We Know What You Did

16: Finding Evidence

Sonny took Renee's things down from the attic and placed them in the living room. Luckily for them, Renee was sentimental and kept many things. There were tons of photos, birthday cards, journals, and various other items in which the detectives were hoping to find something to prove Tyler had abused Renee in the past. Amanda and Sonny each opened a box and got to work.
An hour later they had made little progress. Aside from a few vague apology letters from Tyler and a mention of an argument in a journal, there was nothing to suggest Tyler was abusing Renee. After sifting through almost two boxes, Amanda came across another journal that looked different from the previous ones. Amanda opened it and gasped.
"What'd you find?" Sonny asked.
Amanda shook her head. "What we're looking for." Sonny slid closer to take a look but Amanda shut the book. "You don't want to read this. It's pretty graphic. Renee wrote about it all. Every detail."
Sonny swallowed sharply. "I want to see it." Amanda hesitantly handed the journal to her partner. Sonny only made it through half a page before throwing the book down on the table and resting his head in his hands.
"You were right" Sonny sighed. "I shouldn't have read that." Amanda reassuringly placed her hand on Sonny's back.
"As horrible as it is, this is good news. We'll call Barba in the morning and hopefully this will be enough to use." Amanda reasoned.
Sonny silently nodded. "I'm going to go check on Chels." He stood up and went upstairs. "Chelsea" he knocked on the teen's door. There was no answer. "Can I come in?" After a few seconds, Sonny opened the door anyway, despite Chelsea never saying anything. When he walked into the room, he saw Chelsea sitting cross legged on her bed with a book in her lap. "Hey, kiddo" he said sweetly. Chelsea turned to look at him and he could see she had been crying. "Whatcha reading?" He asked casually.
Chelsea swallowed nervously. "Something mom and Tyler made." Sonny came over and sat next to her. "They gave this to me when I started middle school. It's filled with advice on growing up, in case I was uncomfortable talking to them." Sonny smiled. He thought back to when Renee was a teenager and how she always avoided going to their parents for advice. "I never really read it until last year but, tonight I found this." She slid the book over to Sonny. He picked it up and skimmed the page. "Tyler knew what he was doing was wrong. He wrote that relationships need respect and I should be with someone who protects me." Chelsea sighed.
"Chels, this might be useful for the case. Can I hold on to it?" Sonny asked. Chelsea nodded. "Thanks. You want to come join me and Manda? We're gonna order some food, maybe watch some TV?" Chelsea shook her head. Although he didn't like it, Sonny respected her choice and headed back downstairs. He shared the evidence he got from Chelsea with Amanda before the two packed everything up and began to unwind from the long day.
———
The next morning, the detectives called Rafael and Olivia to tell them what they found. Satisfied with the evidence, Sonny, Amanda, and Chelsea headed back to the city. Olivia had given Sonny the afternoon off, given that there wasn't much to do in the office at the moment anyway. Sonny was grateful that he was going to have time with Chelsea away from the case.
"Uncle Sonny?" Chelsea asked as the pair walked to the park. "What'll happen after the trial?"
"If we win, Tyler will go to jail and never hurt you again." Sonny told her.
"No, I mean, what'll happen to me?" Chelsea clarified.
Sonny looked at his niece. There was never a doubt in his mind that Chelsea would live with him after the trial. "You'll come live with me" he answered as if it was obvious. Chelsea nodded and stared at her feet as they walked. "You don't seem too happy with that." Sonny commented as he saw her demeanor change.
"I am. I love you and wouldn't want to be with anyone else." Chelsea said. "I just don't want to leave home, you know?"
Sonny nodded. The poor girl had been through so much and now was going to be taken away from the place she grew up and the people she knew. She essentially was starting a new life. "I know this is hard, Chels. But we'll have fun together. And any high school would be lucky to have you on their soccer team." Chelsea smiled and twirled the soccer ball she was holding in her hands. They entered the park and found an empty area to kick the soccer ball around. For the first time since everything went down, Sonny saw Chelsea genuinely smile. He started to think everything would be okay.

A/N
Thank you so much for reading!! It might be more than a week before the next chapter is posted, but I will update! Please comment if you have any feedback :)