Page 42 of Broken Silence
Nodding, I did as he said and turned to Linda. “So, what’s going to happen?”
“Well, as you know, the trial is starting in just under two weeks. I’m not exactly sure when you’ll be giving evidence yet, though.” She frowned. “This is a very complex case, but I predict it’ll take roughly three or four weeks. It just depends on how cooperative Mr Farrell is. His lawyer also has a long list of witnesses to call.”
“They’re still pleading not guilty?”
If they just admitted the truth, there would be no need for me or any other of their victims to cut ourselves open and bleed out in front of a jury.
His final act of control.
Linda dismissively waved her hand. “Don’t you worry about that. When the judge is considering their sentences, it’ll go against them that they tried to get off. The jury can’t ignore the evidence we’ve found. There are five girls, including you, giving evidence against your father.”
Metallic acid hit the back of my throat.
Five girls had suffered physically at the hands of my dad. He’d used me as a pawn in his sick games, but those women were abused by him.
I hated him so fucking much, it was overwhelming. He was poison I had worked so hard to purge from my life.
Linda was so positive that I nodded along, needing to believe her… but we all knew sometimes guilty people walked free.
That couldn’t happen.
“So, you have complete confidence, then? They won’t get away with it?” If they did, it would kill me.
“I have confidence, yes.” She leant forward. “I believe you, Oakley, and I believe justice will be served.”
“How close will they be to me?” I whispered. An icy shiver ran up my spine, freezing me from the inside out. The same room was too close, but there was no way around that.
Cole squeezed my hand again, bringing me back.
“They won’t be close to you. There is no way they can get near you. You’ll be safe, but if at any point it becomes too much, I can ask for a break.”
I sucked in a breath. “Okay. Thank you. What if they try talking to me?”
“They won’t be allowed to. They will be warned not to. If they attempt to, there will be consequences. It would look incredibly bad on their part if they tried anything like that.”
I let out a deep breath.Thank God.
“Do you think they’ll get the maximum?” Cole asked. My eyes slid to his and, this time, I had to squeeze his hand. He looked seconds from exploding.
“I’m going to ask that the judge considers the maximum sentence, absolutely.”
“Good. Just a shame we don’t still have the death sentence,” he said.
Linda answered a few more questions and told me to dress smart but as myself, so the jury would connect with me.
We began to stand the moment I ran out of things to ask her.
“I’ll be in touch soon if anything changes. You can call me if you think of anything else,” she said. “Anytime.”
“Thank you.”
Cole and I stood with Linda, and she led us back to the lobby, despite the building being too small to get lost.
Her receptionist, a man in a sharp suit and shaved head, who hadn’t been there when we arrived, gave us a wave as we left.
Cole dragged me into his arms as we stepped outside, a slither of sunshine making a break through parted clouds. He gripped me tightly, needing the connection as much as I did. I laid my head on his shoulder, feeling the tension slowly ebb from his muscles. His arms were my favourite place in the world to be.
“It’s going to be okay. I’ll be with you; I promise.” His lips pressed against the top of my head. “I never stopped loving you, Oakley. You must know that. There’s only ever been you.”
