The Missing Piece // Scarlett Johansson x Daughter

Bitter and Sweet

"Yes!" June's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"But don't tell your mom, she'll scold me for filling you with sugar."

"It's a secret, shhhh," June pressed her finger to her lips, sealing their complicity with a whisper.

Meanwhile, Colin was driving, and Scarlett stared out the window, her stomach tied in knots. In the backseat, her sister Vanessa was talking, but Scarlett was barely paying attention, neither to her nor to their mother's remarks, until Colin squeezed her knee, snapping her back to the present.

"Scarlett, breathe," he whispered gently.

Scarlett bit her lip to hold herself back; just the thought of confronting the villain who had kidnapped her daughters and harmed the youngest filled her with rage.

The car came to a stop and Scarlett exhaled deeply, more deeply than she thought possible, and turned to her husband with a serious expression.

"Hold me back, because if I get a shot at him, I'm going to go for it," she warned with tense urgency.

Colin squeezed her knee again in a silent pact. As they got out of the car, he quickly moved to her side, taking her hand. Melanie and Vanessa positioned themselves on the other side, while at the courthouse entrance, Chris was talking to Harold, the lawyer.

"Scarlett," Harold greeted her with a formal tone.

"Harold," she replied sternly.

Chris, watching Scarlett's tense face, knew his friend well and could see that her apparent composure was just a facade. He hugged her, feeling her tension overflow.

Once inside, Scarlett's piercing green eyes scanned the room looking for one particular person. She felt frustrated not finding her, yet relieved at the same time.

"Let's go in," Harold suggested cautiously.

As the trial began and the details of the incident echoed through the courtroom, tears trickled down Melanie's cheeks. Scarlett maintained a tense demeanor, her jaw clenched, and her eyes shooting daggers at Nick's back, while Colin continued to support his wife, who had turned into a bundle of nerves.

The first to testify were the witnesses: the young woman who had entertained Cosmo and the teachers who had handed the girls over to the supposed policeman. Even an officer who had been at Scarlett's house watching the events unfold live also gave his testimony.

Harold watched his client, uncertain whether to change the strategy and risk everything without Scarlett taking the stand. This idea gained momentum until Nick Perry took the stand and changed everything.

"You falsified the paperwork so the Smiths could replace their deceased daughter with the stolen child," Harold accused.

"Mariah is an exceptional mother; she doesn't deserve to rot in jail. She provided a home for that ungrateful child; Mariah just wanted to complete her family," Nick defended.

"Kidnapping, Mr. Perry, is a crime."

"My God, Johansson could have more children, she is a fertile woman!" Perry exclaimed. "Mariah had difficulties after the twins."

"We are not here to debate fertility or lack thereof; the case is that abducting a minor is a crime. There is no justification for stealing a child, Mr. Perry."

"What kind of circus is this?" Perry was furious. "That girl shot me, I demand my rights!"

"Mr. Perry, in this trial, you are charged with indirectly collaborating in the kidnapping carried out by the Smiths, the kidnapping of my client Scarlett Johansson's daughters, and shooting a little girl who could have died. You are not in a position to demand anything."