"Ms. Page, what is your occupation?" Diane asked.
"I manage and choreograph performances at the cabaret theater, Madame le Fleur's, several minutes away from here in the city." Esther answered.
"When did Mrs. Alice Hiddleston audition for the upcoming season at your theater?"
"Alice auditioned in January thousand-eight."
"And how old was Mrs. Hiddleston at the time of her audition?"
"She was seventeen," Esther replied. "But showed a hell of a lot of talent for a girl her age."
"You allowed a seventeen year old to join a cabaret show? A minor?" Diane furrowed her brow.
"With a girl as talented as her, I wasn't going to let her go that easily. I stand by my decision as my own daughter, Jamie, has been dancing since with my ensemble since she turned eighteen."
"So, you would let your eighteen year old daughter join but not wait until Mrs. Hiddleston was that age as well?"
"As I said, I stand by my decision." Esther spoke.
"Let's put your daughter in Mrs. Hiddleston's shoes for a minute," Diane told her. "Let's say your daughter, after a series of erratic behavior and rebellion against your authority, decides to audition for a show, as a minor, that exhibits routines of a sexual and provocative nature. She gets the gig and decides she wants to leave home, cutting herself off from you. Would you let her go?"
"Being the one who manages a show that exhibits routines of a sexual and provocative nature, as you so nicely put it, I don't believe I have a say in anything she does," Esther smirked. "Besides, she's my headliner."
Jamie chuckled from the gallery and Cory quickly hushed her as a few others in the room looked over at them.
"Sorry." She whispered, still trying to hold back her laughter.
"No further questions, your Honor."
Hank walked over to the witness stand and gave a quick wink in her direction, unseen by everyone except Esther.
"Now, Ms. Page, can you explain to us what exactly a cabaret show is?"
"Cabaret is a form of entertainment, including song, dance, usually held either in a nightclub, restaurant, or casino. There is a stage for the performers and the audience sit at tables where they eat and drink. At my theater, we only offer drinks."
"What kind of an audience does your show advertise to?"
"Our show is advertised to those eighteen and older."
"What type of routines does your show perform?"
"All the routines are covers of songs, usually sung by one of my performers, while the ensemble members dance with them." Esther explained.
"What costumes do the performers wear?"
"My performers usually wear lingerie for the routines, or clothes that are easy to take off as some routines call for the performer to strip."
"Now, when did Mrs. Hiddleston audition for your theater?" Hank asked.
"January two thousand-eight."
"At seventeen years old?"
"Yes."
"When did she start performing in your cabaret show?" Hank inquired.
"Late May of two-thousand eight." Esther answered.
"Do you know the date of Mrs. Hiddleston's birthday?"
"Yes, March twenty-third."
"So, if Mrs. Hiddleston auditioned in January at seventeen, turned eighteen on March twenty-third, that means that Mrs. Hiddleston was not a minor when she started performing in your show in late May of two thousand-eight?"
"Yes. Alice was eighteen when she started working for me." Esther answered.
"So one might assume that Mrs. Hiddleston, at the time, plain and simple, was just looking for a job in the field of work she wanted to go into," Hank smiled, tapping the railing of the witness stand. "No further questions, your Honor."
Hank took her hand and helped her out from the witness stand, praising her as she walked back to the gallery. Esther looked over at Alice and flashed her a quick smile before she sat back down next to Pierre and Tom.
"No further witnesses to call on, your Honor." Diane spoke, gritting her teeth.
"The defense may call its first witness." The judge spoke.
"The defense calls George Sherbrooke."
Alice gasped as George let go of her hand. She felt her hands start to shake as she gripped onto the skirt of her dress, playing with the fabric. Without George or Hank sitting next to her, she felt completely defenseless. For a moment, she turned her head to the side to glance over her shoulder at Tom, but stopped herself hearing George begin to state his name for the record. She looked up at him and placed her hand on her belly, taking a few deep breaths.
"Mr. Sherbrooke, who are you in relation to the plaintiffs?"
"I'm their son."
"Please describe to the courtroom what your childhood was like with the plaintiffs." Hank instructed.
"It was very... totalitarian. Whatever they said went, and if you didn't obey... you knew there'd be consequences." George answered.
"What exactly were the consequences you received, if you received any?" Hank asked.
"If we spoke out of turn, talked back, or just talked in any way they didn't like, we'd be hit with either a belt or some other object. I don't remember the objects, just the act of it."
"Do you remember who carried out the beatings?"
"Mostly by my father, or John Sherbrooke so I guess his name is in the record as such." George chuckled lightly.
"And what did your mother do during these beatings?"
"Nothing, really. Most times she'd just watch. There was one occasion where after my father had beat me, my mother watched me walk away, crying... and she laughed."
"She laughed at you after your father had finished your consequence?"
"Objection! The question has already been answered." Diane interjected.
"Sustained."
"Were there any other types of consequences you received during your childhood?" Hank asked.
"Mainly just screaming at us that we couldn't do anything right, that we were a burden to them. They wanted us to follow in their footsteps and every step out of line resulted in a beating. I remember one time my mother has said that I had to earn my right to eat when I was six because I had drawn on the walls of my bedroom. I never really got the worst of it, though."
"And who received the worst of it, as you so nicely put it, Mr. Sherbrooke?" Hank inquired.
"My sister, Alice."
"And why did you decide to cut yourself off from your parents?"
"I wasn't happy anymore," George told him. "I didn't like the life I was having. I was in school for architecture all because my dad wanted me to be like him. They made me take advanced courses in school despite the fact that I was barely passing them and no matter how hard I tried to ace them, my parents were never pleased. I was tired of their treatment towards me. When in college, this sense of freedom seemed to come over me. I was away from them for months at a time and I was free to make my own choices. I remembered my sister, Alice, leaving and I've always looked up to her. So, I decided to make the choice of doing what was right for me, not for them. I dropped out of college, moved in with my friends, got in to another college for the degree I wanted, and I cut myself off from my parents. I left them a voicemail explaining everything, I told them to go to hell, and I said I wished that they would die."
Upon hearing that last statement, Diane's brow raised as she grinned.
"Do you remember what happened the night your sister left from your family?"
"I do."
"Can you explain to the court what happened that night?"
"It was sometime in early June and Alice had returned from a late night rehearsal. My mom and dad stayed up waiting for her and made me wait as well. I knew she had been there and they had, um, they..."
George trailed off as his eyes seemed to move on their own in John and Connie's direction. His eyes locked on John's. They appeared a darker shade and his lips curled into a sadistic smile, the same smile he had shown George when he had beaten the confession of Alice's whereabouts out of him that same night. In that moment, the fear he had felt from that night flooded through his entire body, making him tremble as he stared at John. George felt sweat begin to form on his brow as his jaw tightened, feeling a lump in his throat. All the sounds around him seemed to drown out as he finally broke away from John's gaze. His eyes searched around the room desperately to find something that he could ground himself to.
"Mr. Sherbrooke!" Hank called out.
George inhaled sharply as he directed his attention at Hank.
"Yes?"
"What happened the night that Mrs. Hiddleston left?"
"You have to finish answering the question, Mr. Sherbrooke." The judge added.
"I knew Alice was at the rehearsal and they had found out I lied to them about where she was. When she came home, she was in her costume. Our mom and dad were furious with her and were screaming and yelling and... they said that she had to make a choice between us or the show and she chose the show."
"Why would she do that?"
"She always wanted to be a performer, but our parents weren't big on anything to do with the arts."
"What happened after she chose to stay with the theater?"
"Um, she had... she..."
George looked over at Alice and felt himself start to tear up seeing the blood and bruises on her face from that night. However, as much as he wanted to admit that the trauma he had endured under his parents' hands was gone, he realized, right then and there, that they still had their nails in his skin and control of the strings.
"She packed a bag and left." George replied.
Alice felt her heart skip a beat as Tom bit down on his lip, grinding his teeth together.
"Was that all?"
"Objection! The question is leading."
"Sustained."
"No further questions, your Honor." Hank replied.
Alice sniffled as she tried to gain her composure. She quickly wiped at her eyes as Hank sat back down at the table. Diane walked over to George and smiled up at him.
"I think it's been established that you had a rough childhood, Mr. Sherbrooke, so I won't question you any further on that." She started.
"Thank you." He spoke softly.
"However, you did mention something about the day you cut yourself off from your parents. You said moments ago that you told them to 'go to hell' and that you wished that 'they would die.' Is that correct?"
"It is. A lot of emotions were running through my head that day."
"It takes a lot of courage to do what you've done, Mr. Sherbrooke. But wouldn't you agree that, if in your parents' shoes, that if your child, after years of rebelling and disobeying your rules, had told you that they 'wished you were dead,' and seemingly vanished from their existence that you, too, would worry yourself sick? That your child's act against you would cause you pain?"
"Maybe. I don't know, I would never do what they did to cause a child to cut them out." George replied.
"Now, do you agree that your behavior and words you used against them was something you could not have predicted would cause your father a heart attack or your mother to turn to doctors and therapy?"
"Um, well when you put it like that... yes, I couldn't have predicted any of this happening to them."
"Then would you agree that your statements towards their well-being was cause for emotional distress without you knowing it?"
"I suppose so... yes." George grimaced.
"And you say you knew that Alice was already rehearsing with this theater. You supported her while she was still at home?"
"Yes, I did. We came up with lies and excuses for her if she texted me saying she would be coming home late."
"You also said that you would receive consequences for stepping out of line. Did you receive any for lying about Alice's whereabouts while she was still at home?" Diane inquired.
"I did."
"Any after she had left?"
"Yes."
"What were they?"
"After Alice had left, my parents became stricter than ever. They shortened my curfew, took my phone, they stopped me from participating in clubs at school or staying out with friends afterwards. All it was was going to school and coming home. It wasn't until college that they gave me my phone back."
"No further questions, your Honor."
"You may step down, Mr. Sherbrooke." The judge spoke.
George quickly stood from the stand, almost knocking down the chair behind him. He paced towards the table and found himself unable to hold anything back. Just as he pulled his seat out, he broke down into quiet sobs, shaking his head as Alice held her arms out to him. He sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tightly as possible. He wept into her shoulder as Alice ran her hands up and down his back.
"I'm so sorry, Alice. I'm so sorry." He mumbled into her shoulder.
"Shh, it's okay."
"Mr. Grossman, you may call your next witness."
Hank looked over at the two and tried to get their attention.
"I couldn't do it. I couldn't say it."
"I got you. It's okay, George." Alice whispered.
"I looked at him. Fuck, I looked at him! I shouldn't have looked." He pulled back, speaking quietly.
"It's okay!"
"Mr. Grossman, your next witness." The judge raised her brow.
"I request a recess!" Hank replied.
"This court grants a five minute recess."
The judge banged their gavel and Hank was quick to pull George and Alice out of the room with Tom and the others following after them. In the lobby, Alice helped George sit down on a bench as he placed his hands over his face, bending forward as he cried. Alice placed her hand on his knee as she ran her hand down his back trying to soothe him. Everyone gathered around them as Hank sat down beside George.
"I'm so sorry. I couldn't do it. I looked at him and I couldn't say it." He wept.
"Like I told you, it's okay, George. We understand." Alice spoke, her voice breaking.
"Now, five minutes isn't a lot of time," Hank spoke. "Alice, you're my next witness and I need to know for certain that you're going to admit to John assaulting you."
"I am." Alice gasped.
"That doesn't sound too convincing to me." Hank exhaled sharply.
"I'm going to. I swear!" She scoffed.
"Good. Then, I'm calling on Esther and then your parents."
Alice nodded her head and turned her head to look up at Tom. She furrowed her brow as his focus was directed on George. By the look on Tom's face, Alice couldn't tell if he was angry at George or understanding of the situation. She then noticed Diane walking in the background talking with John and Connie. As she looked over them, she felt her breath hitch in her throat as John glanced in her direction. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she couldn't bring herself to do so.
John chuckled to himself as he kept his gaze locked on Alice. He knew that if George couldn't bring himself to admit, neither would Alice. He then flashed her a bright smile and waved quickly. Alice shuddered as she looked at his hand, remembering what it had done to her. As soon as she broke eye contact, his smile vanished as he directed his attention back to Connie and Diane.
Moments later, they were all called inside and sat back down in their seats.
"Now that we're back, the defense may call its next witness." The judge grinned.
Hank stood from his chair and adjusted his tie.
"The defense calls Mrs. Alice Hiddleston."