The London Paradigm (book 4 of Adopted by the Josephs)

53. Jenna

I told pretty much the same story Tyler did when our lawyer asked his questions.

Mark's lawyer was a different story altogether.

"You didn't really want Samantha, did you?"

"Objection!" Greyson stood up. "Leading the witness. And this isn't a criminal trial!"

"Sustained. Watch your line of questioning," the judge warned the lawyer.

"I'll rephrase. When Samantha landed in your back yard, you didn't intend to foster her, did you?"

"Neither of us did initially. We didn't know what Samantha's story was. She was unconscious, don't forget."

"But when it became evident that Samantha was about to land in the foster system, did you agree to foster her or did you just go along with your husband?"

"Tyler and I agreed. It just seemed right to us."

"But then Samantha was available for adoption. How did you feel about that?"

"I was thrilled. We were thrilled. We'd come to love Samantha pretty much the moment she landed in our yard. Something about her just spoke to us. We knew she needed us. And we needed her."

"Can you explain that?"

"Tyler and I had been talking about starting a family. Here was a child who needed a family. We could help her."

"And she could help you not make mistakes with your own child?"

"Objection!" Greyson sighed. "Come on councillor."

"Sustained. Last warning."

"If you love Samantha so much, why did you try to kill her last October?"

"What?!" I exclaimed. "How dare you! What happened was an accident!"

"Objection!" Greyson fumed. "She's badgering my client and using unsubstantiated claims to do so!"

"Ms. Tanner. I've warned you enough. Keep it up, and I will throw this trial out and declare a mistrial. As it stands, your questioning of this witness is complete.  Mrs. Joseph, you may step down."

I got up on shaking legs. I glared at Mark as I passed their table. He looked satisfied and I wanted to slap that smug look off his face.

Doc was called to testify next and I sat beside Tyler who squeezed my hand and smiled at me. I calmed down and listened to Doc.

"Dr. Freud, no relation to Sigmund, what were the circumstances under which Samantha came into your care?"

"Samantha was referred to me following a severe hyperglycaemic attack after she failed to dose herself properly at lunch. At that lunch, I was told, she spilled a glass of water on her foster father and was so terrified he would be angry and hit her, that she ran to hide in a restaurant bathroom.

Because she'd been readmitted to the hospital, and after Mrs Joseph had found out about the bruises and cuts on Samantha's body, which Samantha showed her when they went to purchase clothing for her, and Samantha was in too much pain to put a shirt on on her own. It was felt that with the changes she was facing, between being removed from her abusive home and the issues she faced properly dosing herself, she would be best served with some therapy to help her cope,"

"Was there anything remarkable about her first session with you?"

"Mr Joseph asked if he could be present but said he understood that he was to be little more than the furniture. When Samantha looked to him to answer a question he reiterated that she was the one to answer. She took a little while to warm up and initially answered only with nods or shaking her head. But eventually she started talking."

"And what did she tell you in that session?"

"How her mother, her biological mother, died."

"How many sessions have you had with Samantha?"

"Oh, I'm not sure of an actual number. Initially I was seeing her once a week."

"Did you see improvement?"

"I did. Between the stability she was finding with the Josephs, and the trust we built, she was becoming more engaged."

"You did some psychological and psycho educational testing in Samantha, didn't you?"

"I did."

"What did those results tell you?"

"Despite her biological father insisting that as a girl she was useless and unintelligent, Samantha is in fact incredibly intelligent. Her vocabulary and reasoning are above average for her age. She has an incredible talent for math and tested off the charts. I'm told she excels in math at school. Unsurprisingly."

"With the psychological testing, we're you able to come up with a diagnosis for Samantha?"

"I did. She was diagnosed with depression and anxiety along with PTSD from the abuse she suffered at home. I prescribed a mild antidepressant and she has tolerated the medication well."

"Have there been any changes to your treatment of Samantha? Frequency or medications?"

"As many people know, Samantha was kidnapped by her biological father. When she was recovered, she led had a psychotic break where she was unresponsive. Following that she had selective mutism. I saw her three times a week, at her parents' home. She didn't speak at all for three weeks and so our sessions were mostly me talking and Samantha responding with either a nod, a shake of her head or a shrug."

"When did Samantha start speaking again?"

"I'm told Christmas morning. Her parents were thrilled. So was I to be honest."

"Even though Samantha didn't speak, were you able to gauge any improvement in those three weeks?"

"Definitely. Initially, she would not leave Mrs Joseph's side. She would not be alone in the room with anyone male, including her adoptive father. Eventually, she would be able to stay in the room if their friend Sarah was still there. Within a couple of weeks, she no longer ran from the room if Mr Joseph, Mr Urie or Mr Dun we're in the room and neither of the women were. She began to learn to trust her family again."

"But somehow that trust was broken and Samantha ran away again."

"Samantha struggled, maybe in some ways she still does, with trust in those early months with the Josephs. Remember she had known nothing but betrayal for 13 years. It wasn't going to go away in a few short months. Samantha learned that her family had known that her biological father had escaped jail. They had believed they were making the right decision for their daughter by sending her to school the day she was abducted. Samantha, understandably, felt betrayed and ran. My understanding is that she was running to their friends in California."

"Do you know where she got the money for that?"

"I'm told, and I admit this is hearsay, that she returned to her family home and found money her mother had been saving to try to get her and Samantha out of their abusive situation."

"But they never had the chance?"

"No. Stanley Deitz killed his wife before they could escape."