Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Maya drew in a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her dress pants. Next to her, Maya’s attorney, Jennifer, laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You're going to do great.”
Maya shot her a little smile and tried to shove down the butterflies battering the insides of her stomach.
“Just remember what we practiced,” Jennifer said. “Ignore him and just tell the jury exactly what happened.”
Maya gave a shaky nod and swallowed hard.
She knew the defense attorney would try to trip her up; it was his job.
Fortunately, there seemed to be quite a bit of evidence stacked against Jeffrey Wainwright.
When the FBI had searched the house, they had apparently found jewelry from multiple other victims, along with the remains of six other women.
Maya’s testimony would help put the man behind bars, hopefully for life. But first, she had to get through it.
Part of her wanted to go in there, look him dead in the eye, and demand he admit everything he’d done.
But the other half of her was terrified.
Even though nearly a year had passed, she still remembered it like it was yesterday.
Wainwright had never made bail, and today’s trial would determine whether he was ultimately guilty of the crimes he had undoubtedly committed.
She hoped the jury would listen to her version of events and charge him accordingly.
“You ready?”
Maya nodded to Jennifer and forced a smile. “Yeah, I'm good.”
“Let's go.”
The judge called her to the stand, and she climbed into the small booth where she laid her hand on the Bible and repeated the vow to tell the truth about that day. Her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat, and she swallowed hard as she stared out over the sea of faces.
She was looking for one in particular, and relief flooded her as Aiden’s dark eyes stared back at her from halfway across the room.
Though she’d only seen him a handful of times since that day at the hospital, he had promised he would be there with her every step of the way. She knew he was incredibly busy, and it meant the world that he’d been able to take time away from his other cases to support her.
Jennifer launched into her line of questioning, and Maya answered each one as thoroughly as possible. She focused on Aiden, as if she were speaking directly to him while she relayed the events that started it all.
Leaving the coffee shop. Waking up in the basement. Then everything that came afterward.
She could feel Wainwright’s icy gaze on her, but she kept her eyes locked on Aiden’s.
Jennifer ended her questions, and Maya felt emotionally exhausted from having relived it all over and over again. She was the sole survivor; six other women before her depended on her testimony today for justice.
Aiden nodded encouragingly at her as the defense attorney stepped up next. He began his questions, his words tinged with enough doubt to make the jury reconsider. She watched a dark look flit across Aiden’s face, and she stumbled over her answer.
He blinked away his anger and gave her another curt nod.
He was there for her. She could do this.
She released a shaky breath as soon as the defense attorney announced that his line of questioning was now at an end. Now it was up to the jury to decide how to proceed.
They took a brief recess as they deliberated, and Jennifer and Maya retired to the back room. Nearly two hours later, they had apparently come to some sort of conclusion.
Maya sat there, her heart in her throat, as one of the members of the jury stood to address the judge. As the guilty verdict was read, a combination of tears and grumbles rose around the courtroom. She glanced to her left and met Wainwright’s gaze head-on.
She stood and hugged Jennifer, then greeted her mom and dad as they cheerfully threw their arms around her. Maya pulled away, her eyes searching the room for Aiden’s. She met his dark gaze, shooting him a smile and a tiny wave.
Before she could do anything more, he was swept away by the crowd, and she lost sight of him.
Today had been bittersweet.
Though they’d put the man behind bars, this was officially the end of her relationship with Aiden. Not that there had been anything to begin with anyway. But now she had no reason to see him anymore.
Over the past year, he’d never given her any indication that he wanted anything more. He’d been there for moral support; that was all.
She’d hoped that he would want to continue their relationship from before. She thought he’d been attracted to her once. But that felt like a lifetime ago, and whatever feelings had been blossoming between them had died with her abduction.
He’d stopped by to check on her from time to time, but she now realized he’d done so out of obligation… not desire.
He would move on with his life, keep working.
And she would…
She wasn’t sure what she would do next.
She had put off finishing college, and she still got anxious going out at night or in large crowds. But life kept going and the world kept turning, and she had two choices.
Either stay stuck in place or move on.
She knew she needed to put all of this behind her and focus on the future, but that was easier said than done.