Chapter 8
The trial began on a cold Tuesday in January.
The courtroom was packed.
Reporters.
Spectators.
Family and friends on both sides.
Celeste was brought in.
She looked different.
Gone was the perfectly styled hair.
Gone was the expensive clothing.
She wore an orange jumpsuit.
Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun.
She looked pale.
Tired.
But when her eyes found mine, there was no remorse.
Only anger.
And something else.
Obsession.
She still believed she had done nothing wrong.
That Elena was the obstacle.
That I belonged to her.
The prosecution went first.
They presented the security footage.
The courtroom was silent as everyone watched.
I held Elena's hand.
She squeezed tight.
Ilaria wasn't in the courtroom.
She was too young.
But her testimony had been recorded.
The DA called witness after witness.
The two men who had kidnapped Elena.
They testified that Celeste had hired them.
That she had told them Elena was her sister who needed "help."
The paramedics who had found Elena.
They described her condition.
Thin.
Weak.
Afraid.
The doctors who had treated her.
They spoke about the physical and psychological effects of her captivity.
Then it was Elena's turn.
She walked to the witness stand.
She looked small.
But her voice was strong.
She told the court about that night.
About Celeste coming over.
About the spray.
About waking up in the cabin.
About the chain.
About the loneliness.
About the fear.
"Every day," she said, her voice steady, "I wondered if I would ever see my husband again. If I would ever hold my daughter again. Every day, I fought to stay alive. For them."
She looked directly at Celeste.
"You tried to take everything from me," she said. "But you failed. I'm here. My husband is here. My daughter is here. And we are whole again."
The courtroom erupted in applause.
The judge banged his gavel.
But I saw a tear roll down Elena's cheek.
She had been brave.
So brave.
Celeste's lawyer tried to paint her as a woman in love.
A woman who had made a terrible mistake.
He argued that Celeste had never intended to hurt anyone.
That she had cared for Elena.
That she had been a good mother figure to Ilaria.
The jury didn't buy it.
How could they?
The evidence was overwhelming.
The footage.
The testimony.
The chain in the cabin.
The food receipts.
The phone records.
Celeste didn't testify.
Her lawyer advised against it.
Probably a wise decision.
She would have only made things worse.
After two weeks of testimony, the case went to the jury.
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We waited.
The longest three days of my life.
