The Stranger Behind My Orgasm novel Chapter 277

Chapter 277: HIS SENTENCE

Abigail

"State your name for the record."

My mouth was dry. My hands were clasped in front of me. I stood at the wooden ledge of the witness stand.

"Abigail Kellerman," I announced to the courtroom.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

The bailiff stepped back. My heart hammered against my ribs like a frantic bird trying to escape. I had rehearsed this.

I had prepared with Benjamin for days on how to handle this. I knew what questions were coming and what answers I needed to give.

Finnegan sat in the first row of the gallery, his intense green eyes fixed on me. Annette sat beside him, holding her thumbs up.

Angel was there too, with River, and behind them sat Eric, Henry, and Arthur. Jade and Sasha sat together farther back. Yeah, it was hard to hide what had happened when my face was flashing all over the news along with Finnegan’s.

I had no idea how the press got footage of that night, but the case against Devin was pretty public. Heck, there were even reporters in the courtroom right now.

Jade pressed her hand to her heart. Sasha held up a small sign she’d clearly smuggled in, WE LOVE YOU scrawled in Sharpie on what looked like a napkin.

Meemaw and Gramps were watching from home. Gramps couldn’t move around too much yet, so Meemaw stayed with him.

"Miss Kellerman," Benjamin’s voice drew me back. He stood at the prosecution table. "I know this is difficult. But I need you to take us back to the night of the accident fifteen years ago. Can you tell the court what you witnessed?"

My throat made an annoying click when I swallowed.

"I was..." I cleared my throat. "I was in the back seat of my parents’ car. We were driving home from dinner at my grandmother’s house."

"What happened next?"

"The road was dark, and it was raining," I closed my eyes tightly as the memory surfaced. I had to do this. "Then bright headlights came at us, and a truck slammed into us,"

People in the courtroom gasped.

"Our car... it flipped. I remember the sound — metal screaming, glass breaking, my own voice crying out. Everything was spinning. When we stopped moving, we were upside down."

I paused, breathing hard.

"Miss Kellerman?" Benjamin prompted gently. "Do you remember what you saw on that night when the car stopped moving?"

I glanced at the jury.

"My parents were dead. I was trapped," I said. "A man appeared at the broken window. He crouched down and looked inside. He had a smile on his face, and he tried to choke me before leaving abruptly."

A murmur rippled through the gallery. The judge banged his gavel to call order.

"Is the man who attacked you, who murdered your parents and attempted to murder you fifteen years ago, present in this courtroom today?"

I turned my head to the defense table, where the monster who killed my parents sat, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his lips curled in a snarl.

"Yes," I declared. "He is."

One of the jury members rose to her feet to announce, "We the jury," she read from a sheet of paper in her hands, "find the defendant, Devin Wolfe, guilty of murder in the first degree... guilty of attempted murder... guilty of kidnapping... guilty of conspiracy..."

The list went on. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

When she finished, the judge removed his glasses.

"Devin Wolfe," he said, "you have been found guilty of the most heinous crimes this court has seen in a while. You have shown no remorse. You have offered no explanation. For the murders of Hugo and Isabella Kellerman, for the attempted murder of their daughter, Abigail Kellerman... I sentence you to death,"

The courtroom erupted.

"Death by electric chair," the judge continued, his voice rising above the noise.

"To be carried out in no less than thirty days and no more than ninety. Bailiff, remove the prisoner."

Devin rose to his feet, gazing directly at me. "I’d watch my back if I were you, Abigail!"

"Get him out of here," the judge snapped.

The guards grabbed his arms, but Devin didn’t struggle and let them lead him out.

Annette grabbed my hand, squeezing excitedly. "Oh my god, Abby, Abby, we did it!"

I gaped at her, still in shock. "Is it really over?"

She squeezed my fingers, her eyes shining with tears. "Yes. Yes, it’s over, babes!"

"Bring in Victoria Parker for sentencing!" the judge announced, causing us all to find our seats.