Sam! I ruined everything!" Ivy began to sob.
"No further questions your honor." Fox said smiling to himself as he sat back down.
"This court meeting is adjourned. The case of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald in the murder of Ethan Winthrop and Gwen Hotchkiss is now dismissed. We will decide when the case of Ivy Winthrop will take place." the judge said banging down the gavel.
Theresa couldn't believe it. She didn't kill Ethan and Gwen. It was Ivy. It was like all of the pieces of the puzzle were now fitting together! She was going to live! She wasn't going to be in jail! Theresa jumped out of her seat and screached as she pulled Fox into a hug. "Thank you so much for everything." she whispered in his ear.
"No problem, I knew you didn't do it." Fox replied.
"And thank you for that too. Thank you for having faith in me and being there for me when no one else was. I will never forget that." she said sincerely to him.
He smiled and pulled Theresa into a hug. Maybe now there was hope for them. Please let there be he silently prayed.
NOTE: This chapter is also longer then the rest because I'm going through all of the trials in one chapter. I'm not really good at this 'judge talk' so if I don't say somethings right, sorry!!
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Luis asked Theresa.
Theresa looked up, shook her head no, and then looked back down to the floor.
Luis shrugged and turned to Sam, "Ok Sam, she's all yours for questioning." He turned back to Theresa and gave her a smile as he closed the door.
Theresa wanted to scream for Luis not to go, she was so scared in that dark, small room. She didn't want to remember what happened that night, it hurt her to remember.
Sam cleared his throat. "So, the main question is why did you do it?" he questioned.
Theresa wiped her eyes and looked up at him. She began to tremble as she spoke "B-because he was cheating on me with Gwen and I found them..."
"Found them where?" he asked.
"In his house, in his bed...They were- he was-" Theresa didn't finish her sentence and began to cry.
Sam handed her a box of tissues. Theresa was such a good girl, he never thought he would see her end up in a situation like this. "How about I question you a little later, ok?" he said softly.
Theresa nodded and stood as he helped her from her chair. She walked out of the room to find her family facing her-Pilar, Antonio, Luis, and Miguel. They probably hated her for what she had done.
"Theresita, how could you? How could you do such a cold thing?" her mother automatically began to say as tension rose in between them.
Theresa opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She looked down to the ground, too ashamed to look her mother in the face. Miguel reached over and placed a loving hand on his sisters shoulder. It comforted Theresa to know someone still cared about her.
"Mijo!" Pilar snapped, "You must not ever go near your sister again! Not after what she's done, she took two innocent lives just because of the pain she felt in her life! You must never think of her as your sister again! That goes for you too Luis and Antonio!" she took one last look at Theresa, turned on her heel, and disappeared down the hall.
Theresa was startled by her mothers speech. Her family couldn't abandon her! Not when she needed them the most! She wanted to run after her and tell her she was sorry, that she would do anything for her to forgive her. But her legs were frozen, and she just stood as she watched her brothers walk down the same path that their mother took. And Theresa knew she was now alone.
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Ivy was sitting down to her cup of coffee and toast when Julian walked in.
"Good morning." he said happily.
"Quit the act Julian. What's going on thats making you so happy?" she asked curtly.
"You haven't heard?" Julian exclaimed and then laughed. He picked up the Harmony newspaper and handed it to Ivy. "Theresa was the one that killed Ethan and Gwen! Ah, I just love the drama! Who would have ever thought Theresa could do such a horrible thing?"
Ivy nearly choked on her coffee when she read the headline. Theresa had turned herself in for the murder she hadn't committed! The murder that Ivy committed. No. Things didn't turn out the way she planned them. They were supposed to believe that Ethan and Gwen committed suicide! How would Theresa think that she killed them? "Well," she thought, "at least that means my butt is saved from being thrown into jail." She smirked and took another sip of her coffee.
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Theresa awaited nervously for Fox to come in and tell her it was time to go into the court room. Today was her arrainment and she was going to plead guilty. "I just want to get this over with as soon as possible." she said to herself. Then she heard a knock and Fox stuck his head through the door.
"You ready?" he asked.
Theresa nodded. She was so grateful for Fox, he was the only one who stood beside her even after the horrible truth came out. He didn't have a lot of experience as a lawyer but he was the only person Theresa could get to defend herself. Hank walked in and led Theresa into the court room. As she walked in the heads of all the Harmony citizens who filled the room turned to face Theresa. Some shook their heads in disbelief while some cried. She passed by Miguel who gave her a weak smile and then looked away. Luis, Antonio, and her mother didn't even turn towards her. Whitney sat next to Pilar with tears in her eyes as she comforted her. She too avoided Theresa's gaze.
She sat down in the chair in front of the judge, "How do you plead?" he asked.
Theresa looked at Fox and then turned back to the judge. "Guilty." she said as the defeaning silence filled the air.
Ivy shook her head at Theresa's plee. It was sad to see her plead guilty to something she didn't do. "Tell them Ivy. Tell them you were the one who killed Ethan and Gwen. It's all your fault." a voice whispered inside her head. Ivy shook her head to get rid of the voices.
"Session adjourned. We will have recess until 9:30 A.M. tomorrow when the trial of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald begins." the judge said with a final blow of the gavel to the desk.
Theresa stood from her chair and closed her eyes as the guards led her away.
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"All rise." the officer said, "Court is now in session."
Theresa took in a deep breath as the judge sat down at his podium. This was going to be a long day and she wanted this to be over as soon as possible.
"Prosecution, please call your first witness to the stand." the judge said.
"I call Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald." the lawyer said looking at Theresa as she got up.
"Good luck." Fox whispered to her.
Theresa slowly made her way to the stand and took the oath. She sat down in the seat and tried to straighten herself up.
"Theresa, am I not mistaken or had you and Ethan Winthrop been dating?" the prosecutor asked.
Theresa gulped, "Yes. We were dating." she replied.
"For how long?"
"Before I went away last summer we had been dating for 4 months and then we broke up and got back together for 6 months." she slowly answered.
"Why did you two break up?" he questioned.
"Because he got married."
"And he got married to Gwen Winthrop, am I right?" he asked throwing her an icy stare.
"Y-yes." she replied.
"What did you do when you found that Ethan and Gwen had gotten a divorce?"
"Ethan asked me if I could give him a second chance." she said looking down at her hands.
"And you said?"
"I said yes." she whispered as the tears began to stream down her face.
"When did you find out you were being used?" the lawyer asked.
Theresa's head snapped up. "Excuse me?"
He smiled and began to pace the floor, "Let me better clarify that for you. When did you find out Ethan was cheating on you with Gwen."
Theresa hesitated for a moment and then answered the question, "A couple of months ago."
"A couple of months ago which means you had plenty of time to carefully plan the murder of Ethan Winthrop and Gwen Hotchkiss." he concluded as he stopped in front of her. "No further questions your honor." he said taking his seat.
"Defendant?" the judge asked.
Fox shook his head, there were no questions he could ask Theresa to make her look not guilty. She was too stubborn to believe that she didn't kill them.
"You may step down." the judge said to Theresa.
Theresa gratefully nodded and headed back to her seat.
"I now call Whitney Russell to the stand." the prosecutor said.
Theresa watched Whitney as she sat down in the seat. Whitney looked at Theresa for a second and then looked away.
"Whitney, how acquainted are you with Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald?" he asked.
"Theresa is- well was, my best friend." Whitney replied as her sharp words cut deep into Theresa's heart.
"Did you know anything about Theresa knowing about Ethan and Gwen's affair?"
"Yes. I was the one who told her." Whitney said looking down.
"How did she seem to react when you told her?"
"Angry, sad, betrayed."
"No further questions your honor. Your witness." he said looking at Fox.
Fox got up and approached Whitney. "Knowing Theresa as well as you did, would you ever think that Theresa could committ such an act?" he asked.
"No."
"So what makes you believe that Theresa did in fact kill Ethan and Gwen?" Fox persisted.
"Objection! Badgering the witness!" the prosecutor yelled.
"Sustained, Mr. Crane, please re-state your question." the judge said sternly.
"I will." he said hesitating, "Does Theresa tell you everything?"
"Well, she did. I mean we were best friends." Whitney replied.
"But she didn't say anything to you about wanting to kill Ethan or Gwen, did she?" he asked.
"No."
"No further questions your honor." Fox said as he sat down. He leaned over to Theresa and whispered, "If we don't find something miracleous proving that you didn't kill Ethan and Gwen, we're screwed."
Theresa sank down in her chair. She already knew that she was cooked, and there was nothing that could change that.
"I call to the stand Ivy Winthrop." the prosecutor said.
Ivy took in a deep breath as she stook the stand, praying that she wouldn't accidentally give away that she was the murderer.
"Mrs. Winthrop, when and where were you when your son was killed?" he asked.
"I-I, was in the uh, I was in my bedroom." she said stumbling on her words. Nice going Ivy she scolded herself.
"Did you hear the gunshots?"
"No, Yes. Yes, I did." she replied kicking herself.
Fox sat up in his seat and concentrated on his mother. Something was very fishy.
"Did you ever see or hear Theresa come in or exit the house?" he asked.
Ivy gulped and nervously looked around for an answer. "I, I don't remember."
"Your witness."
"Looks like we have our bait." Fox whispered to Theresa as he walked over to his mother.
Theresa sat up in her seat, waiting to hear what Fox had.
"Sorry if this question was asked already, but where were you when Ethan was killed?" he asked.
"In-in, the kitchen." Ivy said, she forgot what she had said before.
"Am I not mistaken or did you just tell the prosecutor that you were in your bedroom when he was murdered?"
"I, I forgot."
"And why did you forget? Is it something you're hiding for the court?"
"Objection your honor! Badgering the witness!" the prosecutor said.
"Mr. Crane, for the last time, please get to the point." the judge said.
"Yes. How close were you to Gwen." Fox asked.
"Not that very close even though she was married to my son for awhile."
"And why is that?"
"I never really seemed to share any interests with her."
"How did you feel when Ethan divorced her?"
"Grateful. She really but my sons life through a living hell. She spent his money left and right. And she was the one who told the tabloids about Ethan's paternity."
"How did you feel about Theresa?"
"I think," Ivy said pausing looking over at Theresa, "I think that Theresa is a very wonderful girl and I am SHOCKED to think that she has done such a thing."
"Remember, innocent until proven guilty." Fox said. "Now, how did you feel when you learned that Gwen was the one who gave the tabloids the truth?"
"I felt angry."
"Angry. Angry that she ruined your sons inheritance, ruined your reputation, or caused you too loose the man you love?"
"Yes!" Ivy blurted.
"So when you had your perfect chance you decided to kill them. You had nothing left to live for. Everything was lost to you. Everything."
"Yes! Yes! It's true! I'm sorry Theresa, you were there when I was about to kill them, but I had to do it or I wouldn't have the guts later on!" she cried.
The court room stirred and Theresa gasped at Ivy's response.
"Order! Order in the court!" the judge said.
"This is starting to make sense. I don't actually remember pulling the trigger..." she began to say to herself.
"How did you do it?" Fox continued to questioned.
"I, I took a gun from Julian's study and I, my God! I killed my own son! I killed, I killed Ethan! The one thing I shared with Sam! I ruined everything!" Ivy began to sob.
"No further questions your honor." Fox said smiling to himself as he sat back down.
"This court meeting is adjourned. The case of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald in the murder of Ethan Winthrop and Gwen Hotchkiss is now dismissed. We will decide when the case of Ivy Winthrop will take place." the judge said banging down the gavel.
Theresa couldn't believe it. She didn't kill Ethan and Gwen. It was Ivy. It was like all of the pieces of the puzzle were now fitting together! She was going to live! She wasn't going to be in jail! Theresa jumped out of her seat and screached as she pulled Fox into a hug. "Thank you so much for everything." she whispered in his ear.
"No problem, I knew you didn't do it." Fox replied.
"And thank you for that too. Thank you for having faith in me and being there for me when no one else was. I will never forget that." she said sincerely to him.
He smiled and pulled Theresa into a hug. Maybe now there was hope for them. Please let there be he silently prayed.