Tarnished

Chapter Nine

Sadler Estate

Saratoga

8:30 PM

Christian hated his father. He'd known that much since the age of twelve, and he hated himself for thriving off of his father's approval, seeking his advice, and starving for that bond that had never been there. Franklin Sadler never wanted children, but his wife wanted a child so desperately, that she took a risk by not taking all the proper precautions for birth control back then, and two months later, she found out that she was pregnant at the age of thirty nine.

Franklin and Shelby had already been married for over twenty years, since they were eighteen. She was forced to marry to ensure the survival of her family, which came from old money.

Out of their deceitful marriage, came the joy she was looking for, but now, she saw the result.

Christian had turned out just like his father.

Shelby had been abused herself, and Josephine had run to her for some direction.

"Just, do what he says," Shelby had said to the young woman. "Be the best wife and mother you can be and deal with it. You deal with it because you love him."

Shelby would never forget the look in Josephine's eyes that day. She was helpless and alone in the world and Shelby wished that she knew better.

"I had to interrupt the annual luncheon with the mayor to come and help you!" Franklin yelled. "You know how much trouble you've caused me! How embarrassed I am for our family!"

Christian poured himself a small glass of scotch and drank it down in one gulp.

"You're losing it son," Franklin sighed. "If you can't handle things, I'll take them out of your hands."

"Dammit dad!" Christian yelled. "It's always about you! You don't think Marissa's death scared the shit out of me?"

"As far as I'm concerned, that little bitch got what she deserved," Franklin said, as he sat down in a huge recliner. "Both of them. Bianca was lazy as a slug, too. They were both bringing the company down."

"Dad, the cops know about the other women," Christian said, looking into his father's eyes. "What happened to them?"

"I don't know," Franklin said in a low tone getting up slowly. "But if you're implying that I had anything to do with them, you're going to have a black eye to match your wife's."

"Why don't you take it out on mom like you usually do?" Christian spat.

"You think you're a man? A real man would take what's his and never get scared in the face of adversity," his father said. "Your mother babied you. She insisted on breastfeeding and look what happened, you grew up to be a little scared pansy bitch."

Christian felt his manhood being practically stripped away, and he couldn't ever stand up to his father like he wanted to, and his anger built up more and more.

O'Shea's Pub

Midtown Manhattan

9:12 PM

Casey was the last to arrive in the bar and she joined the rest of the squad at the table.

"You made it just in time with that warrant," Munch praised her by way of greeting. "If I had a shot for every time…"

"You'd still be sober," Casey finished as she sat down heavily. "Today was supposed to be my day off, but Olivia had to call in the middle of a deep sleep."

"Sorry," Olivia shrugged. "But you're all bright eyed and bushy tailed now and we're tired as shit."

"Nice description," Casey teased.

"Anyway, Warner's got Sadler's DNA sample, and she put a rush on the results, " Elliot explained. "We'll nail the bastard to the wall."

"You guys are sure he did it?" Casey asked as she pulled the bowl of peanuts to her from the middle of the table and began munching on them.

"Uh, yeah," Olivia huffed as she pulled the bowl back. "Greedy."

"Hey, I just spent my whole day finding a judge who'll hear me out, then I had to sit in chambers and convince Judge Preston, a DNA Nazi, to sign the warrant," Casey said indignantly. "Gimme the damn peanuts."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Does Mrs. Sadler look good for this?" Fin asked.

"Josephine Sadler can barely hold it together enough to function, let alone commit murder," Olivia said, shaking her head. "I know for a fact that she didn't commit the murder. At least not while she was recovering from being raped by her own husband, who has a huge chunk of time that she can't account for him that night."

They all sat in silence and took in the music as they sipped at their drinks at intervals. The bar was dim and crowded, full of mostly cops who most likely had as equally a trying day as SVU did. It helped to drink with friends than go home and drink alone and possibly go places that they shouldn't go.

"Jesus, what a day," Elliot sighed. "This case is getting more tangled by the moment."

"Let's not talk about work," Casey groaned. "You guys really depress me sometimes."

They all scowled at her, and she stared at them right back, pulling the peanuts back to her. All there was to talk about was the job lately, and they could have gone for some lighter conversation. They left that up to Munch.

When he started talking about Dick Cheney, it was all over.

Sadler Home

Upper Manhattan

9:45 PM

Josephine had just put the boys to bed, and she went into her bedroom and sat on the bed. She was afraid of how Christian would be when he came home. He told her to leave him alone when they left the precinct and he went home with his father.

Christian's father had been a point of contention, and his father was the main reason for his anger.

But she was more worried about what he'd do to her. She wasn't telling the whole truth to Detective Benson. She did know much more about Marissa's death than she was letting on, but she didn't want to ruin the already dysfunctional family. She didn't know what to do with what she knew.

Marissa Barlow and Bianca Lewis were the center of the entire thing, and it was blowing up in their faces. Josephine had been inadvertently drawn right into the middle of things, and she hoped that no one would get hurt. That hope was futile as people were starting to drop off like flies, and Josephine was the pivot for the see saw.

Yes, she knew about the seven women that had come and gone over the years, and through Marissa and Bianca, she knew the truth. How could she possibly look into the faces of all those board members and stock holders and not see right through them and see their capacity for evil? How did she know that they didn't know she knew?

She couldn't betray her husband, who was the face of Optimal Securities. He was just a pawn too, and he didn't even realize it.

She had nothing to retreat to, no one to seek refuge with. She couldn't go to the shelter because she would become an open target then.

As far as the abuse, that was secondary to the problems she was facing now.

She could leave now, and just disappear. She could go to the car service, rent a car and just run with her boys. But then, who would believe her about the things Christian did to her? She was a judge, she could do things legally.

What she knew, couldn't be in her hands for too long.

Josephine sighed and she got up and went over to her vanity and began to brush out her hair. She needed to cut it, she thought. It was getting too long for her linking and she could use a new look. The stress was showing in her face, and she was too young for crow's feet.

Memories of she and Christian making love like a newly married couple flashed through her mind. It made her smile as she brushed out her hair. He was changing, she could feel it. She had seen something that she'd never seen in his eyes before: remorse. It had to be genuine.

She wanted so much to put the past behind them and work on their marriage. The company, his father, and his own issues with himself were the main sources of anger, she knew and he was making that vital step of knowing that he needed help.

She understood him. She understood why he did the things he did, why he got so angry. So now it was a matter of fixing the problems and pulling out the man that she knew he could be.

She heard the door open and close heavily, and she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs. Her heart beat a little faster, as he approached their bedroom suite. She was paralyzed at her seat, looking into the mirror.

What happened next became one big blur.

Christian was in a rage as he stormed over to her. She felt his hand on the back of her head and he pulled her back and then banged her head into the mirror so hard, that the mirror shattered into pieces and cracked where here her head impacted. Blood spattered onto her personal things, and formed in the cracks of the mirror.

Josephine covered her forehead, her mouth agape from shock and her body going limp from the excruciating pain. Blood spilled down her face and she closed her eyes tightly. Christian pulled her by her hair and dragged her into the bathroom.

"Why Josie!" He yelled as he pushed her into the sink. "Dammit!"

Josephine caught herself and she was breathing heavily. She opened up the medicine cabinet, tears streaming down her face and her heart pounding, and she felt her breaking point getting ever closer. She searched for some gauze, and she found some peroxide, not her desired item.

Christian grabbed her by her hair again.

She couldn't hear what he was saying to her. That's when she blacked out.

The screams and cries came from a person other than Josephine.

Her mind was in a fog, and her vision was blurry, and she could barely hear anything at all.

"Mommy!"

When she heard the scared cry of her son, she came back to herself, and she tried so hard to focus her vision. It was fuzzy and blurry and she could barely see her next step. But she could make out a squirming, writhing, whimpering body on her carpet, which had dull red stains on it and she gasped. She couldn't remember what had led up to this man on her floor.

"Mommy, don't hurt daddy!" Henry cried.

Josephine collapsed onto the floor, crying hysterically, not remembering how her husband ended up on the floor. She crawled away from him and then she pulled herself up. She couldn't see very well, but she knew the layout of her home. She pushed past her son.

"Call 911 Henry," she said quietly as she stumbled to the stairs. She held on tightly to the railing of the stairs. She went slowly then felt her way to the door.

She pulled it open with more strength than it actually required, and she walked out into the chilly night air. She collapsed onto the ground, screaming out in both pain and fear.

"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!" She screamed. "Oh God, I killed him. I killed my husband!" She sobbed. "HELP!"