“Some, perhaps. But Miss Wells had many injuries that were not consistent with a car crash.”
“Objection, the witness is making assumptions.”
“With all due respect, your honor, Dr. Gray is an expert in his field. His opinion very much matters.”
“Agreed. Dr. Gray, you may continue,” the judge states. I risk a glance at Banner’s parents and see them furiously whispering to their lawyer.
“In answer to your question, no, the injuries Miss Wells sustained were not from the car accident, beyond some slight bruising on her chest from the seatbelt and the contusion on her head from where it collided with the driver’s side window. I believe this is what rendered Miss Wells unconscious at the scene. The rest of the marks on her face were consistent with being hit by a fist, the marks around her neck were caused by manual strangulation, and the bruising on her stomach was caused by a foot.”
Moisture pools in my mouth as my brain flashes back to the moment I knew my baby was gone.
“How can you be sure it was a foot?” the prosecutor questions, as a whimper slips free.
“Because we could see the tread of the boot the assailant was wearing.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
BANNER
Sorrow jumps to her feet with her hand covering her mouth as the courtroom becomes a buzz of angry noise. I stand too, wrap my arm around Sorrow, and lead her out to the bathroom in time for her to throw up the breakfast I forced her to have.
I pull back her hair and hold it away from her face until she’s done. When she collapses on her ass, I sit down beside her on the grubby floor, not giving a single fuck, and pull her into my lap. I hold on to her tightly as she sobs into my neck, soaking my shirt as I silently seethe.
It’s hard to fathom that the kid brother who used to follow me around grew up to be a monster. Though I never doubted the truth when it spilled from first Sorrow’s lips, then Katy’s. I keep looking back, wondering if there were signs I missed or things I should have seen that would have prevented this from happening. If I’d known, I’d have stopped it.
She lifts her head, her tear-stained face breaking my fucking heart. “I’m sorry. I thought I could handle it.”
“Don’t you dare apologize, Sorrow. Not for this. The fact that you’re here and in my arms after everything my family putyou through is a goddamned miracle that I won’t ever take for granted.”
She blows out a shaky breath, her hand reaching up to cup my cheek. “I love you. I don’t think I could have done this without you.”
I turn my face into her hand and kiss her palm. “You would have. You’re the strongest woman I know, Sorrow. I know grown men who would have crumpled under the weight of what you carried.”
I kiss her head, my lips murmuring against her warm skin. “I’m so in love with you. I keep expecting to wake up from this nightmare with my parents, only to find I dreamed you up.”
“Me too.”
We sit in silence for a minute. Eventually, Sorrow climbs to her feet, and I follow suit.
“I wish I’d grabbed my bag before I left.”
“If you give me two seconds, I’ll see if I can get it for you.”
She nods as I head out, stumbling into Olivia and Arlo, who has her bag in his hand.
“She okay?” Arlo asks, looking worried.
“Yeah, she’s hanging in there.”
“She decent?”
“Of course she is.”
“Good.” He shoves past me into the bathroom, leaving me with Olivia, who looks amused and worried.
“How are you doing in all this? Because that was a lot. Even knowing what happened, the pain is in the details.”
I scrub my hand over my face. “I don’t know what I’m feeling. I just want to get Sorrow through this, and then maybe I can unpack the shitshow going on in my head. The what-ifs are killing me,” I admit.
