More Than A Vow

Chapter 67 The Trial

They had all been very shaky in the last couple of weeks. but their counselor had helped them all cope. Mariah had been amazing Tessa thought. The night before the start of the trial, they all had dinner together Sharon came over too. Mariah told them all that this was going to be hard for them all to listen to. She took Tessa's hand and said I'm stronger now and I can get through this with you by my side and the girls, I know I haven't told you what happened and the first time you will hear it coming out of my mouth will be at the trial. But she can't hurt me anymore, I won't let her. You are the one that has stood by me through all the ups and downs, but you will get upset about some stuff that needs to be said in that courtroom. Ok said, Tessa. They gave one another a big kiss. The next morning Tessa drove them all to the courthouse. Mariah and Crystal had to wait to be called, while Tessa, Sharon, and Cassie could go into the courtroom and listen to everything. Once they sat down, Lynsey was marched in it took all of Tessa's strength not to jump up and go for her. Cassie grabbed her mommy's hand to stop her. The attorneys did their opening speeches. Lynsey's attorneys were going for the sob story of rejection, she loved Mariah and would never of hurt her! 

Tessa had to go outside for a breather at one point. Mariah saw her go, and thought Oh god! How is she going to cope when it's my turn in the witness box? A week had gone by and every day Tessa took Mariah and Crystal to the courthouse, eventually, Crystal was called. It made Tessa's blood boil what her daughter had to see and witness, finally, her part was over, and next, it was Mariah's turn. Tessa sat at the back of the court, just in case she had to leave quickly. Mariah walked in and swore the oath. What's your name please. Mariah Coupland Porter. Are you married? No! I'm divorced and looked straight at Tessa when she said but I hope to be married again soon. The look on Lynsey's face set her off on a rant saying Mariah was a liar. She loved her not Tessa! The judge told her to be quiet, otherwise, she can go to the cells to cool off a bit. Lynsey quietened down. Tessa was so ready to fly across the courtroom and pounce, but she saw Mariah shake her head at her. 

Mariah took a deep breath on the stand. Where did you meet Lynsey? Argh! Well, that was a very long time ago, we were in a cult together when we were very young. Had you kept in touch with Lynsey? No! I never saw her once I left, until she turned up in GC. She was hoping I would help her out by signing her up. Sign her up? Yes, I sign Bands and Influencer's. She told me she did yoga sessions to my wife's music and looked up my wife first on google and through that found me. Wasn't she your first kiss? Yes, she was, but nothing else happened. You showed her kindness? Yes, I did, maybe we spent too much time together? Didn't your mom warn her off? Probably! I did nothing wrong except spending a lot of time with her and not my wife. I invited her into my home and in hindsight, I should not have done that. Why? Well, she thought it was something more than it was.  Didn't your wife feel pushed out and that's why you ended up divorcing? Yes, we did, I shut my wife out and I did not realize until it was too late what I had done. What happened once you got divorced? Err well the day we got home from the courthouse, She Mariah pointed to Lynsey turned up on my doorstep with her suitcases, thinking that because Tessa and I were no more she would move in! I and Crystal told her to fuck off! I then slammed the door in her face. 

So do you remember what happened the night when she broke into your house? She looked straight at Tessa who put her thumb up, to say she was ok. Yes, I do.. continue said the attorney. I parked my car and thought it funny there was no light's on indoors because Crystal was supposed to be already home because she was picking up dinner on her way back from work. I got to the front door and opened it, when I stepped in everything went black. Why did everything go black? Well apparently she'd hit me and I black out and hit the floor. What happened next? I finally woke up with tape over my mouth and my hands and feet tied up. I couldn't move. When I looked up there was Lynsey and then when I looked over to my right I saw my daughter Crystal was tied up too. Was she physical with you? Only ripping the tape off of our mouths and making them bleed and when she knocked me out  I guess. It was a baseball bat she hit me with? I was lucky she didn't crack my skull. Instead, I got a nasty gash. Which had to be stitched. 

When did you come around? Oh when she threw a bucket of water over me, she wanted to wake me up! She did find a bandage to wrap my head and cover the gash up. What did she want? Well, she didn't want money. She wanted me to marry her! The very next day she had a judge coming to the house. She got angry when I told her not to call me her love. Why? Because that's what my wife calls me and I didn't want her calling me that. Were you frightened? Very I didn't know what she was capable of. She had waited a long time to plan all this, she became a member of the security team who look after our houses on the Newman estate so that she could get into the house easily. She had planned everything, she watched all our movements for months. She knew when my wife was on tour, she knew how she would go about everything with precision. I think my daughter and I are very lucky we're still here. Mariah broke down.

Did you escape? No! She did untie our hands and then retied them in front of us, so we could drink water. What happened when you knew the police were outside? I didn't know they were there. Crystal mothed to me when Lynsey went to the kitchen, so I knew something was happening. Next thing we knew they had come through the door after Lynsey opened it thinking it was the judge and had her handcuffed on the floor. The paramedics were taking care of me when my wife Tessa came through the door in tears and held me and Crystal. I was then taken to the hospital. Lynsey was carted off and that's the last time I saw her until today. Ok well, thank you Mariah you can stand down now. She ran straight to Tessa at the back of the court. Tessa held her and said It's ok you did well it's over now. Mariah and Crystal's attorney told the court, that because of this trauma the whole family has had to go to counseling to work their way through it all. 

It did not take the jury long to come back in and convict Lynsey. She would be accessed and sent for mental health assessment. She would be locked up for a very long time. As she was taken down, she screamed that Mariah was a liar and that she loved her and wanted to marry her. Mariah went to grab Tessa's hand to get them out of there. But she was too late Tessa was already punching Lynsey. Mariah screamed and that stopped Tessa in her tracks. Lynsey got taken away. The judge was not happy with what she had done and got her taken down to the cells for a while to cool off. Mariah was not best pleased, the girls thought it was fab, however. When Tessa came back up after a couple of hours the judge understood why she had done it and let her go. 

Once outside there was a mass of photographers and reporters. Tessa then stepped forward and told them what she had done in the courtroom when Lynsey was being taken down. It's not something she will ever do again. But in all seriousness, we hope Lynsey will get the help she needs, but they now want to move forward and put the trauma out of their lives and just be there for one another. With that Tessa ushered her family to the waiting car and they all got in and she drove them home. Once there and the door was closed behind them, they all had a massive family hug. The girls disappeared and Mariah cupped Tessa's face and kissed her.