Chapter 15

Cadence went to a cell for the night. The officers had to talk to a judge to see when she would be going to court and prison and for how long.

Fairfield, Connecticut

Angela was pacing the kitchen floor. "Tony, what do you mean my daughter has been arrested? She's 12. She would have never killed Victor, even if she isn't aware that he's not her father."

"We know, Angela, and she has been framed. She has to have been. You and I both know what she's capable of, but the police don't, and we have to go to that trial and support her. She may not remember us, but we will help Angela, and she will have us back. Victor isn't around anymore, but whoever set Cadence up is going to pay for it."

"Oh, Tony, I hope you're right."

"Of course, I am. Now, let's go pack and head out to San Francisco, California."

"Well, what about Sam and Johnathan? Tony, they can't go see a 12-year-old be wrongly put in prison."

"They can stay with Mrs. Rosini, if they want, but you know if Sam wants to see justice for the other guy, you know Johnathan will want to be there too. I know they would."

"Alright. Let's talk to them."

San Francisco, California

Cadence had to attend trial. This sucked, but she didn't have a choice. The police assumed her guilty.

"Raise your right hand. Do you swear to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth so help me God?"

Cadence nods. "Yes."

"What is your full name according to your parent/guardian here?"

"Cadence Pandora Halliwell."

"That's Cadence, Dad?" Samantha whispers.

"Yes, honey, it is."

"What do you mean, Samantha? You remember her?"

"I talked to her on the phone once. It was one day you asked to take a message for Patty from Angela."

"Oh, that's right. I did."

"And how old are you, miss Halliwell?"

"12, sir. Almost 13."

Tony and Angela watch the court. They both wished maybe Samantha and Cadence would remember everything.

"And who in this room do you know?"

Cadence looked around for a minute. My sisters Prue, Piper, Pheobe, Paige and my mother Patty."

"And who was the man that died?"

"My father Victor."

"And miss Halliwell, were you there?"

"Yes, I came in after I found him..."

"But you said, you didn't know where he lived. Is that correct?"

"Yes. I didn't know where he lived."

"How can you explain these pictures, miss Halliwell? It shows you at the scene talking to him, before you stabbed him."

"I was at the scene after. I didn't stab my father."

"Then how do you explain blood on your jeans that night, miss Halliwell?"

"I grabbed a towel. I knelt down in front of him. He was bleeding heavily. I just put pressure on the wound. That's it. I tried to save him, Your Honor. He lost too much blood, and he died in front of me."

"Would you say your relationship with your father was great?"

Cadence sniffled. "No, but whose is? I cared about him, but he never cared enough about me. He was never around, and it became my new norm."

"Did you have fights?"

"I was too young to have a relationship, Your Honor. When I was 6, all I remember is my Mom divorcing my Dad. Twice."

"Twice, as in your mom Patty, right?"

"Twice as in my Dad got divorced twice. For good reason. My mom protected me from him, but I don't know why. He's not here anymore then why does it matter? He didn't love me."

"No further questions."

"Then by the state of California, I hereby say Cadence is sentenced to prison for 4 years on an account for homicide to Victor and sent to a girl's prison in Alexandria, Australia until any further information can clear her name."

Samantha looks at Tony, Angela, Patty and Mona. "What? Dad... you can't just let Cadence move to Australia, right? Prison sounds harsh. You have uniforms."

"Until someone clears her name, she has to go, Sam. I can't keep her away from the law."

"But, Dad, there's no way Cadence did it. It wasn't a fair trial. The other defendant wasn't around."

"We will figure it out, Sam, okay?"

"She was so nice on the phone, Dad. I wanted her to be my friend."

"We will figure it out, Sam. Come on. Take Johnathan and go with Mona to the car. I'm going to talk to Angela."

"Tony," Angela says as Sam and Johnathan are out of earshot, "When she said twice, I believe she was talking about my divorce also with Michael."

"How would she know if Victor had both Sam and Cadence forget?"

"What if it wasn't Victor but someone else?"

"Tony, not the shapeshifters. He's the only problem if it were him. If he's the one way of getting Sam and Cadence to remember everything, we have to talk to Patty, but if it goes deeper than that, we have to help Cadence and Sam, even if we will have to visit Cadence in prison."