Through Pain We Survive

Chapter 95

***TRIGGER WARNING- Violence and drugging mentions***

"Defense, do you have any other witnesses to testify?" Judge Johnston asked.

"Yes, your honor. The defense would like to call Sara Applegate to the stand," Azazel called out.

Sara went pale. She wheeled herself up to the stand. "Place your right hand on the Bible." Sara did so. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" the bailiff asked.

"I do," Sara said, barely audible.

"Please repeat yourself for the court to hear," the Judge requested.

Sara cleared her throat. "I do," she stated, louder.

"Please approach the stand," the bailiff instructed.

Azazel walked to the stand. "Please state and spell your name for the records."

"Sara Applegate. A-P-P-L-E-G-A-T-E."

"Ms. Applegate, what is your relationship to the defendant?"

"He—" she coughed slightly. "He was my boyfriend for four years, but I've known him for ten years."

"How did you come to know Ms. Lopez, Mr. Pinkerton, Mrs. Pinkerton, and Mr. Morse?"

"Damien told me about Nate, AJ, and Gwen. They make videos on YouTube, and since I am in that line of work as well, Damien told me to befriend them and possibly get some advice from them. I didn't know Cat until I met her at the restaurant she worked."

"What was your relationship with Mr. Pinkerton, Mrs. Pinkerton, and Mr. Morse?"

"AJ, Gwen, and I weren't very close, but Nate and I dated."

"When did that relationship end?"

"Five months ago."

"When did your relationship with Mr. Grant end?"

"April 27th, 2023." Sara looked down in her lap. "I dated both Nate and Damien at the same time. Damien asked me to date Nate, to try to get close to them to figure out what made their channel so successful. But I later figured out he wasn't trying to get our channel more clout."

"What was the goal for you dating Nate, when you already were dating Damien?"

"Damien wanted me to get close to them so he could figure out their weaknesses, and try to hurt the three of them. He had me drug Gwen multiple times." A tear slipped down from her eye.

"You drugged Mrs. Pinkerton?"

"Yes." Sara stared down to her lap. More tears rolled down her cheeks.

"What caused you to do that?"

"Damien told me that she would be fine, and he threatened to hurt me if I didn't do it." She sniffled.

There was murmuring throughout the courtroom. "Order!" Judge Johnston rapped the gavel.

"How would he hurt you?"

Sara realized she said too much. Damien gave her a glare. She took a deep breath. She didn't care about him anymore. She stopped caring about him when he shot her. She realized then he didn't care about her, why should she care about him?

"He would beat me. Kick me. Punch me. Slap me. Damien is the one that shot me, causing me to be in this chair." She motioned to the wheelchair.

Azazel swallowed hard. Sara had put Damien in a bad light. How could she spin this? "Do you know anything about Damien's upbringing?"

"Only that he was an orphan, brought up by his uncle and aunt with his cousin. He was abused as a child, and he had carried on that abuse to others in his life."

"Ms. Applegate, did you know of Ms. Lopez?"

"Not until I met her at Fratelli's, no."

"Ha, met. Really?" Cat said under her breath. Mira Lynne squeezed on to her hand to help calm her.

"Did you know she was also involved with Mr. Grant?"

"No, I didn't. Not until Damien and I went there on a date, and Cat approached us and started yelling at Damien and stormed off."

Azazel looked to Cat. "No further questions, your honor."

"Prosecution, your witness."

"Sara, you said you were involved in drugging Mrs. Pinkerton, is that correct?" Dove asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Who gave you the items to drug her with?"

"Damien."

"You also said he threatened you if you wouldn't have done as he asked. How did that make you feel?"

"I feared for my life. By that point, he had regularly started beating me to get his anger out."

"Were you aware of the bug placed in Mr. and Mrs. Pinkerton and Mr. Morse's home?"

"Not until I told them about it. I had my suspicions, but I finally had confirmation about the bug, then I went to tell them."

"Do you know why he would place a bug in their home?"

"To spy on them. He wanted to figure out their weaknesses to be able to use against them."

Dove approached closer. "What was his motive in attempting to kill Mr. Pinkerton?"

"Obsession."

"Obsession? How does killing him lead to obsession?"

"He became obsessed with Gwen and wanted her for himself." She looked towards Gwen.

Sara then looked over to Damien. Damien was looking over to Gwen and licked his lips.

Gwen shivered. She put her hand on AJ's shoulder. He put his hand on hers, reassuring her he was there for her.

"Now, you admitted to drugging Mrs. Pinkerton. Did you drug Ms. Lopez?"

"No."

"Did you crash your car into Mr. Morse?"

"No."

"Did you assault Ms. Lopez or Mrs. Pinkerton or Mr. Morse?"

"No."

"Who did those things?"

"Damien. He—" she broke off in a sob. "He only told me about those things after he did them. When I had to bail him out of jail, or when he had to use my car because his was 'in the shop,' or so he told me."

Dove glared back at Damien, then looked back to Sara. "Ms. Applegate, you said Damien is the one who put you in that chair. Can you explain the events leading up to him shooting you?"

"I got home after going for a drive. I'd had a lot on my mind, and driving sometimes clears that up for me. I walked in, and Damien was there. It wasn't unusual for him to be there, but he was very angry. He had listened to the bug recording and knew I told AJ and Gwen about the bug. He—" her voice got caught in her throat for a moment. "He then slapped me while we were talking, and pulled out the gun. I feared for my life then. He shot me twice in the back as I ran away." Tears streamed freely down her cheeks. "I stayed as still as I could until I knew he left and wouldn't be coming back any time soon. I then reached in my pocket and pulled out my phone to call for an ambulance. I remember telling them I'd been shot, and the address, then the next thing I knew I was in recovery."

Gwen glanced around, noting the tears in the jurors eyes. Yes, Sara did do some bad things, but it seems she really did have remorse.

"Nothing further your honor." Dove sat back down.

"You may return to the table." Judge Johnston told Sara.

Sara wheeled back to the table, shaking. She hadn't meant to spill how Damien treated her, but she was glad she did.