64
Edward slipped his arm around Bella as they followed their family into the courtroom once again. Today, ten days since the jury of eight men and four women unanimously convicted Sam Uley on the numerous charges against him, they were returning to the courthouse to hear the sentence that Judge Dwyer was handing down.
Kate had argued for the maximum, while Eleazar had argued for a stay in a mental hospital siting that he had a mental illness. He did, but he knew exactly what he was doing when he targeted Bella and Gianna. Not to mention Leah Clearwater and Emily Young. The world would never know what he did to those little girls. Sam Uley left a trail of bodies behind him, tore families apart, and damaged the souls of too many.
As they took their usual seats, Bella sighed and leaned her head against Edward's shoulder, causing him to smile as he turned and pressed his lips against the top of her head. "He can't hurt me anymore."
"That's right, sweetheart," he whispered. She'd been repeating those five words to herself a lot over the last ten days. Marcus said it was important, that the more she said it, the more she would believe those five little words. "I love you."
She tilted her head back, smiling at him with tears in her eyes — tears she had been fighting a lot over the last ten days. "I love you, too," she whimpered. "He can't hurt me anymore."
"He can't," he assured her, bringing her hand up to his lips, pressing a kiss against her palm. "You're free from him, Bella."
She nodded and looked back to where he usually sat. They hadn't brought him into the courtroom yet, though at that moment, the door in the back of the room opened and the same two guards who had been escorting Sam Uley into court, once again dragged him inside. Unlike during the trial were he had been wearing an expensive suit, he was now wearing the standard orange that convicted felons wore. His hair was greasy and messy, his face covered in blue and purple bruises, his eye was still swollen and he had a bandage against the left side of his neck. His right arm was still in a sling, and as he had been over the last few weeks, he was limping and winced when the guards all but shoved him into his chair.
"He can't hurt me anymore," Bella whispered once more as Sam Uley turned and looked back at her, as he had done every single time he was brought into the courtroom. "He can't hurt me anymore."
"No, he can't," Rosalie said from her other side of her, reaching out and taking hold of her other hand. Bella tensed for just a moment before she relaxed and nodded, turning her head away from Sam Uley. "It's almost over, Bella."
She nodded just as the door to the back of the courtroom opened and Judge Dwyer hurried inside, taking a seat behind his bench and looking around at everyone. He picked up the file in front of him just as the door to the courtroom opened again and when they looked back, they saw the same woman from ten days ago enter, pause and take a seat in the back row. Jasper had told them that her name was Sue Clearwater, mother to Leah, aunt to Emily, victim of Sam Uley. She'd lost her daughter, her niece, and her husband, who everyone was convinced had been murdered by Sam Uley. Today, Sue Clearwater would get the justice she deserved for everyone he took from her.
"Let's not waste time with formalities," Judge Dwyer said, clearing his throat. "Samuel Jared Uley, please stand."
Eleazar wrapped his hand around the man's arm and pulled him to his feet, where he once again winced.
"Samuel Jared Uley, you have been convicted on three charges of murder in the first degree. The state of Washington sentences you to three life sentences without the possibility of parole in a state correctional facility to be assigned by the department of corrections."
Sam Uley blew out a heavy breath, and Edward felt Bella move closer to him. He slipped his hand out of hers, looking at as her eyes widened in panic, and slipped his arm around her. She closed her eyes for a moment before they opened.
"Samuel Jared Uley, you have been convicted of one count of Attempted murder in the first degree. The State of Washington sentences you to twenty-five years in a state correctional facility to be assigned by the department of corrections. Samuel Jared Uley, you have been convicted one charge of aggravating kidnapping. The State of Washington sentences you to eighteen years in a state correctional facility to be assigned by the department of corrections. Samuel Jared Uley, you have been convicted one charge of sexual assault of a minor. The State of Washington sentences you to forty-seven years in a state correctional facility to be assigned by the department of corrections. Samuel Jared Uley, you have been convicted one charge of child endangerment. The State of Washington sentences you to ten years in a state correctional facility to be assigned by the department of corrections. All sentences shall be served consecutively."
Edward released a deep breath. Three life sentences and an additional hundred years in prison. Sam Uley would never see the light of day again.
Judge Dwyer picked up his gavel, his eyes shifting to where Bella sat curled up against Edward. "Court is dismissed."
They sat still, quiet as the guards pulled Samuel Uley to his feet and led him to the back of the courtroom. He yanked against the hands gripping his arms as he turned and glared at Bella, his eyes hardened before the guards jerked him through the doors, taking him away one and for all.
—SfH—
Carlisle stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall with his hands shoved into the pockets of his black slacks, watching the fragile, delicate little girl standing next to his brother. When she ran in front of his car a few months ago, he never imagined how much his life would change. She had challenged everything he knew, changed his way of thinking, and gave him the courage to fight for the life that he wanted, not the one he was molded into thinking he needed. Instead of working hundred hour weeks, he was opening his own practice, making his wife and daughter his priority. Bella had given him the courage to fight for his family, the way she had fought for them.
"Hey, you," Esme murmured, slipping her hands along his sides, pressing her body against his. "You okay? You're being kind of quiet over here."
"I'm okay," he said, placing her hands on the side of her neck. "I've missed you."
She smiled. "I missed you, too, dork."
Carlisle leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. Esme moaned, which he took advantage of and slipped his tongue into her mouth. However, before he could deepen the kiss more, he heard Bella saying, "Eww, they're using tongue again!"
Esme placed her hands on his chest and pushed him backward, and when he looked at Bella, he saw her grimacing, though there was a light in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.
"Yeah, yeah, I kiss my wife using tongue. Get over it, honey," Carlisle snickered, wrapping his arm around Esme and pulling her back against him. "We should go home. Seven, tonight, right?"
Once everyone had nodded, they headed out to the parking lot, climbing into their own cars. Carlisle stood with the door to his car open, watching as Edward and Bella drove off alone. While many would have said that he was good for her, and he was, she had been extraordinary for him. She'd given him someone to love, someone to fight for. Together, the two of them would have a long, happy life together.
"Hey," Esme called and when he leaned down and looked at her. "Let's go home."
"Let's go home," he echoed before he climbed into the car.
When they got home, Carlisle paid the babysitter while Esme headed into the kitchen to start preparing dinner, seeing as there were going to be a lot of people there. Not only was it going to be himself and Esme, but Edward, Bella, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, James, Laurent, Kate, Garrett, Ben, Angela, Marcus, and Maggie — all of the people who had stepped up and fought for Bella, fought for her to have a life, to be free of the monster who stole everything from her. Tonight, they would celebrate Bella's courage, her strength, her grit. Tonight, they would celebrate her determination to be someone, something.
—SfH—
While everyone else headed home, Jasper stayed at the courthouse, finding himself in court twelve, once again. Him, Garrett, Kate, and Marcus, who said he would be there for Bella as the three members of the Tribal Council faced their punishment for their assault on Bella. It hadn't taken long for Quil Ateara, Paul Lahote, or Embry Call to beg for a deal, especially when Sam Uley had all but threw them under the bus during his own testimony, and five days ago the three men had changed their pleas to guilty, and were now waiting for their own sentencing. While Jasper felt Bella had the right to face them, as she had Sam Uley, they all agreed (including him) that she'd fought her fight, and now they would finish what she started. She'd given enough.
"Still think Eric Yorke should be standing there with those sons of bitches," Garrett grumbled.
"No shit," Jasper scoffed.
"Well, he's not, so get over it," Kate quipped, watching as her boss sat at the prosecutor table. "I can't believe that asshole is sitting there when I did all the fucking work."
"You?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Us," she amended. "It's really over, isn't it? All these men who hurt that sweet girl are paying for their crimes."
"And for what they've done to others," Jasper said, frowning. "Like Emily Young."
"Gianna Romans," Garrett murmured.
"Leah Clearwater," Kate added. "And who knows how many more."
The door to the courtroom opened and Judge J. Jenks hurried into the courtroom, taking his seat behind the bench. While there were still plenty of people into the courtroom, there weren't nearly as many interested in the sick, twisted men who came off the reservation. The media hadn't given them as much airtime a Sam Uley, only stating that they had been arrested in connection to Bella Swan's kidnapping. Like that's all those men had done to her.
"Quil Ateara, Paul Lahote, and Embry Call, all three of you have pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a minor, as well as facilitating the illegal marriage of a minor without her parents' consent. Is that correct?"
"Yes, your honor," Quil Ateara stated.
"Yes, your honor," repeated Paul Lahote, followed by Embry Call saying, "Yes, your honor."
"And what does the state recommend for sentencing?"
Riley Biers stood. "The state asks for the maximum on each charge."
Judge Jenks nodded. "And the defense?"
"The defense accepts whatever the count thinks is just," the young dark haired attorney spoke. Her name was Siobhan, and she had been assigned as a public defender.
"I see." Judge Jenks picked up a manila folder and read through it for a moment before he said, "I tend to agree with the State's recommendation. I sentence Quil Ateara, Paul Lahote, and Embry Call to twenty years on the charge of sexual assault of a minor, five years each on the charge of facilitating the illegal marriage of a minor to be served consecutively."
Judge Jenks banged his gavel before he stood and walked out of the courtroom. As the guard led the three members of the tribal council out of the courtroom, Jasper released a deep breath. All those men who had hurt her, who had put their hands on her and tore her soul apart piece at a time, they would spend the rest of their lives paying for their depravity. Now, it was over for Bella Swan.
—SfH—
She laid back on the blanket at the Olympic Sculpture Park, rolling onto her side and staring at Edward, who had one of his textbooks on his lap as he scribbled notes about the sculpture in front of him, the same one of the two people on pedal stools reaching for each other.
"I can feel you staring at me, sweetheart," he chuckled, before he looked down at her. "It's very distracting."
"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not," she murmured, grinning. "I like watching you when you're studying art."
"Why?"
She shifted so that she was sitting next to him and shrugged her shoulders. "You get this look in your eyes, like you're seeing something different, amazing."
"I do," he said, nodding and gesturing toward the little girl. "When I was little and my mom would bring me here, I thought it was sweet, a little girl stretching for her family. I didn't see the crudeness behind it. Now, I do."
"Because of me?"
Edward nodded. "Not just you, of course, but I'll be the first to admit, Bella, that until you walked out of that closet, I hadn't seen what people like Sam Uley did to little girls like you. You can't turn on the news without hearing about some girl who had gone missing, but it never hit home, you know? But I'd never really understood the Hell you went through, but then I saw you," he whispered, placing his hand on the side of her face. "From the moment I saw you, sweetheart, I knew I had to be a part of your life."
"I thought you were handsome," she whispered. "I was scared. So fucking scared. I didn't want Sam Uley to hurt Carlisle or Esme, or especially Beth. They were my nice people, they got me pancakes," she laughed through her tears. "I told myself to run, to save them, but I couldn't get the window open and I was too scared to go downstairs, so I hid in the closet." She pulled her knees up to her chest, laying her head on top. "You called me a thief."
"What?" he asked, frowning. "When?"
She smiled weakly. "That morning. When Carlisle brought you to the bedroom, he said he didn't know where I'd gone, and you . . . you asked him if he'd made sure I hadn't stolen anything."
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry."
"You were right," she said, putting her hand up and keeping him from touching her. "I was a thief, Edward. Just hadn't stolen from you, but I had stolen before. Food, clothes," she added. "When I walked out of the closet, and I saw you, I thought there's no way they're going to let me stay when they found out that I was a thief."
"You did what you had to do to survive, sweetheart. None of us think you're a criminal."
"No, I know," she said, nodding. "Marcus and I have talked a lot about, you know, my time with him, and I know that nothing that happened to me was my fault, but I hate that I let him manipulate me into thinking that I was a nothing, a nobody, when I was always someone. That I didn't beg someone for help the first time he left the door unlocked."
"You weren't ready then," Edward said, shoving his textbook off his lap and turning so he was facing her. "You were waiting for Carlisle to be parked at the red light, with the windows down, playing some loud music."
Bella smiled. "He brought me to you."
"He did," Edward whispered, placing his hand on the side of her face. "And he brought me you, sweetheart. The woman I fell in love with."
"I love you, too," she whimpered, turning and placing a kiss on the palm of his hand. "I'll love you forever, Edward."
"As will I, sweetheart," he whispered before leaning in and pressing his lips against hers. "Forever."
Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! This is the last regular chapter. We have an epilogue left, which I hope to have finished this weekend, and we will have some outtakes, but I am not going to focus too much time on those.
