55
The sound of the gavel echoed throughout the large courtroom, and though she tried, she hadn't been able to hide her flinch. Edward tightened his arm around her, and while it helped, all she could think about was him, sitting right there. He turned and looked back at her, his lips curving into that smirk again. She hated that smirk. She hated him. She hated everything about him: his smirk, his eyes, his hands, just hated him.
His attorney, Eleazar as he had insisted on being called, looked back at her, sighed, and grabbed Sam Uley's arm, turning him away from her. He leaned toward him, and whatever he told him, had him nodding, and he didn't look back at her, though she saw the way his hands curled into fists. Fists she knew all too well. Fists she could still feel against her skin.
"We are here today to begin the proceedings of the case of the State of Washington versus Samuel Jared Uley on the three charges of first degree murder, one charge of attempted murder, one charge of assault in the first degree, one charge of kidnapping, one charge of sexual assault of a minor, and one charge of child endangerment." Judge Dwyer paused, his eyes flickering around the courtroom before he said, "Is the prosecution ready to present their opening statement?"
Kate placed both hands on the table before she pushed herself to her feet, cleared her throat, and said, "We are, your honor."
Judge Dwyer motioned for her to continue.
Kate looked back at her, giving her a kind, reassuring smile, before she began to speak. "Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my name is Kate Denali, and today, we the people, are charging Sam Uley on charges of first degree murder, kidnapping, sexual assault of a minor, reckless endangerment of a child, and assault. Ladies and gentlemen, by the end of this trial, you will see, what we the people see, when we look at Sam Uley: a dangerous pedophile who hurt numerous people and has shown no remorse for his actions." Kate paused, looking at each and every member of the jury before saying, "Thank you."
Kate sat down, and every head in the courtroom turned to Eleazar, knowing it would be his turn next.
"Is the defense ready to present their opening statement?" Judge Dwyer asked.
Eleazar nodded and stood. "Yes, your honor." Shifting his eyes down to Sam Uley first, and then back to her, he turned his attention back to the men and women who sat in the jury box. "Your honor, ladies and gentleman of the jury, the prosecution wants you to look at my client and see a monster. A horrifying, disgusting monster, when in fact he is just a man. A man who is innocent until proven guilty. A man who may not be perfect, but a man who is not the ungodly creature they want you to believe. By the end of the trial, we will prove that Sam Uley is as much a victim of the system as anyone."
Eleazar shifted his eyes from each one of the members of the jury before he sat down, placing his hands on top of the table.
"Ms. Denali, call your first witness," Judge Dwyer said.
Kate stood and said, "The state calls . . ." Kate paused, looking back at Bella before she turned back around and said, "The state calls Isabella Swan to the stand."
Every head in the courtroom, including Eleazar and Sam Uley, turned toward her. Edward tightened his arm around her, always reassuring her that she was safe, that she was loved, that she was needed and wanted. From behind her, she felt Marcus leaned forward, his hand coming down on her shoulder and he whispered, "Be brave, Bella. Be brave."
"I can do this," she whispered, somehow unwrapping her arms from around her as she slid to the edge of her seat. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she opened them, turned to Edward and whispered, "I love you. I love you, Edward."
Bella stood up and walked past him, feeling him brush her hand with his, past Rosie, Carlisle, and Jasper, to the middle of the courtroom. Kate pushed open the swinging door that separated the two parts of the room, but she shifted her eyes to Sam Uley, unable to cross the boundary with him being so close.
"Your honor," Kate said, and Bella looked at her, watching her gesture toward Sam.
"Why don't you help Miss Swan through, Ms. Denali, while Mr. Santiago gets his clients attention elsewhere?" Judge Dwyer said. There was a tone to his voice that had her shivering, a protectiveness that she hadn't heard since the night Sam Uley crept into her bedroom.
Eleazar grabbed Sam Uley's arm, forcing his attention away from her as Kate hurried to Bella's side, standing between her and him. She gave her a reassuring smile as she gently nudged her forward. Tears filled her eyes and her legs felt weak as she took the steps over the small threshold, across the courtroom, and into the witness box. Kate gave her arm a gentle squeeze before she moved so that she was standing between her and Sam Uley. She could feel his eyes on her, though, hear the silent threats behind the hateful glare.
The bailiff walked over to her, staying a few feet away. He smiled before saying, "Raise your right hand."
She bit the inside of her lip before she raised her hand, remembering which one Kate had taught her to raise when they going over what would happen when they were inside the court. Kate said it was important that she knew what to expect, but how could she? She'd never fought for herself like this.
"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and only the truth?"
She nodded, but also whispered, "I do."
Judge Dwyer leaned toward her. "A little louder, please."
She swallowed against the lump in her throat, and whimpered, "I do."
The bailiff returned to his post and Kate spoke next. "State your name for the record, please."
"Isabella Marie Swan," she whispered.
"I need you to speak a louder, Miss Swan," Judge Dwyer said. "Please."
She nodded before saying, "Isabella Marie Swan."
"Let the record show that Isabella prefers to be referred to as Bella," Kate said.
"Duly noted," Judge Dwyer stated.
Kate took a deep breath as she looked back at her. "Bella, can you tell the court the nature of your relationship with the defendant?"
"He . . . he . . ." She paused, the urge to pull her knees up to her chest overwhelmed her. She could feel everyone watching her, waiting for her to tell them everything he had done to her, everything she had let him do to her. The tears that had been burning her eyes fell freely down her face, and she was about to run out of the courtroom, but then, she saw him: Edward. He moved into the corner of the courtroom so that she could see him. He smiled, and mouthed, I love you too.
"He kidnapped me when I was eight years old," she cried, looking at Kate. "Sam Uley kidnapped me."
Kate gave her a soft, reassuring smile. "Can you tell us what happened the night the defendant kidnapped you, Bella?"
She shifted her eyes back to Edward, her arms wrapping around her torso. "I was . . . I was asleep when I heard the window inside my room open, and he was crawling inside. He . . . He came over to the bed, and picked me up, held me against his body really tight," she cried.
Her tears fell harder as she told them how he put his hand around her throat, how he locked her in the closet when they heard her parents coming upstairs. She kept her eyes locked on Edward as she told them how her father screamed for him to leave, for him to leave her alone, how her mother begged him to leave her alone, and how the screaming stopped as suddenly as it started, how he returned to the closet with blood all over his shirt. Her tears felt as she told them how he threw her over his shoulder and carried her past her dead parents, how he put her in the trunk of his car, and stole her away.
"After the defendant put you in the trunk of his car, Bella, what happened?"
"He drove for a long time, and when he stopped, when he pulled me out of the trunk, we were at a big house by some water. And I tried to scream for help, but my throat hurt because I'd been crying, and he carried me inside," she whimpered, tightening her arms around herself. "There was another girl inside the house, and he told her to go to her room, and then he carried me through the kitchen, down into a . . . basement, but it wasn't . . . And there was box, a big wooden box, and he put me inside the box."
"How long did he keep you inside the box?" she asked.
"I don't know. A long time." She paused. "When . . . when he . . . he came back, he, um, he wasn't wearing any clothes," she murmured, unable to keep herself from pulling her knees up to her chest.
Kate walked over to her table, and poured water into a glass. She walked up to Bella, holding it out. "Do you need a few minutes, Bella?"
She shook her head.
"Let the record show that the witness responded in the negative," Judge Dwyer stated. "When you're ready, Miss Swan, please continue."
"Yes, sir," she murmured, taking the glass from Kate and sipping on the water. She placed it on the edge of the witness stand, shifting her eyes back to Edward. "I'm ready now."
"You testified that the defendant placed you inside a box, and when he came back downstairs to the basement, he was not wearing any clothes. What happened next, Bella?"
"He . . . he lifted me out of the box and laid me on the ground. I was so scared when, um, he . . . he put his hands under . . . under my nightgown, and took my panties off," she wept. "He . . . he . . ." She took a deep breath. "He touched me, in my private area, and put his . . . put his fingers inside of me. It hurt and I cried, but he didn't stop. He took my nightgown off, before he climbed on top of me, and I . . . I felt him put his . . . his penis inside of me," she cried. "It hurt . . . it hurt and I cried and screamed, begged him to stop, but he didn't. He just . . . he kept saying that I was his now, that I belonged to him." She paused, using the back of her hands to try to wipe away her tears. "That was the first time Sam Uley raped me."
"But it wasn't the last, was it?"
She shook her head. "No, he . . . he, um, raped me a lot after that. When he was done, he'd lock me back inside the box."
"You testified that when the defendant carried you into the house by the water, there was another little girl there. Do you know her name?"
"No, he never used our names. He said we didn't deserves names because we were nobodies, nothings."
"Objection, your honor, hearsay," Eleazar said, leaning back in his chair.
"It's not hearsay, your honor, when he said it directly to her," Kate quipped.
Judge Dwyer pressed his lips together before saying, "Overruled. Please continue, Ms. Denali."
"Thank you, your honor." Kate frowned. "What did the little girl look like?"
"She, um, she had long hair, and it was curly and red. Like bright red. And she had dark eyes. She was really pretty, but sad all the time. Sometimes, she would . . . she would come downstairs, and she would talk to me through the box."
"What would you two talk about?" Kate asked.
"Um, I don't know. She . . . she said she sorry she couldn't help me, that she was trying to get us help." She paused. "She talked about her parents, said she missed them. Said she wished she could tell them how sorry she was for leaving. She cried when she talked about them, so we didn't talk them a lot."
From the back of the courtroom, a tall thin blond woman let out a loud sob and when everyone looked back, she and the dark haired man next to her stood up and hurried out of the courtroom.
"Bella," Kate said, drawing her attention back to her. "When was the last time you saw the little girl?"
"I don't know the date, but it was cold outside, and, um, the ground was wet because it had . . . it had snowed. I had always liked the snow, and I wanted to go play in it, but he . . . he said I had to earn it." She bit the inside of her lip before saying, "He . . . Sam Uley was raping me again when someone knocked on the door. He locked me in the closet and said . . . said if I made any noise he would . . . he would kill me. He, um, when he answered the door, I could hear two men tell him they were with the police department, that she . . . that she'd been caught stealing milk from a little grocery store in town. They said the owner didn't want to press charges, just asked that she pay for what she'd taken and make sure she never went back. He . . . Sam promised that he would make it right, and they left. He dragged me out of the closet and threw me on the floor. The girl was crying and screaming, saying she was sorry, that she wouldn't do it again, but he . . . Sam said it was too late, that she would have to pay for . . . for betraying him, and then he told me to watch, that if I . . . I did what she did, he'd . . ."
She shook her head, bringing her hand up to her chest, fisting the front of her shirt. "He started hitting her. Over and over and over, and she cried, she begged him to stop," Bella sobbed. "But he didn't. He said she deserved it for being a bad girl, and bad girls had to learn how to behave. And then . . . then she stopped moving, she stopped . . . she stopped screaming and crying." She closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. "He left her on the floor and put me back inside the box, and when he came back, she was gone. He said she was never coming back, and that I ever tried to leave him, he would get rid of me, too. We left the house by the water that night, and I never saw her again."
"I think now would be a good time for a fifteen minute recess," Judge Dwyer said, clearing his throat before he picked up the gavel and banged it on the desk.
Kate hurried over to Bella, slipping her arm around her and leading her through the courtroom before Sam Uley could even stand up. The second they were out in the hallway, Edward's arms were around her, the feel of his lips pressing against the side of her head.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," he whispered. "So proud of you."
"Edward," she whimpered.
"I know, sweetheart," he murmured, tightening his hold on her.
"You're doing great, Bella," Kate said.
She laid her head on his chest as she turned and looked at her.
"It's going to get harder, though, so if you need to stop, it's . . . it's okay. Nobody would blame you if . . . if you don't want to tell them more of what he did to you."
Bella shifted her eyes from Kate to Marcus before saying, "They need to know what he did, Kate, because he doesn't get to own me anymore. Never again."
Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! I don't have a lot of courtroom experience, thank God, so if I fuck it all up, that's on me. Bella's told part of her story, but next we hear more about Hope's birth and her supposed marriage to Sam Uley. I am leaving Sunday morning for a week vacation, and while I will have my laptop, I am going to spend time with my grandbaby and then my mom and sister, so updates might be a bit slow. Do me a favor and leave me a few words.