I Think I've Been Kidnapped

Chapter 33

***Mai’s P.O.V.***

“Eira Mai Kendrick, do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God,” the bailiff questioned me while I had my hand over the bible. I looked out at the crowd of people in the court room. The jurors were off to the side, a bored look on almost all of their features. My mother was sitting next to my lawyer and discussing a few things with her. She had already spoken about what she had known regarding the day I had been taken, and now it was my turn to tell the court about everything.

The boys were there; how they had managed to find out about the court date and where it would be was beyond me. It had been two days since I had last seen them and I didn’t know why they had even bothered to show up. All I knew was that they were there, sitting in the front row of the seats reserved for those who were just watching or were part of the witness list. They were slumped in their chairs, not really liking that I had given them a death glare when they first came in.

“I swear,” I nodded, and then took my seat in the uncomfortable witness’ chair. I tried not to look at the boys; I would be perjuring myself for them and I didn’t want to see their surprised faces when I did.

“Ms. Kendrick,” my lawyer began, walking towards where I sat and pacing around the open floor when she was already as close as was allowed. “Is your father, Bran Arwel Kendrick, the man who kidnapped you with the aid of Gareth Argall?”

“Yes,” I answered, glancing to my father and his friend. They weren’t looking at me, but they were both harboring looks of bitterness.

“And what was their intentions?” she followed up.

“My father said that he had planned to take me to Africa at the end of the week.”

“Was he planning to hide you from authorities and you public duty, Ms. Kendrick?”

“Yes.”

She turned towards the judge, who looked just as bored as everyone else in the room; everyone knew what the verdict would be in the end so everyone didn’t seem to think that this was a case of much interest. “As you know, judge Abney, according to the Code of Virginia, article 18.2-47 regarding the definition of abduction and kidnapping as a punishment; Mr. Kendrick and Mr. Argall committed a crime pertaining to the subsections A and D of the article. Mr. Kendrick’s actions are classified as a Class 6 felony due to his intent of withdrawing his daughter from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and succeeding in doing so.”

“I am aware,” the judge grumbled out, nodding his head.

“Now, Ms. Kendrick did your father or Mr. Argall ever threaten you with or carry out any actions of sexual, verbal or physical abuse?”

“Yes.”

“What was done and by whom?”

“Mr. Argall threatened me with sexual abuse on several occasions and physically abused me on many more, “ I told her, and I could tell that Clay, who was sitting near the back of the court room so that he could leave for work soon, and the boys’ eyes were on me while I spoke. “My father physically abused me less than Mr. Argall, but largely stuck to verbal abuse.”