The Rescue Of Zack ✔️

Chapter 9: The Final Verdict

As soon as I mentioned Selena's name, all the colors of Walker's faces faded.

"She is my grandmother. Why?"

"Is? Or was?"

"She was my grandmother. Why?"

"Does she or does she not had a dog?"

"Y-yes." The whole family had started to get nervous.

I took out my phone and turned to face the judge. "Your honor, we did some research and found out a little something interesting about Mrs. Selena. Here, read this."

The judge began to read the articles which Kevin and Jason showed us that night.  After an intensive five minutes of silence, the judge spoke, "Mr. Walker, were you and your wife present the night Mrs. Selena died?"

He nodded.

"And, is this also true that she had a dog?"

He nodded looking at the floor.

It's over Walkers! You're finished.

"And did you really adopt Zack or did he belong to Mrs. Selena?"

There was complete, pin-drop silence. The Walkers were surrounded from all the sides. They cannot escape now.

"He is my grandmother's dog." He said in a lower voice, almost whispering.

"Were's the will, Mr. Walker?"

He just stood there quietly, face down.

"Mr. Walker, where is Mrs. Selena Walker's will?" He asked in an authoritative tone.

"It's in my suitcase."

"Where's that?"

"In my car trunk."

The judge signaled two cops who were standing near Mr. Walker. They took the keys from him and went outside. A few minutes later, they came with a brown office suitcase and handed the will papers to the judge.

He took the will, read it, and wrote down something. "Mr. Walker, this will clearly mention that since Zack was very close to Mrs. Selena Walker, half of her property will go to those who will take care of Zack and half to your family. This makes complete sense to this case. You took Zack from your own grandmother for her money. You and your family have been lying to the court since the first hearing. You have even created false proofs. All the evidence is against your family. But there's still one loophole to this case though. Why were you cruel to this poor creature even when you got the money?" The judge asked looking over to Zack, who was sitting quietly in one corner with his head on the floor.

"I guess it's useless to make up anything now." He took a deep breath. "It's true. Zack is not an adopted dog. He was my grandmother's dog and has no medical history. We told her that we'll take care of her dog. But she, being my grandmother always knew that I see nothing but money. So, she also mentioned one condition when we told her that we'd be Zack's family after she dies that we'd be under supervision by one of her close friends and relatives and if they got even a hint that we were not taking proper care of Zack, they would take away the money and donate all the money to the Silvermoon's shelter. So, we pretended that we liked Zack and took care of it in public but in reality, we never liked him in the first place. "

"You sick monster!" I couldn't hold myself back. "How can anyone hate a dog? Even if you mistreated him, he was nothing but loving and loyal to you."

Mr. Walker scoffed and made a disgusted face.

"I think, it is all that this case needs. By looking and considering all the evidence, this court declares Mr. Walker and his family guilty of misleading the court, manipulating and creating false proofs, and most importantly for the cruelty towards animals. Mr. Rob Walker and Mrs. Taylor Walker are punished with the imprisonment of three years and Ms. Judy Walker and Mr.Liam Walker will be sent to the animal welfare shelter to take care of the animals. The Shelter and the police will send the court a report annually, stating how the Walkers are behaving. If they are not changed, strict action will be taken. And Zack would be put up for the adoption and the court will make sure that he will be given to a loving family. The court is adjourned."

"It's not over, Annabelle," Mr. Walker said after the family was cuffed and dragged by the cops out of the court.

"We won!" I heard Marissa's, Jason's, and Kevin's victory scream as they screamed together. I ignored the Walkers, ran, and joined my friends for a victory group hug outside. I cannot believe it was over. But one thing was really bugging me - why did the Walker come up with this whole adoption story in the first place when they could be honest. Marissa told me that it doesn't matter as it's all in the past now. What matters is that we had won. She was right. We had won against the dark. Zack would be given justice now. It was a long day - a long day where we all fought for justice.

"We did it, clown force!" Kevin said mocking Jason.

"Enough with the clown, Kevin. Come up with a better name for the group!"

We all laughed. It was near dawn. The sky was getting darker. Suddenly, I felt something against my jeans. It was Zack. He was wagging his tail and barking happily.

"Hey, Zack, see I told you I'd come for you. Now no more cruelty. You're free."

"And," Marissa knelt down beside me. "we all will make sure that the family who adopts you will be a loving family."

We saw the cops heading our way. "It's time to say goodbye, Zack. We'll miss you." He whined. "I know, it breaks my heart too. But you'll be loved. You'll get what you deserve. "  I held back my tears. I don't want him to go but it's for the best. He'll definitely be with a family much better than the Walkers.

I turned my back to hide my tears as the cops took Zack away.

"Annabelle," Jason put his hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Zack for one last time. Somehow he managed to break free from the cops and began to run towards me. He stopped just a few inches away and kept looking at me. It was the same feeling I got when I looked into his eyes that night before the scavenger hunt - don't go.

We all stood there silently. I spoke to break the silence after a few seconds, "Do you want to come with me?"

Zack barked and began to circle around me. I knelt down and hugged him. I cried tears of joy.

"Annabelle, look!" I heard Kevin exclaimed.

I rose my head, wiped the tears which were clouding my vision, and saw what Kevin was referring to.

It was that time of the year. The moon was shining its silver light and enveloped the entire Silvermoon town. It was so mesmerizing and beautiful.

And then I remembered, Any bond that would form during this day is special that would last forever.