Chapter 19 - THE CONQUERING COURTROOM
Two months passed after that night,
the winter snow began to melt away,
leaving green grass on Dayton lawns,
I was standing in the courthouse building,
wearing a neat blue dress today,
my hair had grown back over scars,
hiding the marks of his violence,
but the memory was clear as day,
the courtroom was packed with people,
including my mother sitting in back,
she was looking at me with coldness,
still refusing to speak to her daughter,
Logan was sitting at defense table,
wearing an orange jumpsuit from jail,
his hands were chained to his waist,
he looked smaller without his anger,
like a coward stripped of his power,
the prosecutor called me to stand,
I walked up to the wooden box,
placing my hand on the holy book,
swearing to tell the whole truth,
I looked straight at the judge panel,
and I told them everything clearly,
from the first punch years ago,
to the night at the hallway wall,
and the chase through the warehouse storm,
I did not look at my mother once,
I did not look at my brother either,
I only focused on my own voice,
which was strong and steady now,
no longer a whisper of a victim,
but the declaration of a survivor,
the defense lawyer tried to break me,
saying I was confused and lying,
but the evidence was too strong,
the photos from Detective Vance,
the medical report from Dr. Reeves,
and the history of calls to house,
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the truth could not be buried anymore,
by the family's wall of silence.
