Pain. Chains. Banging. Screams for help.
"Please! Stop it! I just want to go home!"
The way he violated her... She will never be able to live this down...
"Cadence." Cadence blinked, slowly coming back from her flashback. Rafael was leaning on the stand slightly. They had been rehearsing what to say for their trial.
"Cadence. Do you need a break?" Rafael gently stroked the side of her face, pulling away when she flinched. She had been away from that... cabronazo for 2 weeks, and she was still trying to get used to real human contact again.
Cadence shook her head, sitting up straight. "N-no. Let's keep going. Where were we?"
Moving over back to his table, Rafael looked down at his notepad.
"You were explaining to the jury how exactly you were taken from the bar on that first night." Rafael still felt guilty about not being able to help more. About not preventing this entire situation.
"Right." Cadence took a small breath, closing her eyes and opening them after a moment. "You and I, we had headed back the day after my Bar and living area was trashed. I needed clothes."
"And when you arrived?"
...
"And when you arrived?"
Cadence was testifying for real this time. The trial date had almost... Snuck up on her. She was almost thankful. She wanted this to be over. For this to be done with.
"When we had arrived, the place was exactly as we had left it, though the glass and booze smell were gone. I had told you to stay in the bar while I went back to grab clothes. I had sat down on my bed for a moment when I felt a gun pressed to the back of my head."
Cadence wiped a tear away from her eye. "I had a hand over my mouth, and was told that if I said anything, that I would be shot dead."
Rafael crossed his arms, leaning back against his table. "And you managed to defend yourself."
"Yes. I... I bit his hand. Kicked him in the groin, and while he was incapacitated, ran out. I told you to run. We ran, but I tripped and fell behind."
"When you looked behind you, can you describe the man who was trying to take you?"
Cadence nodded.
"Can you point him out to us now?"
"I-it was him." Cadence pointed to Jim, who was sat next to Ramóne and their attorney.
"Let the record show that Ms. Hampton is referring to Mr. Jim Madison, one of the defendants." Rafael moved to the left of Cadence, leaning on the stand. "Can you tell me what happened after that?"
"He picked me up, held me by my neck with his arm. I called for you, and he told you that if you took one step towards us, that he would blow my brains out." Cadence shuddered, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. Her mind flashed back to that moment, her eyes closing in a slight pain. Rafael gently placed a hand on Cadence's shoulder and she snapped out of it.
"Please, Ms. Hampton. Continue."
Cadence sniffed, using a tissue to wipe away a tear. "H-he dragged be out through the back, tied me up, blindfolded me. He hit me in the head to knock me out."
Rafael went to his desk, and pulled a picture from a file. "People's evidence 3-80. A picture of the head wound sustained by Ms. Hampton on the night in question." He passed the picture to the jury.
The jury finished with the picture, Rafael handed it to the judge, who cringed slightly.
Rafael smirked, knowing he had found a slight leverage. He turned back to Cadence.
"Ms. Hampton, you said in a questioning by Detective Amanda Rollins, that you knew your kidnapper?"
"Yes."
"Would you mind telling the jury where from?"
Cadence bit his lip, taking a breath.
"He had kidnapped me before. When I was younger. Made me... Do things I didn't want to do."
"And those things were?"
Cadence took a shaky breath. "He... He made me take off my clothes on camera. Made me do sexual acts, with him, with his partner... With other children."
"How old were you when they took you the first time?"
"13. I escaped when I was 14."
"And you said the man had a partner? Could you point him out to us?"
Cadence pointed to Ramóne, who was sitting back in his chair. He rolled his eyes.
Rafael glared slightly at Ramóne. "Let the record show that Ms. Hampton identified Ramóne Escobar as her Kidnapper's partner." He turned back to Cadence.
"So, Mr. Escobar has a... History, of kidnapping, raping, and sexually exploiting young children?"
Cadence nodded. "Yes."
"Besides you, how many other children were there?"
"I'd say about three or four. I knew that there were different places where they kept more children. I remember Jim and Ramóne talking about it."
Rafael smiled, patting Cadence's hand. "I want to thank you for your testimony, Ms. Hampton. I understand how traumatic this experience was." Rafael sat, allowing the defendant's lawyer to begin questioning Cadence.
The defendant's lawyer was, in fact, very good at his job. Mr. Ben Cohen, a rather old man, but still as spry in the courtroom as a 25 year old.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Hampton. I am terribly sorry to hear about this... 'Traumatic' experience."
Cohen looked between Cadence and Rafael. "W-would you mind telling the jury... Exactly what the extent of your and Mr. Barba's relationship was?"
Rafael stood. "Objection, relevance?"
Cohen smiled, turning to the judge. "I just want to make sure that Mr. Barba won't be... Emotionally compromised during this trial. After all, he was a witness as well."
The judge thought it over for a moment, her lips pursed. "I'll allow it." Rafael sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat down.
Cadence cleared her throat, looking up slightly at Cohen from the stand. "W-we are... Romantically involved, I suppose."
"And have you and Mr. Barba had sexual relations?"
"Objection!" Rafael was rather red in the face as he stood, hearing a few chuckles from the gallery.
The judge sighed. "The witness may answer, but Mr. Cohen, please make sure that you are staying on topic."
Cadence blushed slightly. "W-we had.. Made out, once. We stopped after a few moments though. He said he would have liked to continue in a place more private."
"And did you?"
"No. I did spend the night at his house, but only for protection."
"Well, that sounds perfectly harmless." Cohen smiled, with a hint of a condescending tone.
"When my client first... 'Kidnapped' you, how exactly did this happen?"
Cadence looked to Rafael, who had a sympathetic look on his face. "I had arrived in New York, and was on my way to meet my father for the first time. I had gotten lost, and stopped for directions in the--"
Cohen cut her off. "Wrong side of town." He was holding a file, reading from it. "You claimed to a Detective... Olivia Benson, that while you were lost and stopped for directions, you were taken by my client. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
"Are you aware that Detective Benson was under examination for brutality against a certain William Lewis?"
Rafael stood. "Objection! Relevance?"
The judge nodded. "Sustained. Mr. Cohen, please keep your questions to pertain to the incident. Continue."
Cohen sniffed, setting the file down and rubbing his glasses with a piece of fabric from his pocket. "Okay... May I ask exactly why you were alone, in such a big city as New York? I mean, a 13 year old, all alone? You were bound to have been hurt somehow."
Cadence glared, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you saying that this is my fault? That I asked to get kidnapped?"
Cohen scoffed. "Well, I am saying that you should have noticed that you were in a shady part of the city."
Cadence glared slightly and crossed her arms over her chest. "I was 13. I still believed that everyone was my friend, and my mother had told me to stop for directions if I got lost."
"So, you didn't notice the run down buildings? The dirty people?"
"No. I didn't."
Rafael was staring daggers at Cohen.
"Sure you didn't. Let's move on to a further date, shall we? Let's talk about... What they made you do after you were taken a second time." Cohen smiled, showing his yellowed teeth.
"How old are you, Ms. Hampton?"
"I am 32."
"Really? You look so young."
The judge hit her gavel. "Mr. Cohen, you are here to question the witness, not compliment her."
"Right, sorry. You claim that my clients are pedophiles. What would they want with a 32 year old if they were allegedly sexually exploiting children?"
Cadence leaned towards the mic slightly. "Ramóne... He said that he wanted to make up for lost time, since I escaped before the 'usual leaving age'."
"How old were you when you escaped?"
"I was 14."
"And how did you escape?"
"A newer member. He was naive, almost... Reluctant. He left open a window to let in some air. He unchained me to let me stretch. He forgot to chain me before he left to the bathroom. I saw my chance to leave and I took it. I squeezed through the window, and ran as fast as I could away from that place."
"...Mhm. And, after you had... 'Escaped', where did you go?"
"A bar. The same one that I own. I was tired and thirsty. I knew that bars had drinks, so I entered it."
Cohen crossed his arms. "Why didn't you go to the police?"
"I was scared. I thought that if I told the police, it would make it easier for the men to find me again."
"Did you ever find your father?"
"No. I had forgotten his address by the time I had escaped."
"Then... Who did you stay with?"
"An old man, named James Hayword. I didn't want to tell him the truth. I had told him that I was a runaway. He never did find out the truth. He took me in, treated me so well. He left me the bar in his will, when he died."
The judge suddenly banged her gavel, spooking Cadence slightly.
"I am sorry, but we have reached our allotted time slot for today. We will continue tomorrow at 9 am. Mr. Cohen, you will be able to continue to question Ms. Hampton tomorrow. I hope you find a point by then."
(A/n: Hello~! I hope you are all enjoying this trial so far. I have honestly little to no knowledge of actual law, so please, bear with me as we get through this. I am going to have a small chapter between pt. 1 of the trial, and pt. 2. Cadence needs a small break. Maybe some nice fluff to lighten the mood a bit.)