“Yes. She had lacerations on her arms and upper torso, multiple bruises on her face and both eyes, along with markings on her neck, ones that appeared to be caused by both teeth and minor strangulation.”
A murmur went up throughout the courtroom. Walker gestured to a large screen, which had been set up on the side of the room, along with a projector. She clicked the projector on, and said, “Are these the photographs you took that night of the victim’s injuries?”
“Yes,” Mia confirmed, though her voice wavered slightly. “It wasn’t a night I’ll soon forget.”
I didn’t look at the photos the prosecutor displayed on the screen. I had no wish to remember that.
“Can you tell us more about the injuries sustained?” Walker asked.
“The victim did sustain blood loss,” Mia confirmed. “Not enough that she required immediate medical attention, but enough that she had to be treated by my staff. The following photographs will give context to the injuries sustained.”
The prosecutor clicked onto the next slide. Multiple people in the audience gasped. A couple of them started crying.
“As you can see, your honor, this wasn’t your typical assault. This was a particularly violent act, driven by the motives of someone who is clearly disturbed,” the prosecutor stated firmly.
My gods, Ava. I had no idea, Oberi whimpered in horror as he observed the slide. I still refused to look, either at the slides, or my family. It took a tremendous effort not to melt into the floor.
The only person in the room who didn’t appear even slightly bothered was John. He sat there like a pompous asshole, acting like he didn’t understand what the big deal was.Self-righteous prick.
Walker crossed her arms. “According to the file, DNA evidence was also compiled from the kit, with a ninety-nine-point-nine accuracy match to Mister Smith’s DNA. What are the chances that the DNA recovered from the kit is not Mister Smith’s?”
“Basically zero, your honor,” Mia confirmed. “And in my professional opinion, recalling the mental state of the patient as she entered my shelter, there is no possible way that this act was consensual.”
Walker asked Mia a few more questions before she ceased questioning.
Bernard droned on as he went to cross-examine Mia. “Mrs. Bylilly, it’s well established by the court that you are the director of the women’s shelter. But is the court also aware that a little over twenty years ago, you were engaged to Mrs. Wahkin’s father?”
My mouth dropped open. I’d never heard of this before! I didn’t know my dad had been engaged to someone else! My head swiveled to the side, but neither Mama nor Daddy showed any type of reaction. By the blaise looks on their faces, they definitely knew Mia personally, but she didn’t have any standing on their relationship today.
Mia didn’t even bat an eye, as if this was old news. “It’s true. Liam Mitoh and I were arranged by our parents, as was Toaqua custom. We dated for a while, but the relationship didn’t last.”
“Because you cheated on him,” Bernard accused. “Is your testimony today some sort of favor to Mrs. Wahkin’s father, to make up for your past infidelity?”
Oh, wow. It got evenmoredramatic. I peered at my father, but Daddy appeared more annoyed than anything, like it was irritating to him that ancient history was being dragged back up. If I had to guess, he and Mia had dated before my mother had met him.
“No,” Mia said simply. “We simply didn’t work out. I helped Ava-Marie because I would help any woman that came to me in the state she did that night.”
“But you had to know who she was when she came into your facility,” Bernard accused. “Why didn’t you reach out to her father?”
“Because it’s not my place to reveal the worst days of my patient’s lives. I’m bound to patient confidentiality, regardless of personal relationships,” Mia replied sharply. “I did know who Ava-Marie was when she entered my office, but whatever relationship I previously had with her father didn’t matter. To me, she was a hurting child who was in trouble. I assisted that child and did the best I could to get her help.”
Mia glanced at my mother, and I saw Mama whisper athank you.The emotions coming from my parents toward Mia were full of nothing but gratitude. Whatever bad blood had been between them, if any, I knew my parents forgave Mia for it now, because she’d helped me.
“Very well,” Bernard grumbled, clearly pissed his angle hadn’t worked out. Bernard asked Mia a bunch of stupid questions about the DNA and photographic evidence that didn’t go anywhere. By the time she left the stand, he’d made the defense look absolutely terrible.
The three girls who went after me all had similar stories. John would talk to them for a while, grow a relationship, make them think that they were friends. Then, something terrible would happen in their lives— they’d break up with a boyfriend, or someone in their family got sick, or they’d fail a class. John would reach out, pretending like he wanted to help. Once he got them alone, he did what he wanted to them and lost interest after that.
None of them had any evidence, since nobody had done a rape kit like me, nor reached out for medical help. Like me, each of them had been too scared to come forward. At the time of their assaults, two of the girls didn’t have any magic to defend themselves, and the other two had just gotten their powers, so they didn’t know how to use them for protection.
I phased out during the other testimonies. I got the gist of what was going on, but I began disassociating almost immediately after I’d left the stand. I caught major details, yet everything else faded into white noise amongst the voices in my head.
The fourth girl had a different story. She’d been dating John at the time, so the specifics seemed unclear, though I knew exactly the angle the defense was trying to portray.
“Miss Welch, you say that Mister Smith assaulted you, but you continued to remain in a relationship with him afterward, even continued to have sex with him for months later, until the time he ended your relationship,” Bernard said.
“Yes. The times after that were consensual,” she confirmed. “But the first time was not. I said no.”
“Then why didn’t you turn him in, or at least attempt to break off the relationship?” he asked.
