Fragile (Broken #2) SVU

Chapter Twenty Four

**Amanda's POV**

I drive to the courthouse in silence, my thoughts on Sky and the hospital. Olivia is in no state to sit in for the verdict so I offered to come myself. Barba has done his best. Sometimes, no matter how much evidence you put in front of a jury, they decide wrong.

I take my seat, staring at the men standing trial for what they did to Sky. There is no sign of remorse showing on any of their faces, no sign of accepting what they did was wrong.

Judge Barth bangs her hammer onto the wood and the whispering stops. One of the members of the jury walks to the front, a piece of paper in his hand.

"How do you find the defendant - Thomas Humphrey, and his accomplices?" Judge Barth states, her body turned towards the jury.

"On the count of child sex trafficking, child pornography, sexual assault, and murder. We find the defendants..."

I hold my breath, my heart hammering inside my chest cavity.

"Guilty."

The world stops around me. There's uproar on the side of the perps. Shocked families, friends, the looks of anger and disgust directed towards me. I spot Elliot sitting at the back of the courtroom and he looks me in the eye and nods.

The officers lead the perps away, taking them back to their jail cells where they'll stay for a long time. A guilty verdict can't wipe away what happened to Sky but hopefully it'll give her a sense of closure, a fresh start. A chance for her to heal.

I walk out into the hallway with the intention of calling Olivia, but I'm stopped by Nick as he comes charging towards me.

"Woah, where's the fire?" I ask, putting my hands out in front of me.

"Amanda, where is Olivia?" He asks.

"She's at the hospital with Sky. Why? What's going on?"

"New evidence has arisen in the murder case of Peter. A witness says he saw a police officer leaving the scene."

"Oh." I say, panicking. "Well how do they know it was a police officer?"

"Says he saw them climb into a squad car. Do you know anything about this?"

"No, of course not. It won't be one of ours, we don't use squad cars."

"Amanda.. if you're lying to me. This is serious, a man has been murdered."

"I'm not lying to you Nick. I don't know shit." I say, starting to lose my temper. "But you know what Detective Amaro, I'm glad that son of a bitch is dead. What he did to that little girl.. I can't even describe HOW much she has been through, how much pain she has suffered, because of him. So yeah, I'm glad he's dead, but I don't know who killed him. But if I knew, I'd give them a damn medal."

I don't even bother to wait for his reply. I storm out of the courtroom, run down the steps and slam my car door so hard I'm surprised the glass doesn't shatter. I can't stop my hands from shaking or the fear of everyone getting closer to the truth about what happened.

**********

I head straight for the hospital when I'm calm again. As I walk towards Sky's hospital room I bump into Olivia. She looks drained - her eyes red and puffy, her clothes creased.

"We got a guilty verdict." I say, before she even has a chance to ask.

"Thank god." She says, looking up, muttering a silent prayer. "Wait.. why do you look so upset?"

"We have a problem."

I pull her towards the empty relatives room and shut the door behind us.

"A witness has come forward, about Peter's death. They don't have a description. They don't even know if it was female or male, but you were seen leaving the alley and getting into a squad car."

"A squad car.." she mutters. "I was so distressed I don't even remember how I got there or home, never mind why I was in a squad car. Amanda, what am I going to do? She needs me, I can't leave her."

"Just don't panic. I think I shook Nick off but if he comes asking questions, keep it shut Liv, I mean it."

She nods, trying not to cry. I hug her. I don't blame her for killing him, if I'd gotten my hands on him, I would have done the exact same thing. Everything I told Nick was the truth. I'm glad he's dead, he didn't deserve to have a life and the world is better off without him.