Scornful Revenge

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Alice was helped up from her seat by Hank as she made her way to the witness stand. She then straightened out her dress, having bunched up due to her bump. Once at the stand, she swore on the Bible and then stated her name for the record.

"It's Alice Hiddleston. Two 'd's.'" She spoke to the court reporter.

"Mrs. Hiddleston, what is your relation to the plaintiffs?"

"I'm their daughter."

"Can you describe what your childhood was like when you were living with the plaintiffs?" Hank inquired.

"It's a lot like how my brother, Mr. Sherbrooke, described. They were incredibly strict with us and gave out several forms of punishment depending on the severity of the circumstance."

"What were these forms of punishment?"

"Um, there was a lot of hitting us."

"Where would they hit you?" Hank asked.

"Usually our head, face. For some reason, they only ever hit my hands with various objects, I can't really remember which ones exactly." Alice explained.

"Why did you audition for Ms. Page's cabaret theater?"

"I wanted to see if I had a chance. My parents never really wanted us to do anything in the arts as a career but I loved to perform. I would practice singing and dancing whenever they weren't at home and I joined the drama club in high school, which was short lived when they found out."

"What did they do when they found out you were in a drama club?"

"They called the school, got in touch with my counselor and had him drop it. They found out after I was in one of their plays because I hadn't come home before they did. But I remembered what I learned and watched videos to keep learning. All my college auditions were self-tapes because I knew if they took me to a college and found out I was auditioning for acting programs, they'd turn the car around and then there'd be a beating waiting for me at home. I remember, I even-"

"Objection!" Diane called out.

Alice gasped as she looked over at her, furrowing her brow.

"The witness is giving a narrative response after already answering the question."

"Sustained."

"But I was going to-"

"Sustained, Mrs. Hiddleston." The judge raised her brow at Alice.

"So, it's your senior year in high school. You've got a few months left. You've just been hired by Ms. Page to perform in her cabaret show. However, one night, after a rehearsal, you came home to find your parents, the plaintiffs, and your brother sitting in the living room waiting for you. What happened that night when you came home?" Hank asked her.

"It was a few weeks before my graduation. I had come home late because it ran over. A friend of mine from the show drove me home and I had no time to change. I made the stupid mistake of opening the front door and they were all there in the living room. When they turned on the light, I did my best to hide my costume. My mom had come over to me and started grabbing at my jacket, trying to open it. She forced it open and the buttons went flying. Seeing what I was wearing, she went into hysterics, started crying and calling me names."

"What names did she call you?"

"Do I have to say?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hiddleston, I've asked a question." Hank sighed.

Alice took a deep breath as she nodded her head.

"She said she didn't raise her daughter to be acting like... like a slut. She called me a little bitch, disgrace, and a whore," Alice replied. "Before I even had a chance to explain myself, my dad had... he had..."