Chapter 24
The judge cleared the courtroom for Lily’s testimony.
Only the lawyers, the jury, the judge, and a social worker were allowed to stay. The cameras were turned off. The doors were locked.
Lily walked in holding the social worker’s hand.
She was wearing her favorite blue dress. Her hair was braided. She’d practiced for weeks with a child psychologist—what to say, what not to say, how to handle the questions.
She climbed into the witness box.
She looked so small.
So brave.
My father’s lawyer knelt down so he was eye level with her.
“Hi, Lily,” he said gently. “How are you today?”
“I’m okay,” she said. Her voice was clear and strong, just like we’d practiced. “My tummy hurts a little, but that’s because I’m nervous.”
A few of the jurors smiled.
“That’s okay. Everyone gets nervous in court. Can I ask you some questions about your daddy? Derek?”
Lily nodded.
“Okay. Lily… do you remember that night at Grandma’s house? The night Daddy came to see you?”
She nodded again.
“He climbed through my window,” she said. “He told me we were going on an adventure. Just me and him. He said Mommy didn’t love me anymore. He said we were going to go live on an island.”
“Did he have a gun, Lily?”
The social worker squeezed her hand.
Lily hesitated.
Then she nodded.
“It was in his pocket. He showed it to me when I asked if we could go home. He said if I cried or made noise, the bad men would come and take me away forever. I was so scared.”
A woman on the jury wiped a tear.
“Did your daddy ever hurt your mommy?”
Lily’s lower lip trembled.
“Once,” she whispered. “At our old house. He hit Mommy with a belt. The bad lady was there. She was laughing. I called Grandpa because I thought he was going to kill Mommy.”
She looked directly at Derek.
“I hate you,” she said clearly. “You hurt my mommy. You scared me. You’re not my daddy. My real daddy would never do those things.”
The judge called a recess after that.
Lily ran to me and threw her arms around my neck.
“Did I do good, Mommy?” she whispered.
“You did perfect, baby,” I cried into her hair. “You were so brave. Mommy is so proud of you.”
The trial lasted another week.
The prosecution called Derek to the stand.
He tried to lie.
He tried to deny everything.
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But Sarah had done her job.
Every time Derek opened his mouth, the prosecution had a text message. A bank record. A witness. A recording.
