The Interview | ✔️

Keep Holding On Part 2

Steph's P.O.V

The trial went on. Alex and Brad had given their accounts of what happened. And then I was called to the stand. Here goes nothing.

"So, can you tell us what happened the night you were taken?" Joe and Teresa's lawyer asks.

"Sure. Carter had sent me home because I was done for the day, so I went home. Walking into our bedroom, I put my bag down and went to take a shower. After my shower, I had changed into one of Carter's shirts and a pair of shorts and then when I felt someone behind me grab me. We struggled for a bit, and then I got knocked out when I hit my head on the mirror," I reply.

"And what happened after that?" Their lawyer asks.

"I'm not sure how much longer after that it was, but I woke up in a dark place tied to a chair. I tried breaking free, but whoever tied the knots was very skilled. At first, I couldn't figure out who was there with me, but eventually, I was able to figure out that it was my ex-boyfriend Jake and one of Carter's old business partners' sons, Timothy," I say.

"And where are these people now?" the lawyer asks.

"Hell most likely," I say nonchalantly.

"Hell? As in they're dead? How did they die?" the lawyer asks.

"Yes. They're dead. And they died because they were shot," I reply.

"Interesting. Interesting. So, how did you come to the conclusion that my clients Joe and Teresa were involved?" he asks.

"Well, after they moved me to the old abandoned church, my mom came out and basically told me she kidnapped me and that she wanted me to wire some money to her from Carter's account. As for Joe, he would come and hit me a lot. It was only close towards the end of my kidnapping that Anastasia came into the picture and I found out that Joe was cheating on Tara. He was only using her so that he could get access to her family company," I reply.

"Now, Carter claimed to have an open communication system with you, but obviously you didn't know that he knew about your parents not being your actual parents. How are you so sure that Carter wasn't somehow a part of this whole thing? How are you so sure that Carter didn't plan this whole thing out?" the lawyer asks.

"Sure, Carter did hide the parents' thing from me, but he wouldn't plan for me to get kidnapped. There was this one time that I was talking to his Chef, Steve, and he almost fired him on the spot. Carter is possessive. He wouldn't plan for anything bad to happen to me. So stop trying to make my boyfriend the bad guy here," I reply. This lawyer was really getting on my nerves now.

"Yes, but-," their lawyer starts again.

"No. Why don't you answer me this. How could you represent two people like them? That man cheated on my best friend with my boyfriend's ex-fiance, who shot me. He starved me for days at a time and abused me. That woman kidnapped me as a baby and then tried to give me some sob story so I could wire her money from Carter's account. How could you represent people like that? All the evidence is there. There's no getting them out of this one. So what is it that they're offering that made you take this case, because you, me, and all the other people in this courtroom know that they're going to jail for a long, long time. So tell me, other than the pay, what else are you getting out of this?" I ask.

"That's all for now," the lawyer says, walking back to the table. It was up to the jury now. They would decide what was going to happen from here. To say I was worried was an understatement. I needed them to get life in prison. If they got anything less than that I would have to live with the fear of them coming back for me again one day. Walking out of the courtroom, I go outside to get some fresh air. I was still upset at Carter for not telling me that he knew, so I'd prefer to give the silent treatment rather than say something I might regret later.