Fenella’s POV
Three months later…
“State of New York vs. Alan Schmidt! All rise, and please be quiet!”
The bailiff announced the case name in a loud voice. I sat in the audience with my heart pounding and my feet restless. The reporters waiting in the back of the room fell silent, capturing every moment as the judge entered.
I squeezed Laird’s hand to quell my nerves. He smiled at me and whispered that everything would be okay. I nodded and offered a small, reassuring smile in return.
This was the final appeal at the Supreme Court. After this, Alan wouldn’t be able to appeal again until his sentence was served. After two long years of a drawn-out case with various appeals from Alan’s side, we had finally reached the finish line.
The judge began reading various considerations and court notes. They took turns reading the decision documents. Time seemed to crawl, and I began to feel drowsy.
I occasionally glanced at Alan, who sat in his prison jumpsuit. His once curly, neat hair had grown long, reaching his shoulders. Rather than getting thinner, I could see his shoulder muscles were broader, and his body seemed larger. He must have been exercising constantly in his cell. I even noticed a glimpse of a new tattoo on his forearm, but I couldn’t make out what that tattoo was about.
Gosh, he was no longer the polished man I once knew. He looked wild and brutal.
I shivered in fear but tried to calm myself by taking deep breaths. For some reason, my thoughts drifted to Sophia, my sweet, tiny, beautiful daughter. She must have been waiting for me, and as soon as I got through this nightmare, I would hold her again.
“With all that fact, we find you guilty of the first-degree felony offense of money laundering worth more than a million dollars, physical abuse, and obstruction of justice. We will assess punishment at 20 years of confinement in the New York Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division. You do get credit for the time you served in custody. Court is adjourned.”
The judge struck the gavel three times. This verdict was the same as Peter and Amy.
Immediately after the judge announced the verdict, all the reporters surged forward to the barrier. They thrust their microphones as close as possible, hoping for a statement from Alan regarding the verdict.
“Well, it’s all over,” I said to Laird with a sigh of relief.
“Yup. Now we can finally relax,” Laird replied, gently stroking my back.
“Did we do the right thing?” I asked hesitantly.
For some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt regarding Alan. If only we hadn’t exposed his case, maybe he could have escaped and redeemed himself. But no, he pursued me with a twisted obsession that he carried like a burden.
“Yes, Fenella. After this, he will learn to stay away from us. Don’t worry, I will protect you,” Laird assured, gripping my hand tightly.
“Fenella!”
Alan’s voice suddenly roared in the room. I frozen in place. My heart sank. It felt as if I were about to be shot on the spot, but Alan was still in front of the room, surrounded by several uniformed officers.
“I swear I will take my revenge on you! Remember that!”
The reporters quickly cleared the line of sight between Alan and me. They stepped back and captured my face with their cameras.
“You are mine!”
I could see Alan roaring with all his might. The veins on his temples throbbed, and his face contorted. His eyes were wild, staring straight at me.
“Mine!”
He was no longer the charismatic and calm Alan I once knew. He was no longer the snake that would bite in silence. He had transformed into a wild beast.
“Forever!”
Alan then howled as several officers finally subdued him with handcuffs and restraints around his neck and shoulders. They forcibly dragged Alan out of the courtroom through the back door.
My eyes widened. My heart was racing uncontrollably. My breath caught, and once Alan disappeared from the room, the reporters immediately swarmed around me.
“What’s your response to Alan’s statement just now?”
“Will you be requesting a restraining order from the court?”
Laird acted quickly. He wrapped his arm tightly around mine, shielding me from the reporters. Jessy hurried to protect me from the other side. We slowly made our way through the crowd of reporters, who were also being ushered out by the officers. Laird even had to argue with some reporters to keep them away from us.
Suddenly, a few officers came to help secure us. I saw my stepfather pushing through, accompanied by several officers who began forming a barricade. All the way to the elevator, we were surrounded by reporters. When the elevator doors finally closed, only then were we able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“That was a mess,” Jessy sighed, rubbing his temples.
“I told you it was a bad idea to come. You could have watched it on TV,” Mr. Golden grumbled in annoyance.
“I’m sorry. I felt like I needed to have some sort of closure with him,” I said.
“Yeah. Now he’s really sworn to come after you. I suggest you file a restraining order after this for yourself, Laird, and Sophia. Just to be safe,” Mr. Golden said, holding the elevator door open to the parking lot.
“Yeah. We’ll do that next week,” Laird replied.
“Good luck,” he said.
I turned and saw Jessy wasn’t getting off the elevator. He shook his head for a moment.
“Go ahead. I’m still waiting for our PR manager to give a press statement upstairs.”
“Thank you, Jessy,” I said quickly.
Laird and I hurried to the car. We got in, and Laird started the engine. I sat down and exhaled deeply several times.
“Are you okay?” Laird asked.
“No, I think I’m such a mess right now.”
I couldn’t lie. Even though I tried hard to believe in Laird, even as I reassured myself repeatedly that Alan wouldn’t hurt us again, I still felt restless.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Laird asked, gently stroking my cheek.
I took a deep breath before opening my mouth. There was silence in the pause that felt long until I finally voiced my worries to him.
“Twenty years, Laird. Alan could come after us anytime after twenty years. Didn’t you see his eyes when he swore that?”
“Fenella, whether it’s twenty years or five, he won’t be able to do anything anymore. We will request a restraining order, and if necessary, we will have a guard for our child when Alan gets out of prison,” he assured.
“Do you think his grudge will last for twenty years?” I asked, squeezing Laird’s hand.
“I doubt it. No one can hold on to that for that long.”
Laird continued to stroke my cheek while his other hand squeezed mine.
“It will all be okay as long as we stick together.”
His emerald green eyes stared deeply into mine. I could see my reflection in the light of his gaze, reassuring me that he would always be dependable. I could always rely on him.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
I nodded, smiling. I may not know how life would unfold from this point forward.
The only thing I could trust at that moment was that whatever life problems would arise, Laird and I would face them together to protect our family.
Laird smiled at me, and the car drove out of the parking.
***The End***