Zayn
Today was the day of my court case. I sit next to my lawyer and look at the table next to me, there sat James, an empty chair, and their lawyer. Jack sat behind them with Alyssa on the bench. I look back at Alyssa an whisper to get her attention. "Hey! Baby! Goober! Alyssa! Love!" I call out all the nicknames I have her until she looked at me. "I love you so much." I say before the case starts. She smiles back and mouths it back.
No matter how mad she can be at me I know she'll always love me. How can you hate the person that raised you? Next to the judge sat Maria. "Mrs. Sumner can I ask you a few questions?" The detective asks. She nods and takes a breath.
"Where were you the day that you found Alyssa, or should I say, Lisa?"
"She actually came to me detective, her friend brought her to me. We called you guys tons of time but I knew it would do no good. And now here we are."
"Right, and how did you figure out yesterday that it was Zayn Malik that took her?"
"Well, he moved in with her, her friend, and her friends mother. He and her friends mother were in a relationship at the time."
"What proof do you have that it was Mr. Malik?"
"He simply gave in." She shrugs.
"Are there any other words you'd like to say before you step down?"
She looks at me. "Thank you for raising her to be the beautiful girl she is today."
"Thank you." The detective nods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I got up to the stand and swore to tell the truth.
"Mr. Malik?"
"Yes sir?" I say being polite
"So you're polite?" He chuckles
"Chivalry never dies." I say and he laughs.
"What would you know about chivalry?"
"Detective." The judge says.
"Where were you the night of December twenty second, two thousand?"
"The hospital." I bow my head.
"And how exactly did you take baby Lisa?" He asks me and paces the court room.
"I just walked in and grabbed her." I say and run my hand through my hair.
After many questions and interrogations they let me go and I sat on the table. Next up to the stand was Alyssa. She gave me a look and a small smile. She then takes the vow and sits down.
"Hey Lisa." He greets her.
"My name is Alyssa." She corrects him
"Is that the name he gave you." He asks
She nods and picks at her nails. Every jury man and women notes her insecurity.
"How'd you figure out he wasn't your real father?"
She sighs and tucks her lips. Choking down her tears. "He was open to me when I was fourteen about how I was 'adopted' because I asked him about why I didn't look like him. Because in class we were studying about heredity." She rambles.
"Alyssa, calm down it's okay." I speak up and soothe her. "Malik!" The judge quiets me. Alyssa nods and continues.
"When did you find out he abducted you?"
"Two days ago."
"How did you figure out?"
Alyssa looked at Jack. Jack nods at her to continue. "My friend Jack had a baseball practice and I was online on my phone and I saw this article about a missing child and I read it and I noticed she looked like me except for the nose and the hair. So the next day I wanted to know about my child hood so we searched the house for boxes of pictures while my dad was at work."
"We went down stairs and my friend, Jack found a box with my name on it. We found a couple of baby pictures and then he found the news articles and flyers for missing children. Then we rushed to my moms house because she lived in the same neighborhood, but i only knew her as 'Mrs. S'. So he told me all this stuff about me and..," she paused and cried.
"I called 911 and reported myself as the missing child." She cries. My heart drops. If it were anyone else I'd be livid. But Alyssa knew it was the right thing to do. I can be mad at her, I deserve this.
"Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
Alyssa turns and looks at me. "I'm so sorry that I called, but I still love you. Yeah it was pretty messed up what you did, but you raised me, you took care of me, you gave me confidence, you educated me, everything. Thank you, and I love you, dad."
I raise my hand. "May I say something?"
"No!" The detective snaps. The judge stops him and allows me to speak. "Alyssa, I'm not mad at you, you did the right thing. I love you." I say and Leave.
Alyssa stops us before I leave and asks the judge if she can say one last thing. The judge grants her permission and she sighs. "dad, do you remember the lesson you taught me? One thing you should never do in life? Lie. So why'd you do it?" she asks as tears fall down her face.
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