Stolen Lullaby

The Real Devil

It was difficult to read Sarah's expression in the way she started at Taylor and Joe. Her gaze couldn't be easily deciphered between malice or sympathy. Taylor hadn't seen her in almost five years and in that meeting she had refused to look at her. Having Sarah called as a witness for the Collins's defense couldn't mean anything good. But having her finally speak could finally fill in the missing puzzle pieces that had made up the mystery of how and why their child Sophie ended up with Carol and Steve in the first place.

Shultz paced back and forth in front of the witness stand as he began his questioning.

"Ms. Jacobson you were employed with the Alwyn family for approximately two years is that correct?" He asked.

"Yes that is correct sir." She answered back.

"In your time working for the Alwyns how would you describe their marriage and life style before Sophie's birth?"

"Well they were both incredibly busy people I'd say married to their careers more so than they were married to each other. Going weeks without seeing each other was not out of the ordinary."

"I see... I also understand that when you began your employment Mrs. Alwyn was already pregnant?"

"That is also correct."

"Did you ever hear any indication or conversation that they were planning to change the trajectory of their careers or lifestyle before her birth? It seems like a very stressful environment to raise a child in particularly with paparazzi and media intrusion."

"I didn't hear any discourse about either of them wanting to change their careers or schedules to accommodate a child, no." She said firmly.

"Now Ms. Jacobson your actions on Sept 5, 2022 were drastic and dare I say highly illegal and you have repeatedly acknowledged that you are aware that you broke the law. However events or circumstances must have been dire for Sophie in order for someone with no criminal background to resort to such extreme measures. Can you please elaborate on what drove you to take the actions you took?" Schultz had left the door open for Sarah to finally say her peace.

"I loved that baby with all of my heart. I couldn't stand idly by as such an innocent being was being primed to be thrown into a life of danger and scrutiny that she never asked for. Taylor and Joe were unable or unwilling to accept that their actions were setting her up for a broken childhood. Aside from the endless bullying she would face from her peers and the public at large they were also selfishly planning on spending long periods of her young life being absent as their careers always took priority. I just loved her too much to allow her to even begin to be hurt... so I took initiative to save her from the certain miserable childhood and adolescences they were condemning her too." Sarah reiterated this statement with steely conviction keeping her eyes on Taylor and Joe the entire time.

"You see your honor, Ms. Jacobson had no intent of malice for the Alwyn family. Her actions which I again would like to acknowledge were wrong were only done out of love for a child who had no advocate on her side. Again Ms. Jacobson being willing so serve a life sentence in prison in exchange for securing Sophie's future is more than enough indication of the unfit environment she was being raised in. By placing her with the Collins family it was a final gift on her part to assure the child she loved was given a fair chance at life."

It was the Alwyn's attorney's turn to question Sarah on the stand and she clearly was ready for rebuttals against her defense testimony.

"I would like to begin by highlighting one key point missing from Ms. Jacobson's sanctimonious testimony. Mr. Shultz is willfully ignoring is how many scheming and illegal maneuvers Ms. Jacobson had to pull off in order to not only kidnap Louise but illegally shepherd her into the Collins's care. There is a clear reason why she is serving ten consecutive 15 year sentences. Ms. Jacobson you say that you were in a sense "Saving Sophie from a life of misery of living with her parents?" I would like to present to the court Sophie's medical records from the clinic Sarah brought her to approximately a month after she was abducted."