Reconstructing Amelia (unedited)

Chapter 84

December 20th, 2019

"We'd like to call Amelia Adams to the stand,"

My heart was pounding in my chest so hard I could barely hear anything else around me. Only when Neo gave me a nudge did I finally rise to my feet and make my way towards the testimony box, my legs trembling the whole time.

I tried to keep my eyes ahead of me but when I neared the front I couldn't help but notice Ben's sneer as he watched me walk the whole way. I took a seat, gratefully accepting Monica's soft smile.

"State your name for the record please," she requested.

"Amelia Adams," I stated, wringing my hands in my lap nervously.

"Okay, can you remember anything from when you were first abducted?" Monica jumped right into the first question.

"Not much," I answered shakily. "I woke up on a plane next to Ben and my sister. I could barely remember my own name,"

"What was your life like when you were young?"

I was tapping my fingers against my leg, my knee bouncing furiously. "It was pretty awful. We were forced to do cooking and cleaning every day, and we weren't allowed outside except to go to school," I paused, glancing at Ben, who was glaring at me. "And any time we did something slightly wrong he'd beat us," I finished quietly.

"And what did those beatings usually consist of?" Monica asked, giving me an encouraging nod.

"Mostly just kicking and punching but sometimes he'd hit us with glass or push us down the stairs," I accidentally made eye contact with my brother, who was grimacing. I'd never told any of my brothers about my childhood before and I'm sure he was mad at me for keeping it a secret this long.

"Did your foster father ever sexually touch you or your sister?" Monica's question drew my attention back, and I forced myself to look away from the audience.

"Yes," My breath caught in my throat as I watched both Ben and Cato scowl. I felt like crying.

"What happened to your sister?" Monica asked gently, shifting topics. The jury seemed to lean forward in anticipation.

My nerves started to rise with all the attention, my heart drumming in my chest. "He killed her,"

"And can you describe what happened?" Monica pressured.

I wanted to say no and run out of the courtroom and be rid of this whole mess forever but I knew I couldn't do that.

"It was her eighteenth birthday," I started uncomfortably, shifting in my seat. "We'd tried to run away but we got caught and sent back home. He broke my leg with a baseball bat and shortly after he shot my sister through the head,"

The crowd began to murmur and the judge had to bang his gavel to call everyone back to order.

Monica came closer, her eyes full of sympathy - she knew I was breaking. "Just a few more questions, Amelia," she promised. "Can you tell me what happened in the video your twin brother recorded from the hospital?"

"Ben was angry that I'd gone to the hospital and risked his exposure. He said if I didn't go with the people he had coming for me, my little brother would be killed,"

"And did hurt you?"

"He strangled me,"

Monica glanced at the jury, reading their expressions before turning back to me. "And what happened after that?"

"I was snuck out of the hospital by the people he'd sent. He'd arranged for me to spend the night in a brothel downtown, and after that, I was taken to a warehouse and beaten for ransom," I met eyes with Cato again, watching him visibly cringe at my words.