Page 156 of Forgotten Prejudice

“Eva Rogers and Christian Wynter Rogers.”

“Are they here today?”

“Only my father is.” He looked down. “My mother’s dead.”

“Could you point to your father for me?”

Like a branch shaking in the wind, Shay-Lee lifted one thin arm.

“Please write in the record that the witness just pointed at Christian W. Rogers,” I asked the court reporter before turning my attention back to Shay-Lee. The room was still dead silent, making each word spoken sound a thousand times louder.

“Mr. Rogers, are you aware of the narrative the prosecution has been telling the court about the day you were attacked?”

He nodded, eyes locked on his hands. “I am.”

“And what do you have to say about it?”

He visibly swallowed before pulling his shoulder. “That it’s not true.”

“What is not true?”

He lifted his head only to look behind me at where Camilo was sitting. “Camilo would never hurt me.”

I wished I could have given Shay-Lee more time to focus on Camilo, but sadly, we didn’t have the luxury at the moment, and I had to move on.

“Do you love him?” I asked.

“Yes.”

Such a simple yet powerful answer—as it should be when it comes to love.

“So you didn’t cheat on him as the prosecution claimed?”

Shay-Lee shook his head, eyes still locked with Camilo. “Never.”

“So why did you end up living at Mr. Bianchi’s house?”

He focused his stare on me. “That was a part of our plan.”

“And that plan would be?”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “To run away.”

“And why would you want to run away, Mr. Rogers?”

“To get free.”

“Free of what?”

Shay-Lee didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he froze with his eyes glossy with tears. He was clearly scared, but I knew he could do it. He just needed more time, so I decided to help.

“Mr. Rogers, we’ll come back to that question later. Meanwhile, could you tell me if you remember anything from the day of the attack?”

He shook his head before brushing the back of his hand over his cheek, wiping away some of his tears. “No. I don’t recall the last seven days before the attack happened.”

At this point, Jones tried to step in but was silenced by the judge, who allowed me to proceed.

“Could you tell me the last thing you remember before the attack?”