Chapter 36: Chapter 36

ODETTE

This was it. Everything came down to today, and I was so nervous that I had thrown up my breakfast.

Unfortunately, Reece couldn’t sit with me. Instead, he sat with my brothers behind me, holding Caroline. Theo even made a special trip to support me.

“Please rise for the Honorable Judge Keefe,” the bailiff announced.

We all stood and waited for the judge to sit down. Once we took our seats, the judge began to go over the charges brought against Tyler and allowed the opening statements to start.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are here today asking you to find Tyler Johnson not guilty,” Tyler’s lawyer stated. “We are asking you to find him not guilty because of his mental and emotional struggle with addiction. My client is an alcoholic; he turned to it as a form of coping when his parents died in a tragic accident. We ask you to find him not guilty due to medical distress and the lack of mental clarity.”

I couldn’t believe that jerk was using his addiction as an excuse. His lawyer then went on to paint a lovely picture of Tyler that included community service and donations.

Mr. Rhine approached the jury and began his opening statement.

“My client is the victim of Tyler Johnson. He not only tried to kill her, but he also tried killing his unborn daughter when he strangled Odette Hart. The baby was born early, distressed, and forced to fight for her life. Mr. Johnson did not care about the well-being of Odette or Caroline. We are asking you to find him guilty. Guilty of assault and guilty of attempted murder, we ask you to hold him accountable for what he did.”

I couldn’t believe how frustrating all this was. It was hard to watch person after person testify as character witnesses for Tyler.

My heart broke when I saw a former friend and coworker of mine testify on his behalf. She stated that he was nothing but a gentleman, that he sent me flowers, took me out to dinner, and spoiled me—that what happened the night he attacked me was random, that it must have been the alcohol.

The last person for the defense was Tyler.

“Please state your full name for the record,” the judge instructed.

“Tyler Lee Johnson.”

“Do you affirm the testimony you give today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“I do,” Tyler stated.

“You may be seated.”

Tyler sat down and glanced over at me. His lawyer began questioning him.

“What were you doing before you broke into the home that Ms. Hart was living in?”

“I spent the day drinking,” Tyler admitted.

“And why were you drinking?”

“I couldn’t handle my emotions,” he stated.

“What emotions?” his lawyer asked.

“The hurt that Odette caused me,” Tyler said, trying to sound sympathetic.

“What did she do?”

“She left me without notice and then tried to keep me from experiencing her pregnancy with my child.”

“What were you thinking when you broke into the house Ms. Hart was staying in?” his lawyer asked.

“I wanted her to feel my pain. I wanted her to realize she hurt me. I didn’t intend to hurt her or my daughter, but I was drunk at that point and had no self-control.”

“Are you currently getting help?”

“Yes, I’ve been going to AA and anger management,” Tyler replied.

His lawyer kept asking questions that made him seem remorseful. I wasn’t buying it. I knew better; I had spent years living under his control and dealing with his shit.

I hated that we were going last. It made me more anxious. During our break, Reece tried to keep me calm, but I spent it in the bathroom throwing up bile, which made it worse. The leftover taste of the bile was enough to make me throw up again.

The first witness my lawyer called was my old boss, the one who helped me leave Tyler.

He told them I confided in him about what Tyler was doing and how the night of the attack was not the first time he touched me. He told them how Tyler was yelling when he came home early and found me packing my things.

Once my former boss was done, Olivia was called to the witness stand.

Olivia sat with her back straight, a confidence radiating from her as she was sworn in on the stand.

“How do you know Mrs. Meyers?” Mr. Rhine asked her.

“We went to high school together and we reconnected when she got hired at the same firm I work at,” she answered.

“Would you say that Mrs. Meyers is a responsible adult and has no reason to make up these allegations?”

“Yes,” she answered at once.

“Why do you believe her?” Mr. Rhine asked.

“I witnessed Mr. Johnson put his hands on her.”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Mr. Rhine asked as he paced.

“Mrs. Meyers and I were at a café getting something to eat when Mr. Johnson walked in. When Mrs. Meyers confronted him, he grabbed her hand and threatened her. He grabbed her hard enough to leave a bruise.”

“I would like to play the surveillance footage from the café as evidence.”

Mr. Rhine walked over to a remote and played the footage for the jury.

Once the footage was done, the defense was allowed to question Olivia. They argued that she could be lying about the threat since the footage didn’t have sound.

Olivia finally stepped down from the witness stand. She looked angry. Mr. Rhine called me as the next and final witness.

My head was pounding in my ears; the sounds were muffled.

“Please state your name for the record.”

“Umm… Odette Marie Meyers, formerly Hart.”

“Do you affirm the testimony you give today is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”

“I do,” I answered.

“How do you know the defendant?” Mr. Rhine asked me.

“He was my boyfriend.”

“And why did the relationship end?” he asked.

“He was verbally, mentally, and physically abusive,” I stated.

“Why didn’t you leave sooner?”

“He would threaten me or come find me, and I was afraid he would hurt me,” I answered.

“So, the night he attacked you wasn’t the first time?” Mr. Rhine asked.

“No, it was just the first time he took it that far.”

“Was it the first time he touched you while he was here?”

“No. He grabbed me when I was out with a friend,” I answered.

Mr. Rhine took a break so they could play the security footage. After the footage, he showed the bruising on my arm.

“As you can see, the night of the attack was not the first time Mr. Johnson attacked Mrs. Meyers.”

“Can you tell us what Mr. Johnson said as he was strangling you the night of the attack?”

The only people who knew this were the police and Mr. Rhine. I hadn’t told Reece or my brothers.

“He said if he couldn’t have me, at least he would have the image of my terrified face as he squeezed the last bit of life from me,” I said with a straight, even tone.

There were gasps through the room. I looked at Reece. Reece looked like he was going to punch someone. But it wasn’t Reece who reacted.

It was Beau. Beau got up and launched himself toward Tyler, getting a punch in before the cops subdued him.

“Your Honor, this is the first time the family is hearing what happened during the attack in detail,” Mr. Rhine stated.

They arrested Beau and removed him from the courtroom.

“Any further questions?” the judge asked.

“No, Your Honor.”

“The defense may question the witness,” the judge stated.

“So, you’re Mrs. Meyers now, correct?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Why did you get married so soon after leaving my client?”

“I didn’t plan on it. I fell in love,” I admitted.

“You previously knew your husband, correct?”

“Yes, we grew up together.”

“Were you cheating on Mr. Johnson?” he asked.

“No, the dating happened after I found out I was pregnant. I had already left Tyler,” I stated firmly.

“You weren’t so traumatized by Tyler that you couldn’t trust another man.”

“That’s not true. It took me a bit to be open. What helped was that I already knew Reece. I already knew the type of person he was.”

“Are you using him?” he asked in an accusing way.

“No, I love him. I’ve always had feelings for him but never acted on it,” I admitted.

“Would you say you made up the abuse to have an excuse to leave Mr. Johnson?”

I scoffed. “No! I spent years being abused by him. Yes, he had an alcohol problem, but that is not an excuse to lay your hands on a person.”

“You’re right, that isn’t an excuse. But Mr. Johnson was under emotional distress because you were trying to keep his child away from him.”

“I was working with him, and he was part of the pregnancy. I just wanted custody after she was born. I was afraid that he would hurt her the way he hurt me. I was right.

“He almost killed her. She was born early because of what he did. She had to fight to get stronger and to come home. Tyler isn’t remorseful, and he is just upset that I can now stand up to him,” I yelled.

I was fuming when I was done. I was glad Beau got a punch in. I wished I could punch him.

My testimony was the last of it. The jury was now responsible for the trial’s outcome. I hated that I didn’t know what they were thinking.