Daylight

Chapter Thirty-Four

Sebastian stood by the door of the women's restroom in the courthouse. He knew Ava was nervous and that it was getting to her that today would be the start of a hopefully very short case. He checked his phone and put it back into the pocket of his slacks then straightened his tie as he let out a long breath.

As she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, Ava took long, deep breaths. This was it. The thing she had feared, the thing she had been so afraid of. She was going to set eyes on Javier for the first time in several years. She couldn't let him see her flinch. She stood in the bathroom for a while before she released a solidifying breath and headed back out.

As she stepped into the hall, she spotted Sebastian and approached him, slipping her hand into his. "I'm ready," she told him.

"I'm right beside you, okay?" He told her, squeezing her hand. "You can do this."

She nodded, turning her eyes down the hall of the courthouse. "Let's go," she said, forcing her feet to move forward. They felt heavy, like h r shoes were made of concrete. As they reached the doors of the court room, she reached out to open it.

All eyes turned in the room to who was entering, and court reporters began hitting notes the moment they saw her. Squeezing Seb's hand again, she walked down the center aisle and got to their seats behind the plaintiff's table.

Sebastian sat beside Ava and placed one hand on her knee. "You've got this baby. Be strong. You are strong."

The courtroom murmured with the whispers of the full gallery and a few moments later, the side door to the courtroom opened and, in handcuffs and his orange jumpsuit, walked Javier, flanked by three guards.

Ava knew she had to look up. She couldn't hide her eyes from him, not anymore. Taking a deep breath, she turned her gaze up to find familiar black eyes glaring at her. Her breath caught in her chest for a moment; his mere presence threatened to suck the air out of her. But she forced the air out and took another slow breath as she held his eyes. She felt sick to her stomach, and she swallowed against the acid she felt in the back of her throat.

She could do this. He had no power over her anymore. Those words played in her mind as she unconsciously squeezed her husband's hand.

"Deep breaths," Sebastian murmured. "You're okay. He cannot hurt you."

She swallowed hard again and nodded faintly, never breaking eye contact with Javier. For so many years she hadn't been able to look him in the eye out of fear. It felt surreal to do it now. A bit like an out of body experience.

As Javier got to his seat, he blew Ava a kiss that pulled a sneer onto her expression before he was guided into his chair by a guard who had seen what he did.

"Asqueroso," she murmured. Disgusting.

A member of the force introduced the judge before telling everyone to stand. The judge entered the room before everyone sat once more.

"We're here in the case of the State versus Javier Miguel Ortega," the judge read, looking out towards the courtroom. "The charges are ones of a serious nature, and I expect that all in attendance will be respectful," he continued. "Mr. Torres, as the attorney for the state you will make your argument first."

"Thank you, your honor," Ava's attorney said. He began by laying out the case for an attempted first-degree murder charge. Javier had kidnapped Ava, badly beaten her, sexually assaulted her, and attempted to strangle her to death. The only thing that kept her alive was a call from her then four-year-old son to 911 when his mother didn't come home. The only crimes he was currently in prison for were crimes related to the kidnapping, none related to the attempted murder. He explained why Ava waited to come forward, that she'd been so afraid for her life that testifying was impossible back then. But she was ready now, and her testimony combined with the physical evidence would prove that Javier intended to kill her that night, and that he should be sentenced to life in prison.