Chapter 7
The months leading up to the trial were difficult.
Elena started therapy.
Ilaria started therapy.
I started therapy.
We all needed it.
Celeste's actions had left scars.
Deep scars.
Elena struggled with being in public.
She felt like everyone was staring at her.
Like Celeste was watching.
Ilaria still had nightmares.
She would wake up crying about ice water.
About mean ladies.
About losing Mommy again.
I struggled with guilt.
I had let Celeste into our lives.
I had trusted her.
I had almost married her.
My therapist told me I wasn't to blame.
That Celeste was a master manipulator.
That even trained professionals could be fooled.
But guilt isn't logical.
It just is.
We found comfort in each other.
In being together.
In being a family again.
Elena and I talked.
Really talked.
About everything.
About what we had lost.
About what we still had.
Our love had been tested.
But it had survived.
It was different now.
Deeper.
Stronger.
We appreciated each other more.
We didn't take the small moments for granted.
A quiet dinner together.
Reading Ilaria a bedtime story.
Waking up in the same bed.
These things became precious.
My mother was a rock.
She cooked.
She cleaned.
She took care of Ilaria when Elena and I had appointments.
She never complained.
"You're my family," she would say. "That's what family does."
The two men who had helped Celeste were caught.
They were small-time criminals.
Celeste had paid them five thousand dollars each.
They didn't know who Elena was.
They didn't care.
They agreed to testify against Celeste in exchange for reduced sentences.
The DA said their testimony would be crucial.
As the trial approached, the media got hold of the story.
"Woman kidnaps best friend to marry her husband."
"Four-year-old girl's secret leads to mother's rescue."
The headlines were everywhere.
Newspapers.
Television.
Social media.
People had opinions.
Some called Celeste a monster.
Some called me a fool.
Some questioned why Elena hadn't escaped.
We tried to ignore it.
But it was hard.
The DA asked if we wanted to move the trial to another city.
To avoid the publicity.
Elena shook her head.
"No," she said. "I want to face her here. In the same city where she took everything from me."
I admired her courage.
I stood beside her.
May you like
Whatever she needed.
I was there.
