Unholy Chapel

Chapter Eleven; The Court Jester is Telling Lies Again.

TW: Knives, Assault, Threats, Arguments, Mention of Abuse, Abusive Relationship, Toxic Relationship, Blood, Dissociation, Scarring, Mental Manipulation, Stockholm syndrome

When you worked with the police officer, he brought in a social worker and a psychiatrist who both talked with you about the extent of William's kidnapping, took recordings (per your consent) and took filed notes about your condition. 

"Y/N, did William ever put his hands on you in a way you felt threatened?" the police officer asked gently. when you nodded and paused, trying to find words they listened. 

"He once nicked my side with a cheese knife." you lift the side of your shirt just so that the scar of a old injury could be seen. you continued, talking about how he would sometimes hug you a bit too tightly or when he would be cooking he would hold the knife in peculiar ways or point said knife at you, commenting about you in inappropriate manners.

Once you admitted he threw it at you while you two argued and it left a mark in the wall that someone confirmed. the police officer was set on guard at your confessions, and at one point he got startles by Clara when he encountered her sitting in her wheelchair, asleep by the couch while Evan and Elizabeth watched T.V. Her hair was almost hidden so she looked like William even more so. 

Clara had been taking it hard. with her near paraplegic state, she could barely move around due to lack of doctor checkups. William was afraid she would blab about you, and it made her feel useless, unable to protect you from William and other dangers. 

She missed going to church and seeing your face light up the congregation. The food drive ran out of food when they had to rely on a mix of it and human resources. A few times she joked to herself that you were the only donor to the place. Since the only relative that could be considered legal to send you to was William's twin brother, the police tried to get in contact with him but he was off the face of the earth and multiple accounts said he died, but no official death record of Horace Afton could be found. William and Horace's mother was single with a daughter born when the twins were 24, and was 23 as far as records went. no contact between grandkids and grandparents, so the police didn't suspect they would be in their care without introduction and communication.

Clara sat in her wheelchair in the same outfit she wore the day you were found, roughly a week and a half earlier. she couldn't get changed without help and no one was around to help as Michael was too busy trying to keep the smaller ones calm about the situation. She wanted to ask for help to get changed and showered but she didn't want to be watched by a male and she didn't want to ask you for help because you ended up spending most of your days with a psychologist an social worker, being reintroduced into current topics as it had been discovered William kept that from you as well. 

It was snowing the day before court, which only scared you because it meant you had been in captivity for almost half to 3/4 of a year.

You arrived in the court in fresh clothes that you washed on your own, getting crust and disgusting things off and out of it. It was a formal outfit that you liked, that demonstrated power and formality. It wasnt too revealing and it suited you well, an accent of your favorite color highlighting your preferences and independance from William. 

You sat across a large courtroom from William Afton who refused to tear eye contact from you. He looked angry and sad, and you had to remind yourself of your intentions.

You had to calm yourself multiple times before the actual court time, each time was more extreme than the last. You felt horrible for having to rely on your friends who already had to deal with a father being in jail.

When the officer brought you into the court, you had a conversation with him and your lawyer as well as the psychologist to help your case. The psychologist and attorney wanted to put the man behind bars as they had lost children to his company but their disappearances fell under the situations where the company couldn't be sued.

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"Mx. L/N, did William J. Afton forcibly take you into his home and keep you against your will, at any point in time during your relationship?" The attorney asked you. William watched with clenched fists in handcuffs. You took a deep breath and he watched your lips part.

Tension filled the air as you simply breathed for what felt like eternity. Your lawyer was sweating buckets and William was holding onto the stale air in is mouth. air flowed into your lungs and back out, creating a steady pattern that was fast paced and almost a hyperventilation.

The attorney asked the same question again, rephrasing it. "Mx. L/N, i will ask you again, did William Afton at any point in time during your relationship not allow you to leave or do stuff against your will?" the second time the question was repeated seemed to knock you back into your senses.

You spoke.

The word you said tore the court room in two. Some people, including people who knew of your return and had been in the court room stood in their seats, William was left dumbfounded, William's lawyer cheered even and the judges had to bang the gavel.

The answer you had given was a simple one, but it tore people apart and caused uproar within the judges, the guards, the jury, the man himself who knew exactly what he did and the people in the public gallery, some of them stood, some gasped and your best friend who just recently met with you again cried, both from stress of seeing your changed features and the answer you gave. 

The psychologist was left without words, and after all the work they did with you, they werent sure if they succeeded or failed.

(Word count: 1034)