TW: Mention of abusive relationship, domestic violence, and sexual assault

“What, what about if the trial goes wrong?”  I asked hesitantly.  “What happens if parents learn that someone working there has been accused of domestic violence?”

Nathan rested both hands firmly on my shoulders and looked directly into my eyes again.  “It’s not going wrong.  There’s no way the trial here will get screwed up – he was too careless and I was too smart for him.”  He winked at me, startling another laugh out of me.  “The one back in Retherwood will be harder, but I honestly think you’ll win there, too.  You have proof on your side now.  Did Violet tell you what they found out about the bruises he had that day?”

I shook my head.

“Turns out he realized you’d left and deliberately got one of his non-police friends to give him a beating to make him look sympathetic and support his statements.  The pictures they took that day actually confirm that the size of the bruises don’t match your hands.”  He reached down and folded my rather small hand into a fist.  “Huge size difference there.  He wasn’t thinking that through – too much in a rush, I guess.  Plus, now they have the evidence from this former friend, who’s looking to avoid charges himself, so he’s eager to testify.  He can confirm that your ex asked him to make the bruises just to make it look realistic.”

Nathan paused.  “Violet said the investigation also revealed some other evidence after he was arrested and they were able to search his home.”  His tone was a little more serious.  “They found – certain things in the home.”

Things?  Oh.  Wait.  Things.  Things like what he used to restrain me while he was waiting for me to heal after one of his outbursts.  Things like the locks on the door and windows that made it impossible for me to escape.

“Some of them still have your blood on them,” Nathan’s expression was dark now, “which again supports what you claimed.  Had the police force even done a tiny bit of investigation, like noticing the discrepancy in bruise sizes, they could have figured out he was lying.  The police commissioner in Retherwood is actually kind of upset about it and apparently investigating any officer who was even in the room that day – they know who was there based on security cameras.  It’s likely going to be somewhat of a scandal, looking like a huge chunk of the police force intentionally covered up severe abuse perpetrated by one of their own.  I wouldn’t even be surprised if the police commissioner offered you a settlement to stay out of civil court and not sue them.”

My mouth opened in shock but I couldn’t make anything come out.  They – they found proof?  Enough that it might actually be a scandal that they’d done nothing?

It wasn’t like I wanted a scandal or wanted a settlement or anything, but I’d felt violated again, in a way, when I’d gone to the police for help only to have them mock me and openly support my abuser.  Who else was I supposed to go to for help in a situation like that?  All I had wanted was for them to do their job.

“You think they’ll really change?”  I finally asked.  “You think they’ll actually listen to victims in the future, regardless of whether they’re prey or predator?”

“I certainly hope so.”  Nathan squeezed my hand gently.  “You may not have exactly wanted it, but your situation may highlight the issues with people assuming prey are the victims and predators the aggressors.  It’s a stereotype which can be dangerous – deadly, even – and your case proves that.  You’re probably not the only one out there who’s faced similar assumptions, but by speaking up, you may be able to help others, too.”

I considered that.  I’d been scared to testify against him and to be honest, I was still terrified, but…if there was a chance my story could make a change so other people didn’t have to deal with the same prejudices?  It was probably worth all the fear and humiliation and stress that facing him in court would bring.

“I’ll testify,” I decided.  “But only if you and Riven and Ren are with me.”

Nathan smiled brightly.  “I can guarantee it.”

~~~~

The trial in Avenglade was very cut and dry.  His defense attorney tried to bring up the idea of me being a dangerous predator and was practically laughed to silence by the prosecutor.  When Nathan’s recording came into evidence, along with the security camera video clearly showing that I was cowering away the whole time and the only person being aggressive was him, not even Beatrice – well, other than when she kicked him over – his whole defense ended up looking kind of stupid.

20 years for attempted kidnapping, 5 for attempted sexual assault, 10 for assault and battery, and 25 for attempted murder.

That meant I was free of him for at least 60 years, just based on the one event here.

The trial in Retherwood was worse.  For one thing, I recognized some of these people.  For another, I had to go through details of my personal life for all the years I stayed with him, discussing things I hadn’t wanted to ever tell anyone, yet here I was, repeating them to a room full of strangers and some familiar faces, plus him.  And he was smirking at me the whole time, the way his eyes were watching me making me feel sick and panicked.

If Ren hadn’t given me tea before I got on the stand, I’d probably have hurled several times.

In addition to the evidence on the bruises and the things found in his house, Violet’s investigators had also carefully documented all evidence of my existence during the time in question, or the complete lack thereof.  They’d managed to dig up security cameras showing me on a few occasions during those two plus years he barely let me out of the house, my arm always tightly held in his hand, being dragged along at his pace, stumbling along after him and never permitted to talk to anyone.  They’d somehow even unearthed footage that I didn’t know existed of one of my rare escape attempts, where I’d made it all the way down the street in the dark, barefoot, only to be caught before I could make it around the corner.  The security camera on that one didn’t show exactly everything he did after he caught me, but the general idea was pretty obvious when you could see me get knocked down, him kicking me a few times, and then dragging me out of the camera frame.

That hadn’t been a good night for me.

The evidence Violet’s team had dug up was almost overwhelming to me, and Nathan’s recording again showed what he thought of me, how he treated me, and even confirmed some of what I’d said.

Still, I was afraid when the jury went to deliberate.  This town had more prejudices against predators being the victims of prey than Avenglade did, where Nathan, Ren, and Riven lived, and the accused person was a police officer – along with the entire police force being accused of not doing their job.  What if – what if they still didn’t believe me, even after all of that?

Nathan squeezed one of my hands and Riven the other – Ren lightly squeezing my shoulder from the other side of Riven – when the jury came out to read the verdict.

Guilty.  Guilty of false imprisonment, filing a false police report, perjury, and multiple counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, and domestic abuse – the list went on for a while.  All I could do while listening was hear the word “guilty” echoing in my head.

Guilty.  Even here in Retherwood, they finally saw the truth.  They finally believed me.

Then I startled as he bellowed, sprang over the divider towards me, and attempted to wrap his hands around my neck.

He didn’t get that far.  Besides the bailiffs, who were quick to their feet, Ren made vines appear, trapping him in place, every attempt to get loose resulting in tighter bonds until all he could do was just breathe and move his eyes, eyes which glared at me with so much hatred I instinctively cringed away.

Riven and Nathan were standing in front of me defensively as the bailiffs contained him, then the judge called for order and added wryly that they might need to add a new charge, but given the current sentence – two life sentences plus 20 years – it wasn’t likely going to really affect how long he stayed in prison.

It had taken me a long time, but I finally had justice.  I was finally free.

~~~~

Nathan was practically bouncing with excitement, an unusual look for him, as he pulled into the small parking lot.

“So here we are.  I found a building I mostly liked and went the remodeling route, which unless we built brand new was happening anyway – no way they’d have everything we need for supernatural kids.”

He got out of the car and waited impatiently for me to join him.  “Right, so, bright colors, clearly, but I wanted it to be inviting, too, so I kind of tried to find something with more of a home look than a business?  Kids can get freaked out being left somewhere with strangers, especially if they’re not used to it.  I want it to feel as safe for them as possible.”

He unlocked the door and led me inside.  The rooms were pretty spacious, sunny, and airy, and I found myself mentally trying to add in the furniture to see what the finished product would be like.

“We have a kitchen and some bathrooms, plus a room that can work as a nurse’s office and another couple for nap rooms.  I have a few potential offices for staff and another room for you to tutor in.  I’ll leave that up to you as far as how you want to furnish and decorate it.”

Nathan opened one of the doors into the back yard.  “It’s fenced in, just to be safe and make sure humans don’t see anything they shouldn’t, but the yard is big enough it shouldn’t feel constraining.  I’m planning to get Ren and Sorrel out here to help grow some plants into a natural bit of forest so it’s not all just an open field.  I want to confer with representatives from as many supernatural types as possible to find out if there’s anything special that would help their child – like fairies wanting to practice growing plants, for instance.  I know they do that because I practically grew up with fairies, and I know shifters usually like space to run since I am one.  But I don’t know about all the others, so I want to find out.  I guess I kind of want to turn it into a magical preschool?”  He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.  “I mean, not really, but I just want them to have some place safe to practice even if they’re not at home.  Sometimes getting to practice stuff with other kids their age can be helpful, or at least fun.”

I just let him talk as he went back into the building, describing his ideas for what everything would look like.  I enjoyed his enthusiasm, glad to see the light in his eyes that this project brought.

Talking about landscaping with him had been fine, but it was totally different to see him discuss his ideas for a daycare.  I was glad he’d finally decided to pursue it after all these years.