INICIAR SESIÓNAlina's POVEvery piece of evidence that was brought forward, every word Liam said to support our case, and every witness who gave their testimony.Each word was a fresh reminder of the trauma Aria put my daughter through, and each word made me hate Aria a little more than I already did.Edrick held my hand throughout the court hearing, and when Liam brought forward the body cam footage from the bridge…The footage of my daughter being held by Aria, with a gun pointed at her head, played on the screen.Edrick held me even tighter.I didn’t close my eyes.I watched the whole thing.I watched it.I watched the footage of my daughter being held at gunpoint by Aria.I watched as Liam gave his points and explained every point to the judge.The hall fell silent. Everyone waited for the next thing the judge was going to say.“Defense?” He raised his hand towards Aria’s lawyer.She took a deep breath before standing up from her seat.For a moment, she said nothing.I looked at Edrick, then ba
Aria's POVThe next person to be called to the witness box to give her testimony was none other than Alina.Alina.Alina. Bitterness crept my chest. All I wished for was a chance to end her goddamned life once and for all. She stood up, head held high, as she made her way to the witness box.Her eyes briefly glanced my way, and I felt my breath hitch.My heart began pounding.I wasn't scared of Alina. The only feeling I had towards her was pure hatred. I was scared of everything she was going to say.She stood there and took her oath of honesty. As if there is anything honest about her. I took a deep breath and braced myself for what was coming next.She started with the whole story of how I took her daughter.I didn't want to pay attention to what she was saying.But of course, I couldn't ignore it. They were the only sound I could hear in the courtroom.Everyone was listening. And If I try to zone out, It'd be struck with depressing silence. “After days of searching for Clover,
Aria’s POV I couldn't believe it.I couldn't stop myself from smiling as my eyes drifted to Alina and Edrick. They sat there, their faces painted with pain and agony.My smile grew bigger and bigger.This is just the beginning. I nodded before turning back to my lawyer, Regina.“Thank you, Regina,” I said. I've always seen her as someone competent, but for the first time since this case started, I actually believed in her. I actually saw her skills. There really is hope after all.“Thank you,” I said, stretching an arm towards her.She took my hand.“Aria, I'm just doing my job,” she said with a smile, clearly satisfied with her work. Mom stood up from her seat and moved to the front where we were.“Aria,” she said before hugging me.“Mom, thank you. Tell Mr. Vale thank you,” I said, smiling, because all of this would not have happened without him. He really did pull through. “I promise you, you'll get out of here. You'll get out of this mess,” Mom said.“About that,” Regina cut
Alina's POVI let Edrick put Clover to bed tonight. I needed enough time to unwind, or rather, enough time to overthink.I closed my eyes, then opened them again, then closed them again.Sleep felt so foreign to me. I needed it. I needed to sleep. But my mind couldn't stop going back to the events of this afternoon.Aria. Her face. The look she gave me. The case. Her lawyer's accusations.Everything was just coming back to me.I could hear the noise in my head. The voices were getting louder and louder and louder.And I just wanted to scream.Until I felt his hands on mine, brushing them softly."You okay?" Edrick asked.I opened my eyes. I hadn't even noticed they were closed."Yeah," I lied."It's going to be fine, My love," he said, pressing kisses on my palms. His warmth brought a type of calmness, a rush of relief through my nerves. I closed my eyes and let him continue until I was completely consumed by sleep.…….I peeped in on Clover and Jamie in the study room. Their private
Alina’s PoV“My Lord, I would like to move forward with the fact that we were not given access to the conversation between my client and Carla Mendes.” Regina kept talking.The air instantly became stiff. I saw my lawyer, Liam hesitate.“Can the prosecution please bring forward the conversation between my client and Carla Mendes?” Regina asked again.The judge looked at my lawyer.“Go ahead,” he said.Liam took a deep breath before picking up the phone and handing it to one of the court workers.Soon, the projector was connected, and the conversation appeared on the wall for everyone to see.It was short.Very brief.And very disappointing.Aria had simply purchased something from Carla.I already knew where this was going.“My Lord, as you can see, my client did have a conversation with Carla Mendes. But does it contain anything related to the kidnapping?”“No,” the worker answered.“Does it have anything to do with Miss Alina Dawson?”“No.”Regina nodded.“It was simply an innocen
ALINA'S POVMy eyes moved between Aria and her lawyer.I couldn't tell if it was fear, but there was something in their eyes.Something had shifted.They weren't... they were no longer looking as confident as they had when they walked in.As for Mom, her eyes were already swollen with tears.I looked away, holding back my smile.“Why would Aria Vale be communicating with Carla Mendes before her sister's kidnapping?”Those were my lawyer's last words. That alone was enough.We needed more to put Aria behind bars completely.I looked around the courtroom, hope brewed in my chest when I saw Jason sitting among the people.He wasn't here a few minutes ago. And I had begun to lose hope. But he came.He actually came.I sighed.I hoped he would cooperate because, if there was anything I knew about Jason, it was that he could be very, very cunning.“My Lord, the prosecution would like to call its next witness,” my lawyer said.The judge nodded.“Jason Miller.”Jason stood from his seat, ad







