Chapter 19: The Truth
Bella was sitting with Emmett in the prosecutor's office. "Emmett, are you mentally able to go through with this?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes," Emmett replied without hesitation.
He gave his girlfriend's hand a squeeze. "We've been working on that for the last month," Bella informed.
"The defense will try to tear you apart," the prosecutor informed.
"I know," Emmett answered.
"He'll try to twist things to make it look like your fath…" he started.
"He's not my father," Emmett muttered.
"Sorry, to make it look like Mr. McCarty is innocent," he informed.
Emmett shook his head slowly. "He killed my mother in cold blood," he muttered.
"And admitted it, I heard it, my father heard it. He's the Chief of Police," Bella answered.
"The defense will try to twist that into Emmett's doing. They'll try to make it look like Emmett forced him to say it," he informed.
"They won't succeed. That man murdered my mother in front of me," Emmett answered.
"Just stick to your story Emmett, stick to it. They'll try to disregard it because you were three at the time of your mother's death," the prosecutor informed.
Emmett let out a shaky sigh. "Everything's going to be okay," Bella whispered.
"I hope so," he answered
He kissed the back of her hand before they continued with the meet.
When it came time for the court date, Emmett was standing in the mirror looking at himself. He hadn't slept all night, he was exhausted, but he just couldn't stop thinking about what could happen at the trial. He jumped when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. Looking behind him he saw Bella there. "You okay?" she asked.
"I think so," he replied with a sigh.
He kissed her forehead gently. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she answered.
Holding her hand, he let out a shaky breath. "Come on," she whispered as they left the room.
When they arrived at the courthouse, they found the courtroom an took their seats. Ian was lead into the room in a suit and tie. When he saw Emmett, he glared at the young man before taking his seat. Once the judge walked in, everyone stood up. "You may be seated. Case number 879 Ian McCarty vs. the people this court is now in session," the judge informed.
After the opening statements from the defense and the prosecution, the judge nodded to the prosecution. "You may call your first witness," he informed.
"I would like to call Emmett Cullen to the stand," the prosecutor informed.
Bella gave his hand a gentle squeeze before standing up to let Emmett get through. Once he was sworn in and was seated, the prosecutor walked over to Emmett. "Mr. Cullen, you say you saw the murder in question take place?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Emmett replied.
"Could you explain what exactly happened?" he asked.
Emmett cleared his throat. "My mom…and I…we were in the living room, it was raining outside, usually we would be in the park playing. So…we were playing a game when there was banging on the door…" Emmett started.
"And who was it banging on the door?" the prosecutor asked.
"It was Ian McCarty sir," Emmett replied.
"What happened when Mr. McCarty started banging on the door?" he questioned.
Emmett let out a deep breath. "My mother…we both heard him shouting so she picked me up and carried me to my room. She put me in my closet and told me to stay where I was and not to come out no matter what. Just when I promised I wouldn't…he barged in the room demanding to know where I was," he explained.
"Did you know why Mr. McCarty was looking for you?" the prosecutor asked.
"Not at the moment no," Emmett replied.
"What happened when she refused to tell him where you were?" The prosecutor asked.
Feeling the pain in his heart, he willed himself to continue. "Mr. McCarty grabbed a hold of my mother and started beating her screaming at her to tell him where I was. She only told him no, she just kept telling him he would never find me," he replied.
"Did he find out?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes sir…" Emmett replied reluctantly.
"What happened when he found you?" he asked.
Swallowing hard, he moved his eyes over to Bella who was smiling at him. "He dragged me out of the closet, that was when I heard the gun cock," he replied.
"Did Mr. McCarty say anything to you Mr. Cullen?" the prosecutor asked.
"Yes sir," Emmett replied.
"And what did he say?" he asked.
"Problem solved," Emmett replied slowly.
"What happened after he said that?" the prosecutor asked.
Feeling his heart shatter some more with the memory, he let out another deep breath. "Just when…he was about to pull the trigger. My mom screamed and she threw herself on top of me just as he fired the gun," he replied.
"And that was when Miss Richards, your mother, died?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Emmett replied.
The prosecutor directed his attention over to Ian. "Emmett, is that the man who killed your mother?" he asked. Emmett's gaze went over to Ian, whose face showed no remorse whatsoever.
"Yes sir, Ian McCarty was the man who killed my mother," Emmett replied.
The courtroom was silent. "No further questions your honor," the prosecutor informed, sitting back down in his chair. The defense stood up, straightening his suit jacket as if he were in a church instead of a courtroom.
"Mr. Cullen, is that your true birth name?" he asked curiously.
"No sir, certainly not Mr. it's Emmett," Emmett replied.
"I mean is Cullen the last name on your birth certificate?" the defense asked.
Emmett raised his eyebrow. "No, my birth last name was Emmett Richards," he replied.
"It says here on another birth certificate your name is Emmett McCarty," the defense commented.
"Maybe on my last updated birth certificate it says that," Emmett replied simply.
"So…is it true that my client is your father?" the defense asked.
Emmett was silent. "Some may say that," he replied.
"How would you put it?" the defense asked.
"Mr. McCarty's not my father. Mr. McCarty was a rapist and I just happened to be a product of said incident," Emmett replied.
"You're implying that my client raped your mother?" he asked.
"Implying? No sir I'm not implying. I am stating the fact that he raped her. Mr. McCarty was obsessed with her, stalked her, beat her, and raped her. As soon as she found out she was pregnant with me, she ran away because she knew he would come back," Emmett replied.
The defense placed the birth certificate down on the table again. "Mr. Cullen, how could you honestly know that bit of information if you weren't even born yet let alone be a witness to that?" he asked.
"By simple investigation in the Summit Medical Center sir," Emmett replied.
"And Mr. McCarty, if this is all true, why would my client go searching for you?" he asked.
"I believe, sir, he wasn't searching for me, but my mother," Emmett replied.
"Give me a motive of why he would want to murder his own son?" the defense demanded.
"I'm not his son, he may have helped in my creation, but I am far from his son. He is far from my father," Emmett answered.
The defense attorney let out a frustrated sigh. "Mr. Cullen, could you tell the court why Mr. McCarty had a motive to kill you?" he asked.
"Sir, I believe it's because he couldn't stand the fact that my mother loved me and not him. He hated the idea that my mother picked another man over him, that other man was her son. He hated the fact that I was the one in her heart and not him," Emmett explained.
"Mr. Cullen you were only three at the time, how can you possibly remember every single detail of that night?" he asked.
"What he did to my mother…in front of me…and how she died…was the most traumatic thing I could ever experience as a child. It is also something I could never and will never forget," Emmett replied.
The defense walked a little closer to the stand. "Mr. Cullen, could it be possible that over the course of these last fifteen years, you could've mixed up some facts?" he asked.
"Possible? Yes sir, but is it true? No sir. I know what happened that night. I know too much of every detail to mix up the facts. The horrified expression on her face, the anger in his face when he realized she was dead and not me. I will never forget all the beatings, the shouting, the insults, and all the cruelty that he placed on me. My mother brought me into this world with open arms, smiles and love, but your "client", took it all away with one shot," Emmett explained, his voice cold.
Emmett swallowed hard, keeping himself from saying more. "You lying son of a bitch! You are a liar! I didn't kill her you did! You killed her!" Ian exclaimed standing up.
"Mr. Gregory I would suggest you keep your client restrained before I have removed for contempt of court," the judge told the defense attorney.
Ian sat back down, closing his mouth. "No further questions your honor," the defense attorney informed before sitting back down in his chair.
"You may step down Mr. Cullen," the judge informed.
Getting off the stand, Emmett walked back to his seat. Bella stood up, hugging Emmett tight. "You were great," she whispered. Emmett hugged her back, letting out a deep breath.
Two days later, Emmett and Bella were sitting in the courtroom when the jury informed they had reached a verdict. "We the jury find the defendant Ian McCarty guilty of second degree murder," the head juror informed. Ian stood up, his eyes glaring at Emmett.
"YOU RUINED EVERYTHING YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU RUINED IT ALL! YOU JUST WAIT! ONE DAY YOU'LL LOSE THAT PRECIOUS GIRL YOU LOVE! YOU'LL SEE! YOU'LL LOSE HER!" he shouted as the officers dragged him out.
Emmett wrapped his arm around Bella's waist. "Not while I'm still breathing," he muttered. Bella wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, closing her eyes. Emmett kissed the top of her head.
"Come on," he whispered.
She nodded holding onto Emmett's arm as they left the courtroom.