*Thank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. They were greatly appreciated thank-you all so much.
NATALIE:
We are on the second day of Ashley's trial. She pleaded not guilty so it all came to this. Her account seems a lot different than my account of what happened. I am sitting waiting to take the stand to answer questions and tell the judge and everyone in the courtroom what happened to me while she and Max held me captive. I am really nervous and scared to talk to about it. I don't want John to hate me and I don't want to see the woman that caused me so much heartache and pain. It's a really hard day. John has kept his temper pretty well even though I can see it on his face that he wants to rip Ashley apart and make her suffer the way she made me suffer. John really wants to get his hands on Ashley but he is remaining calm which is in the best interest for everyone because if he flips out it could jeopardize our case. I can feel my hands and legs shaking as I wait. The judge walks into the courtroom as we stand. I am shaking so bad I feel like my legs could give out on me at any moment. The judge finally gives us permission to sit down and I am relieved for a few seconds before I am called to the stand. I get up and John softly rubs my back to comfort me. I walk shakily to the stand. Once I am on the stand the man says, "Raise your right hand." I raise my right hand. "Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" he asks.
"I do," I say.
"You may be seated," he says.
I take my seat as my lawyer walks over to me. "Natalie, in your words can you tell us what happened on the afternoon of October 7th, 2012?"
"I wasn't feeling well so I laid down to take a nap. Before I could fall asleep a woman appeared in my room," I say reliving that day.
"And who was this woman, Ms. Morgan?"
"Ashley Cena," I say. "It was Ashley Cena."
"And what happened after that?"
"She took me at gunpoint. She threatened to kill me, to kill John and to kill my daughter. She told me if I made a sound she would kill me. She held the gun to my head until I went with her. She took me out of the balcony door and out the backyard. We drove and drove before we came to a farmhouse," I say as I feel the tears burning in my eyes.
"And then what happened?" he asks.
"She took me into this barn and tied me to a chair. Then she had her partner Max come out to help her. She wasn't letting me go," I say.
"How long would you say that Mrs. Cena held you captive?"
"A month," I say, "until I finally escaped."
"And what happened during that month?" he asks.
I feel my heart start to race as I think about everything that happened in that month that I was held by Ashley and Max. I wouldn't even wish that on my worst enemy. It was probably the most horrible month of my life and I haven't talked about it until now. I want Ashley to pay for what she did and no matter how painful it is for me to say what happened in front of John and my family as well for me to relive it I have to so that Ashley gets what she deserves. "It was horrible. For a few days they made me stay out in the barn. They made me pee in a bucket and Max raped me every day. Ashley made him do it. Every time she would stand there and watch. She encouraged him to hurt me. It hurt so bad. Every time I cried she would hit me or threaten to come back and kill my daughter. They made me eat from a pig slop with my hands tied behind my back. Ashley and Max treated me like an animal. Ashley would keep me tied to a chair and beat me every day. She would hit me with belts, whips, chairs and everything she could get her hands on. Then they finally moved me into the house. They kept me locked in a bedroom for days where Ashley made Max rape me several times a day. If he refused she would threaten to kill him. He always went with what she said. I just started to feel numb and hopeless. Finally they let me walk around the house but they never let me leave the house. Ashley continued to beat me up but Max started to rape me more and without Ashley around. I finally tried to escape one day when Ashley went out to get some food."
"And why did Ashley kidnap you?"
"She wanted my baby. She wanted to take him so that she could get John back. She was planning to deliver my baby."
"I have no more questions," he says and I am relieved until I see Ashley's lawyer getting up and walking over to me. This means it's his turn to ask me questions.
"Ms. Morgan, when did you conceive your baby with Mr. Cena?" He asks me.
"Late April early May 2012," I say.
"And when you got involved with Mr. Cena was he married to my client?"
"Yes," I say ashamed of myself.
"So you were having an affair with Mr. Cena while he was married to my client?"
"Yes," I say.
"My client was married to Mr. Cena during your affair so you were the reason he divorced her?"
"No," I say, "he divorced her because he didn't love her."
"He loved her enough to marry her," he says with a smirk. "Your Honor, my client was undergoing psychiatric help at the time of the kidnapping. She was not in the right mind state when she kidnapped Ms. Morgan. Ms. Morgan was sleeping with her husband that would make any woman go crazy. It was a simple act of insanity."
"Your honor," says my lawyer, "I want to counter that. Ashley Cena had been stalking my client for weeks before she took her. My client was uncomfortable with the thought of Ashley Cena knowing where she lived. She was scared of what Ashley would do to her."
"But my client's husband was having an affair with your client," he says.
"But that doesn't mean your client has the right to kidnap someone at gunpoint and threaten to take her baby."
"Your client wouldn't have had a baby if she wasn't sleeping with my client's husband."
The lawyers are going back and forth before the judge his the gavel and says, "Order in the court. Are you done with your witness?"
"I am," says her attorney. I am dismissed back to my seat before Ashley is called to the stand.
"Do you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth?"
"I do," she says.
"You may be seated," he says.
"Ms. Cena," says her attorney, "how did it feel finding out about John's affair?"
"It broke my heart. I thought we were fixing things and then she came along and ruined it all. John didn't talk divorce until she came back around with her daughter and her pregnancy. It wasn't fair."
"And what did you do to help your feelings?"
"I went to see a therapist for help. I needed to get help because I didn't feel right in the head. I wasn't going to kill anyone. I wasn't really thinking," she says.
"Very well," he says. "Your witness," he says to my attorney.
"Ms. Cena, is it true you were planning to get revenge on my client?"
"No," she says.
"But you had Maxwell Winters ready to help you?"
"Yes," she says.
"So it was all premeditated?"
"I plead the fifth," she says.
"Okay. And what were your intentions with my client?"
"I plead the fifth," she says again.
"Are you going to answer any questions?"
"No," she says.
"All right," he says.
Ashley is dismissed back to her seat. The judge sends the jury into deliberation and sends us on recess till the verdict is in. I get up and walk up to John. "You did so good, Baby," he says as he hugs me. "I am so proud of you."
"Thanks," I say. "I can't believe she pleaded the 5th to all the questions."
"It's okay. That's her constitutional right," says John.
"But since it came out we had an affair they can make the jury see things differently. I'm scared, John. What if she gets away with this?"
"After everything she did to you I don't think they are going to let her walk."
"I hope not," I say and I am worried about that until the jury reached their verdict.
Four hours later the jury finally reaches their verdict and we are all called back into the courtroom. I am nervous at what they decided. "Would the defendant please rise," says the judge. Ashley rises before the judge says, "When it comes to the count of attempted homicide how do you find the defendant?"
"Not guilty," says a juror and I am shocked.
"On the count of kidnapping with a deadly weapon how do you find the defendant?" he asks.
"Guilty," says the juror.
"On the account of physical assault how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty," says the juror.
"On the account of attempted kidnapping of Gabriel Cena how do you find the defendant?"
"Guilty," says the juror.
"Thank-you for your services," says the judge. "I am going to recess court till 8 a.m. tomorrow morning where we will sentence the defendant.
I do not sleep at all that night because I am too worried about what is going to happen in the sentencing the next day. We arrive at the courthouse bright and early with the hope of Ashley getting everything she deserves for what she has done. We're not in the courtroom long before the judge enters the courtroom. As soon as we are seated he says. "I have seen a lot of cases come into my courtroom and I know there are a lot of circumstances that occur but because your husband sleeps with another woman does not give you the right to kidnap her and threaten to take her baby from her. Mrs. Cena, please rise." Ashley stands up so that the judge can read her sentence to her. "Mrs. Cena, you are held responsible for the kidnapping of Natalie Morgan and Gabriel Cena with a deadly weapon. You will serve 25 years on each count consecutively with no parole. On the count of physical assault on Natalie Morgan you will serve 10 years consecutive without parole. On the count of physical assault on Gabriel Cena, you will serve another 5 years consecutively without parole. On the attempted kidnapping of Gabriel Cena you will serve 10 years consecutively without parole. You will serve a total of 75 years in prison without parole where you will be forced to receive psychiatric help. You are to have no contact with John Cena, Natalie Morgan or Gabriel Cena now or when you are released from prison." I am relieved. 75 years is a pretty long time but it is what she deserves after what she's done. I almost feel bad for her as she breaks down crying but I can't feel sympathy for her. She tried to kill me and take my child I do not feel bad for her. John hugs me and I hug him back. This is a great day for us and only good things are left to come for us. We have a wedding to focus on.
*A/N: so what did you think? Please review and thank-you for reading.