“Ms. Nelson, can you please state your relationship to thedefendant?”
“He’s my older brother,” Sadie said quietly.
“And can you tell the court about your relationship with Alan Sanders?”
Sadie took a breath, her hands tightening in her lap. “We dated for a year and a half.”
“Can you describe that relationship?”
She hesitated, her eyes lowering to her hands. “At first, he made me feel like I was the only person in the world who mattered. He’d remember things I’d said weeks before, things I liked, what scared me, like he cared about who I was as a person. He told me I was beautiful, that he didn’t understand why I was so hard on myself. He said he wanted to take care of me, that he’d never let anyone hurt me. I believed him because... because no one had ever paid that kind of attention to me before.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Simon
“And then?” Tony asked.
“And then things changed.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. “He was jealous of the time I spent with my friends, saying he missed me when I wasn’t with him, so I started pulling back. He asked me to change the way I dressed. Said it made him jealous when other men looked at me.” Her eyes dropped to her hands. “I thought it was sweet, so I started taking him shopping with me and let him pick out my clothes. Then it changed toI was too fat, that I needed tolose weight. He told me I was lucky he loved me because no one else would.”
I felt my chest tighten. Sadie had worried about her size her whole life. But hearing her say it out loud, in front of all these people, made it real in a way it hadn’t been before.
“When did the relationship become violent?” Tony asked gently.
“Objection, leading.”
“Sustained,” Uncle Alex said.
“I’ll rephrase. Did Alan ever hit you?”
Sadie nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “Yes. He hit me. He pushed me. He grabbed me hard enough to leave bruises. He said it was my fault, that I made him angry.”
Her voice broke with emotion. “One night, we were arguing about something stupid. He grabbed my wrist and twisted it. I heard it snap.” She paused, swallowing hard. “I knew it was broken, but I was so ashamed. I was so afraid of what he’d say, what he’d do if I told anyone the truth.”
I felt tears on my cheeks. I didn’t bother wiping them away.
My sister. My baby sister.
“What did you do?” Tony asked gently.
“I went to the hospital. When they asked how it happened, I told them I fell. I said I was clumsy, that I tripped down the stairs.” Her voice was hollow. “The doctor knew I was lying. I could see it in her eyes. But I kept lying anyway. I told her I was fine, that it was an accident, that I had always been clumsy.”
“Why did you lie?” Tony asked.
“Because...” Sadie’s voice cracked. “Because I was terrified. Because he told me that if I told anyone the truth, he’d leave me. And I believed that being alone was worse than being hurt. I believed that somehow it was my fault, that I’d made him angry, that I deserved it.”
“Thank you, Ms. Nelson. No further questions.”
I looked over at the jury. Sadie’s testimony had affected them all.
Rosalind stood without hesitation. The room seemed to shrink as she walked toward Sadie. My gut felt heavy; instinct to protect my sister roared inside me. But I couldn’t do that. This was something she had to do on her own.
“Ms. Nelson, you’re testifying here today to save your brother from a murder conviction, correct?”
“I’m testifying because it’s the truth,” Sadie said.
“The truth,” Rosalind repeated, her voice dripping with skepticism. “You expect this jury to believe that you were abused by Alan Sanders, yet you have no witnesses to corroborate your story?”
“Objection,” Tony said sharply. “Badgering.”
