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Chapter 18

The next morning, we woke up. We went to the living room, and Mom was watching the news. Michael and I sat on the couch. A few minutes later, the news about Murray came on. The news anchor said, "Just yesterday, Dr. Conrad Murray, the man who killed Michael Jackson and was sent to four years in prison but ended up being free two years later, was just arrested for committing yet another crime: the molestation of 17 year old Carly Mendez.

"He is set for a trial next week, and if he is guilty, he'll be sent to eight years in prison." Mom turned off the TV. "He got arrested?" I asked. "Yes, I got a phone call about it a few hours ago," said Mom, "As you know, the trial is next week, and we have to be there."

"Do we have a lawyer?" I asked. "Well, a good friend of mine is a lawyer, and he'll be there," she said. "Ok," I said.
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~One Week Later-January 2, 2016~

A week has passed, and we are on our way to the trial. "Now don't be scared to tell the truth to thousands of people," Mom advised. "I know," I said. The trial is going to be on TV in the news. I'm mostly scared because Michael can't wear his disguise to the trial, and people might get suspicious.

An hour later, we arrived at the courthouse and got inside. The whole school is probably going to watch the trial, too, because ever since last week, everyone has been asking me about the molestation, especially the teachers! They would always say, "I hope that perverted freak is found guilty." The trial has already started. We came inside and sat down.

Note: I know nothing about how trials start and other stuff, so please bear with me XD

"The defense calls for the victim, Carly Mendez, to the stand," the judge said. I got up. "Good luck, Carly," Michael whispered. I nodded my head, and I sat down at the podium. Our lawyer, Derek, was going to ask me the questions.

A cop went up to the podium with a Bible, and I put my right hand on it. "Please swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth," he said. "I swear," I said. (I know that's not exactly what they say, but just go with it XD) The cop left with the Bible.

"So Carly," said Derek, "Tell us exactly what you were doing before all of this happened." "Well, it was Christmas, and we were having a party," I explained, "I told my friend and cousins that I had to change my clothes." "So you were changing?" Derek asked.

"Yes, sir," I replied. "How did you know that Conrad Murray was in your bedroom the whole time?" Derek asked. "I heard a sound coming from my closet," I said, "I opened the closet door, and it was Murray." "Ok," he said, "Tell us exactly when the touching began."

"Well.... I asked him how he even got in my house," I said, "He said that he came through my window. I threatened to call the cops on him if he didn't leave." "How does Murray know where you live?" Derek asked. "He's been stalking me for nine months," I said.

"Anyway, the doctor said that the cops wouldn't believe me since I'm a child. He also said that he would get me so scared, I wouldn't be able to tell anyone about it, and he started touching me." "Where did he touch you?" Derek asked. I started tearing up. "Don't be scared," said Derek, "You can tell us."

"He touched my butt, my breasts, and...and..." I started to cry. "And my private area." "What else happened?" Derek asked. "I tried screaming and running away, but Murray held me tight," I said.

"He also beat me. He gave me bruises on my face and a black eye to get me to shut up." I wiped all my makeup off. "See?" Everyone gasped.

"Wow," said Derek in disbelief, "Has it healed lately?" "Only a little," I answered. "What else happened?" he asked. "About five minutes later, my friend came to help," I said, "He must have heard my screaming.

"He pulled Murray off of me and told me to call the cops. I went downstairs and told my mom to call them instead, so she did. When I came back to my room, Murray was gone." "So, he stalked you, beat you, and molested you?" Derek asked. "Yeah, and he also kissed me," I said.

"Can I just say something?" Murray asked. I sighed and said, "What?" "You should remember me from when you were five years old," he said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "You really don't know?" he asked.

"No, I don't," I said. "I'm your father, Carly," he said. Now, let me tell you why I don't really remember who my father was. First of all, I was very young when he started abusing me. Second, pretty much 1/4 of my memory has disappeared, thanks to him.

And third, ever since Mom and Dad's divorce, everything from him is gone, and all photos of him were either thrown away or burned. "Wait, didn't your father used to abuse you at a very young age?" Derek asked. "Yes," I said, "He used to abuse me everyday since I was five." "Them how come your last name is different from his?" he asked.

"Ever since my parents divorced, my mother took custody to me, my sister Mariah, and my late brother Matthew. She changed her last name back to her maiden name, which was Mendez," I explained. "Ok, we have all the information we need," the judge said, "Thank you, Ms. Mendez." I got off the podium and sat back down.

The trial went on for another few hours or so, and the jury just got done deciding. "Ok," the judge said, "The verdict calls for Dr. Conrad Murray...."