Birthday Surprise

Chapter 11

Carmen
I spend pretty much every day with my loved ones until the trial begins. It takes four months. Naturally, I'm the main person who testifies and tell them everything from the time that I was kidnapped to the time that I was found.
After I told the others that I wanted to get my jacket, I went out to my mom's car and got it from the backseat where I left it. Carlos's truck pulled up from the left, not the entrance to my right where most people could drive in. I described it, saying that there was a fast food restaurant to the left and he used the entrance by it instead. He got out, took me, and drove off. I had my mom's keys in the jacket pocket but it wasn't zipped so the keys fell out. I didn't have time to really do anything because Carlos was quick to get out of dodge.
[TRIGGER WARNING: Mention of sexual harassment]
Obviously, I had a million questions, but Carlos was avoiding them. He just said that he knew it was my birthday and wanted to spend it with me. I asked him how he even knew where we were and he just said that he had his ways. Once we got to his house that we all used to live in, he took me into the basement and tied my hands to a random pipe with a rope. It became pretty obvious from this behavior that it wasn't just a surprise visit on my birthday. He brought me food and drinks but had to feed me by hand like a baby. In his mind, that must've still counted for something.
I shared that he told me about my mom's visit which made him release pent up anger from the failed marriage as he called it. My mom, Isaac, and I could all call it a divorce but he treated it like a failed marriage and implied that it could've worked. He started saying that despite this, he still got me out of it, so he didn't regret the marriage. He said this in a really creepy way. It only got worse when he said that I was officially turning into a beautiful woman since I was eighteen now. Naturally, I caught on to his tone and told him to stop. He didn't do anything else thankfully but it was really creepy and uncomfortable. I felt gross afterwards knowing that this man was my biological father.
He would only leave the house if he had to get groceries or run random errands. He happened to just get home from an errand about twenty minutes before the police came. The police searched the house and found me in the basement. They were able to cut the rope, which I never could because I was too far from anything I could use, and led me outside. They asked me a few more questions and let me sit back down.
The trial continues for a month as other people testify. The jury takes five days before they reach a verdict. Carlos Lopez was sentenced to eight years in prison for kidnapping. Even after it came out that he kissed Miranda which I didn't know, he didn't get anything for that because California doesn't find that illegal. We're all shocked since she's still a minor and are very upset that he just has to serve eight years. Miranda receives a longer sentence for aiding and abetting and providing false information to the police, meaning that she has to serve almost nine years. This doesn't feel like nearly long enough for either of them but at least it's over. Like with Antonio Salazar, I never want to see or speak to either of them again. Diego was released after it came out that he has literally nothing to do with this. Even though it's fucked up that Miranda framed him, she's locked up so we don't have to worry about her anymore.