We Know What You Did

17: The Trial

Supreme Court
Trial Part 8
Wednesday, May 21st

Chelsea sat in the witness stand, being questioned by Rafael.
"Can you tell me what happened on the afternoon of May 23rd?" Rafael had finished asking questions about Chelsea and Tyler's relationship. He had attempted to ask Chelsea about what she knew of Renee's and Tyler's relationship but the defense quickly objected given that there was no way Chelsea could actually know what their relationship was like. Rafael moved on to the focus of the trial.
Chelsea was visibly nervous. Although Rafael had prepped her, she was uncomfortable having everyone staring at her as she shared such a personal story. "I went to see Tyler to ask him for permission to go out later that night with my friends. He said no, we fought, and then he threw me to the ground and kicked me." Chelsea maintained eye contact with Olivia. She was the only familiar face in the courtroom since Amanda was testifying later and Sonny didn't want to observe in case he was called to testify. Chelsea was becoming more anxious and her breathing rate noticeably increased.
"Chelsea?" Rafael tried to get the teen's attention. Chelsea took a deep breath and looked at him. "What happened next?"
"I accused him of treating me like mom and he said he'd show me how he treated mom and then threw me onto the bed and," Chelsea looked back at Olivia who gave her a reassuring nod, "he raped me." Rafael thanked Chelsea and took his seat.
Tyler's attorney, John Greenwald, stood up and buttoned his suit jacket. "Chelsea, you talked about how your relationship changed with your step-dad two months ago. Isn't it true that at that time, you falsely accused Dr. Stanton of abusing you."
"It was more complicated than that." Chelsea answered truthfully.
"Why was it more complicated?" Greenwald questioned.
Chelsea sighed. "He did hit me and throw me against a wall but I downplayed it because I loved him and thought he loved me."
"So you lied." Greenwald summarized. Chelsea nodded. "If you lied then to get what you wanted, how do we know everything you just said was not a lie too?"
"It isn't" Chelsea shook her head, clearly angry.
Greenwald put his hands up as if to surrender. "If you say so." He took a step back. "You said that Tyler told you he was going to treat you like your mother. Did he ever call you by name when the alleged rape occurred?"
Chelsea thought for a moment. "I don't think so."
"You do have a striking resemblance to your mother." Greenwald said. "Is it possible Tyler thought you were your mother?"
"Objection, speculation." Rafael interjected. The judge agreed.
"No further questions." Greenwald walked away from the stand.
Rafael turned to look at Olivia. If Greenwald only had two questions for Chelsea, he likely had more compelling evidence up his sleeve.
———
Following a brief recess for lunch, Amanda now sat in the witness stand. Since Rafael would be presenting Renee's journal that described her abuse as evidence, Sonny convinced Chelsea not to sit in the courtroom. Instead, the two sat outside on the steps of the courthouse.
"Liv said you did great" Sonny told her.
Chelsea shrugged. "Tyler's lawyer called me a liar. What if the jury doesn't believe me?"
"That's what the hard evidence is for." Sonny tried to reassure her. "There's enough there to show that even if he was irrational and thought you were your mom, it'd still be rape. You never said yes, the rape kit shows evidence of assault, and he abused her in the past. He can't win this."

Amanda came outside and joined Sonny and Chelsea. "So?" Chelsea asked.
"The jury was appalled by what your mom wrote." Amanda said. "It'll be difficult for the defense to counteract that."
———
Supreme Court
Trial Part 9
Thursday, May 22nd

Chelsea managed to convince Sonny to let her sit in the courtroom. The prosecution had called all their witnesses so Sonny and Amanda sat in as well.
Mr. Greenwald first called a psychiatrist who studies PTSD and works with PTSD patients. According to her, anniversaries of traumatic events can worsen one's PTSD and trigger bouts of depression. Rafael cross examined the witness as he would in any similar situation. The doctor did not treat Tyler and, even if what she said was true, there was no evidence to support that was the case with Tyler.
Later that day, Tyler sat in the witness stand. Tyler responded to all of Greenwald's questions with a fake sense of affection for Renee and Chelsea and denied ever hurting either of them.
"Dr. Stanton, yesterday the prosecution shared with us Ms. Carisi's journal containing terrible stories. Did you know your wife felt that way?" Greenwald asked.
"No" Tyler shook his head. "I thought we had a wonderful relationship. Things got," Tyler looked down to convey embarrassment "rough in the bedroom from time to time, but it was consensual."
"How do you know?"
"She wrote me love notes. Every Monday she would write me a letter about how much she loved being my wife." Tyler said.
Greenwald formally presented the letters as evidence. He had Tyler read excerpts from the letters which indeed reported that Renee was madly in love with Tyler.
"Is it fair to say you loved Renee and losing her was devastating?" Greenwald moved on.
Tyler nodded. "Yes. I was devastated. Renee was the love of my life. I didn't know how I'd move forward without her." Tyler looked toward Chelsea. "But I knew I had to be strong for Chelly. Although she's not my blood, Chelsea's my daughter, I had to be there for her."
"What do you recall from the afternoon in question?" Greenwald questioned.
"I volunteered to chaperone Chelsea's trip to the city with her soccer team. It was approaching the time when I lost Renee. I wasn't sleeping well, I was depressed." Tyler sounded remorseful. "I don't remember what Chelsea said happened. I loved Renee and want nothing more than to be with my wife again. I had a dream we were back together. The psychiatrist I saw after I was accused told me that dream could have been what Chelsea described." Tyler managed to conjure up some tears. "But I never meant to hurt my little girl."
Mr. Greenwald retreated to his table. Barba stood up but the judge spoke first, "It's late. Mr. Barba you can cross examine the witness first thing tomorrow morning."

A/N
Sorry for the delay in posting. Again please forgive me on any inaccuracies- I am not well versed in the details of legal system.
Thank you for reading!