"Mrs. Biderman, is it true that you hit your daughter?" My mother's lawyer asked.
"Of course not!" She exclaimed, looking stunned, as if she had never laid a hand on me. "I mean, yes maybe once or twice when she did something wrong but isn't it what all parents do?" She shrugged.
"So you never hit your daughter with no reason, or just because you were angry?"
"Of course not! She's my daughter and I love her." She stated, looking at me with pleading eyes, as if I were the mean girl in the story.
"But why would she say such a thing?"
"Because she never liked John, she couldn't even stand him. Everything was fine between us until I married him. She started to be mean to him, then mean to me. I didn't know what to do, I tried my best to make her happy, to offer her a beautiful life but... It was never enough." I gasped in shock at her statement, this is all fake! And now I know she's gonna lie about everything, she's gonna try and make me look like an awful daughter, she built her defense on lies.
Lies, lies, lies. "She hates me because of John."
"Speaking about him, why didn't you do anything when she told you what he did to her?"
"Because he never touched her!" The whispering started again and I looked wide-eyed at the jury. I'm not a liar! I wanted to shout.
"Trust me." Jack whispered next to me and I tried to calm my breathing.
"I'm sure my husband never touched her, he loved her like she was his own daughter, he would have never done such a terrible thing. John was a respected man, all his friends can tell you that! And he was never home anyway, he used to work a lot. I am 100% sure she is lying."
"Really?" Her lawyer asked.
"When she told me, I asked him his version of the story... He denied everything and I could tell he wasn't lying. I knew my husband." She paused for a second before looking at me. "She says she had nowhere else to go but that's not true. She used to sleep at her boyfriend's house all the time so if she really was in danger with us she could have left our house a long time ago... But she didn't. She stayed with her 'crazy' mother and 'perverted' step father."
"What about the day you saw him hit her?"
"That's a lie! I never saw him lay a finger on her! If if were true, I would have stopped him of course."
"Thank you Mrs. Biderman."
My lawyer stood up and replaced hers.
"Mrs. Biderman... You're saying you never hurt your daughter so my question is, why are you lying?"
"Objestion your honor!"
"Please Mr. Spencer, get straight to the point." The judge warned him.
"Mrs. Biderman, many people here can testify that you beat your daughter-"
"Well they're lying." She interrupted them.
"Fine." He sighed before he walked toward me and grabbed a file. He then turned around to face her. "I've got your daughter's medical records here in my hands, let's a look together if you'd like." He looked down and opened the file. "Since she was a child, your daughter has been admitted 6 times with physical injuries. Blows, fractures, internal bleeding... All have been listed as falls and fights with other kids... But never once have you filled a complaint against those kids who seemed to mistreat your daughter... That's hard to understand coming from a loving mother. But that's not all, more recently your daughter tried to commit suicide... Do you have any idea why she would want to end her life if her life was so perfect?"
"I don't know! She was probably being bullied at school! She never talked to me about how she felt."
"So you're saying your daughter used to come home covered with bruises or worst, and you never tried to know what was going on in her life? Never tried to know who did this to her?"
My mother's face turned white and I could see she didn't know how to answer.
"Like I told you, my daughter hates me. She doesn't share anything with me."
Jack chuckled.
"Well, the records also say your daughter was admitted 3 times with the flu, the notes say she was unhealthy, underweight with a weak immune system... Could that be because of you? Because you mistreated her, didn't feed her, didn't take care of her?"
"Objection!"
"Overruled."
"Blake was a very clumsy kid, that's all." She answered bitterly.
"This is hard to believe Mrs. Biderman but anyway, while looking through those records, I've found something even more interesting... You never visited her. The records never mention you. Your husband was always the one who picked her up and payed the bills. You never visited your own daughter while she was sick and hurting. Now can you tell me why a loving mother, who doesn't work, would never visit her own daughter?"
"I..."
"Yes?"
"I was busy, that's all."
"I wonder what can possibly be more important than your own daughter..." He turned to the jury, "That's all I had to ask."
The trial lasted two days and to me it felt like an eternity.
Both lawyers called their witnesses and here I was, forced to look at my mother's friends, forced to hear them tell the jury what a respected woman she is and how she would never hurt a fly.
It was sickening.
Those people don't even know me, didn't even talk to me once, how could they know what was going on behind the walls of our luxurious mansion once they were gone?
Luckily, Jack is a very good lawyer and my friends were also willing to testify.
"Miss Sharp, how have you met my client?" Jack asked Joane.
"Actually, if we are friends today, it's because of her mother." She answered truthfully. "We both go to the same school but I never really paid attention to her. Blake was the weirdo, no one really wanted to talk to her. I became jealous of her when the boy I liked started to turn around her, ya know how high school works," she shrugs, "I thought she had the perfect like, she was rich, smart and pretty, but God how I was wrong. One night, I found her laying on the streets, unconscious and even if I hated her, I couldn't let her die. So I called an ambulance and stayed at the hospital all night long, waiting for her parents to show up, for once I wanted to do the right thing, you know. But then she woke up and told me her parents wouldn't come, she told me her mother was the one responsible of her injuries." She stared at my mother with a look of hatred. "If I hadn't found her that night, she would be dead."
"What did you do after that?"
"I welcomed her into my place, I didn't want her to go back there. It was Christmas holidays and we stayed together until school started again. I told her to leave her house, told her that she could stay with me for as long as she wanted to but she didn't. I realized far too late that it was because of her step father, she was so scared of him. When she told me about him, I begged her to tell the police and to stay with me but, she was too afraid of him, he was rich and powerful and she thought no one would believe her so... She left and there was nothing I could do to make her change her mind."
I could see the regret on her face and hear the guilt in her voice and that's when I realized I should have never told her, I should have never put her in such a situation.
I've ruined everything by telling her my biggest secret.
"Mr. Cole, how long have you known Blake Turner?" My lawyer asked Liam.
"I've known her for a year and we've been together for months."
"How was she when you met her?"
"She didn't talk much, she had no friends, she seemed kind of sad all the time but no one paid attention to her, not even me."
"Did she tell you about her situation?"
"No, she didn't."
"And you never guessed something was wrong?"
"She kept lying to me. When she had bruises, she would said that's because she had fallen... And I believed her." He shook his head slightly. "Until I found her one night, asleep in her own garden. She was covered in bruises and I immediately knew something was wrong. I brought her to my house and took care of her. And she told me about her mother. They had a fight that night and her mother was responsible of her suffering."
"Why didn't you tell the police?"
"Because she begged me not to." He paused and looked down for a moment, "I shouldn't have listened to her, I should have done something. If I could turn back time, I would do something. But unfortunately, I can't do that. I believed her when she told me she would be safe when her step father would come back home from his business trip, I believed her when she told me her mother didn't dare lay a finger on her when he was there. But it was all lies."
"So she never told you about her step father?"
"No." Liam answered sternly and it broke my heart into million pieces.
"How did you find out?"
"I found out everything when she tried to kill herself. It was prom night and I was supposed to pick her up at the mansion but... By the time I made it, she had already swallowed a bottle of pills. Because she couldn't stand this life anymore, because she couldn't stand her mother's blows and because he fucking got her pregnant."
"Objection your honor! Again, this is not Mr. Biderman's judgement." My mother's lawyer stood up.
"This bitch let her husband rape her own daughter!" Liam stood up too, knocking his fists on the stand. "She has to pay!"
"Mr. Cole you are more than welcome to keep your calm." The judge warned him before facing my mother's lawyer, "And your objection is overruled Mr. Brown, stop interrupting us."
"Her mother is as guilty as she is." Liam sat down, crossing his arms angrily. "She let him come into their lives, she let him get closer to her innocent daughter while she was spending his money partying. What kind of mother doesn't believe their own daughter?! One fucking test, that's all it would have cost to know she was saying the truth, but she didn't even bother taking her to the hospital. She is a pathetic excuse of a mother."
Liam's testimony left me with unshed tears in the eyes.
"Mr. Cole..." Mr. Brown stood up and took my lawyers place. "Need I remind everyone who you are..." He grabbed a file and started to read, "Liam Cole, suspected of grand theft, violence and being a part of Vince Armentia's gang."
"Objection your honor, this has nothing to do with this case."
"Objection sustained, that's enough Mr. Brown."
"Alright," my mother's lawyer went on, "what I am trying to say is how can we be sure we can trust someone like you?"
"My past doesn't define who I am. According to you, everyone here is lying, well except for your client of course," He chuckled ironically, "you have no evidence against Blake simply because she is innocent, she is a victim and your client is the devil incarnate. That's all there is to say."
"And what about the day you stopped your girlfriend from killing your mother?"
"That's a lie. It never happened, Kate Turner made it up to protect herself. Blake would never hurt a fly."
Tom, Jen, Lucie... They all testified, saying good things about me and it warmed my heart. No matter what the judge decides, during this trial I realized that I have some things I thought I would never have... True friends. A family. A loving boyfriend.
I am loved.
I know these people will never betray me, I know these people truly love me for who I am, and without even knowing it, they made my life beautiful in its own way.
No matter what I endured in the past, I've gained something that's worth every blow, every tear.
Love.
I thought the trial was over when my lawyer asked one more person on the stand.
"I'd like to call my last witness, Agatha Turner." A woman stood up and made her way to the stand. Her grey curly hair and her wrinkled face made me guess she was in her fifties and I had this strange feeling I had already met her.
"Turner?" I whispered to myself. "Is she a part of our family?"
I turned to face my mother and she suddenly became agitated, I could see the discomfort on her face. Her muscles were tensed and she was whispering something to her lawyer.
My mother definitely knows this woman.
"Miss Turner," My lawyer started, "You are related to Kate Turner, right?"
"Yes, I am her aunt. Her mother is my sister." The woman answered in a small voice.
"Is your sister here today?"
"No, sadly my sister and her husband have died."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
"Miss Turner, do you know what happened between Kate Turner and her mother?"
"Kate got pregnant when she was just a teenager and sadly my sister and her husband kicked her out."
"I must admit that's pretty sad... Do you know what happened to Kate Biderman after her mother kicked her out?"
"Yes, I welcomed her into my place. She didn't have anything left, no job, no money... Obviously she couldn't raise a kid alone so I decided to help her."
"That's very nice of you. What happened next?"
"She gave birth to Blake and she needed a job so she decided to leave Blake with me while she was looking for a job and a new apartment. She left town when she found a job as a waitress in San Francisco, she asked me to look after Blake while she was looking for a decent place to live. I agreed, I was glad to help them."
"That sounded like a great plan, what happened after that?"
"I didn't see her for 5 years."
"5 years? Didn't she visit her daughter?"
"No, not even once. But honestly, I didn't mind taking care of Blake, she was such a sweet girl. Of course she knew Iwas not her mother but she considered me as one, and to me, she was like a daughter." She stared at me with big sad eyes and my eyes widened. I lived with this woman... For 5 years... How can I not remember such a thing?
"What happened after those five years?" Jack asked but of course he probably already knew the answer. Why didn't he tell me someone of my family would testify against my mother? Someone who raised me...
"One day Kate showed up at my house and took her away from me. It broke my heart. Blake didn't want to go with her, she was a stranger to her... But there was nothing I could do. I had no right, I was not Blake's mother, I was just a distant aunt. It broke me to watch her leave, I still remember the cute little dress she was wearing, I can still picture her like it was yesterday... I never saw her again... Kate never answered my calls and I bet she never read my letters either. Back then I wished she would offer her a beautiful life and today I blame myself for not protecting her."
Her statement left everyone in shock but it was nothing compared to me. This woman could have saved me, my mother was not forced to live with me... All these times she told me I've ruined her life, it was a lie. She had a choice. She could have let me live with her aunt, she could have gotten rid of me but she didn't. For some reason she changed her mind and came back to take me away from her. Why?
Why? Why? Why?
My mother is a crazy monster and no one can save her soul. It's too late for her, she will never be a good person, she's always been selfish and mean.
I don't know what made her this way and I guess I never will and honestly, I don't even care anymore.
She had a choice, she could have been a great person, she chose otherwise.
And I'm praying with all my heart that she will finally be punished for everything she's done.
After a short break, our lawyers made their last speech to the jury, starting with mine.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is a big decision that you have to make today. You can decide to change the life of this poor girl sitting on front of you, you can give her the fresh start she deserves, you can allow her to move on. In fact, I'd like to say more, you can succeed where everyone else has failed. Because in this case, everyone has failed. The doctors, the teachers... They didn't pay enough attention. They didn't see this girl needed help yet it was before eyes from the beginning. Each blow, each 'fall' was a warning signal they should have seen. But they didn't do anything. But today ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have the power to help. You have the power to change an innocent girl's life. All the evidence point to Kate Biderman and as a member of this jury, you have the duty to protect her daughter from her mistreatment."
My throat was constricted, my heart thumping in my chest and my mother's lawyer stood up and headed to the jury.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client is a loving mother, she never touched her daughter. All those 'evidence' are only suspicions and fake accusations. My client did everything in her power to raise her child. If you convict her today, you'll send an innocent person to jail. As members of this jury, you can't base your judgement on no evidence. I'm asking you to make the right decision by clearing my client of all those fake accusations."
The judge suspended the hearing and we decided to wait outside, I just couldn't wait to get to my friends, I needed their support.
Liam instantly wrapped his arms around me and my body went limp for a short moment.
"You did well." He said kissing my forehead. "I'm proud of you."
My lawyer walked toward us, interrupting our little moment.
"Blake, I'm very confident. We're gonna win this case."
"Finally the bitch is gonna pay." Joane crossed her arms angrily.
"Why didn't you tell me about Agatha Turner?" I asked him with concern.
"I didn't want you to stress out. Don't worry, you will get to meet her once the trial is over."
We waited here for a while, minutes felt like hours even though my friends were trying to make me feel better.
And finally, the jury return with their verdict...
"The defendant, rise, please."
All eyes were on the judge and I swear we could hear a pin drop. My mother stood up, playing with the hem of her dress.
This is it.
"The jury deliberated and they reached a verdict." The judge went on. "To the question is Mrs. Biderman responsible of mistreatment on the person of her daughter, their answer is yes."
I closed my eyes with relief, for the first time in my life I feel truly relieved.
"To the question did Mrs. Biderman failed to assist a person in danger, their answer is yes."
A single tear fell from the corner of my eye and I stared at my mother.
I thought I would never forgive myself for sending her to jail...
Today, I realized I was wrong.
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UPDATE GUYS! :-D
Kate got what she deserved! Hope you liked this chapter!
The story is not over, find out more soon in the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading! <3