Kidnapped By Magcon

Chapter Thirteen

"I already told you! I will not wear a fucking pantsuit!" I screamed into my phone. Sometimes, my lawyer really gets on my nerves. I mean she's nice and all. Her name is Jane Avery and she's from Avery & Parker. That's a law firm, by the way. Ooh, I sound so professional!

"Come on, Rosie! They seriously aren't that bad! I mean, I wear them."

I searched for a compliment.

"Well, yeah," I retorted. "But that's only because you have a gift from God himself." She chuckled into the phone.

"Fair enough. I suppose I need to ask what that gift is."

"I suppose you're right."

"Okay okay, just tell me what it is!"

I smiled.

"The gift to pull off major fashion don't's." I said and hung up.

"Really Rose, you've been going through that fridge for ten minutes. Is there something you actually want?" Tara asked. I smiled and closed the door.

"Nope."

∆

I walked down the hall, my heels clicking. Jane walked beside me and I could tell she wasn't very happy with my clothing choice.

I didn't care. I need to show them who I am and why I deserve my little girls. I kept my hair simple.

We walked in and sat down at our table. Soon the questioning began.

"Miss Finch, why don't you start by telling us a little about your life right now." Jane asked.

"Well, I work part time and live right next door to my best friend." I started. Jane nodded.

"And what do you do with your children while you are at work?"

"When I am at work, the kids go over to Tara's house or else Tara and her kids come over."

"Mmhmm. And would you say that they live in an unsafe environment with you?"

"Absolutely not. My children mean the world to me. We live in a great neighborhood, close to a great school I would like them to go to. We have little traffic on our street, but we still never go out front unless we're going somewhere." Jane nodded.

"And would you say that Mr. Reynolds's house would be a safe environment for them?"

"Absolutely not! My children haven't been there in over a year and they don't remember their father, the way I like it. He has no filter. Absolutely none. My youngest daughter Eva's second word was a swear because of him! He leads what people call a transition life style. He is always out partying. His friends are over all the time. I mean I get having that one friend over a lot, but he has eight friends over. All the time."

"I see. Does Mr. Reynolds drink?"

"Oh yes. He drinks a lot. He would always use to come home drunk. He didn't beat us, but there was so many times where I thought he was going to. I was terrified of him." Jane smiled.

"Nothing further."

∆

"Mr. Reynolds, do you see yourself as a fit parent?"

"Of course."

"And why is that?"

"Because I only want what's best for my little girls."

"And is keeping your two toddler children away from their mother 'what's best for them'?"

"Objection!" His attorney yelled and stood up. I rolled my eyes. Law & Order much?

"On what grounds, counselor?" The judge asked. He scrambled for words. She raised her eyebrows. "Sit down." She turned to Carter. "Answer the question, please."

"Um, no, I guess not."

"You guess not? Then why did you do it? Miss Finch had done absolutely nothing wrong. In fact, wasn't she still in the hospital when you decided it was best for them not to see her?"

The jury all looked at each other.

"Uh, yes, that is true." He said. She smiled.

"And wasn't it just two weeks ago that you tracked down Miss Finch, broke into her house, and re- introduced yourself to her children?"

"Actually her friend let me in. Tara, I think." Jane smiled. Exactly what she needed.

"Your Honor, I would like to call to the stand Tara Hart."

Tara stood up and walked to the stand. She took the oath and whatever.

"Hello Miss Hart. Can you please tell me what happened two weeks ago?"

"Well Rose was at the store getting groceries and I was trying to make pancakes with a homemade recipe from my family when I heard a knock at the door. I opened it and saw Mr. Reynolds. I said hello, asked him what he needed and that's when he and three other boys broke into my house."

"Mmhmm, and how did they do that?"

"He shoved me. Hard. I fell into the side table by our door and cut myself here." She pointed to the deep gash on her head. "He grabbed me by my hair and directed me to our living room. He kept a hand on my neck as we waited for Rose to come home." She teared up. "As we waited, he discussed what he could do to my kids to hurt them. He was talking about drowning them or torturing them or, his personal favorite, as he said, make them watch while he burns me alive, or vice versa. The other guys weren't buying into it. They just sat there looking at each other." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, leaning closer to the mic. "He is a sick, sick man, and he doesn't deserve to even know those kids exist."

∆

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" A man stood up with a paper in his hands.

"We find the defendant, Carter Reynolds, guilty of two counts of assault and breaking and entering. We are sentencing him with three years in prison."