Chapter 10 - The Video Deposition
Because of her age and the acute trauma associated with the defendant, the judge had ruled that Lily’s testimony would be delivered via a closed-circuit video deposition, recorded in a private room with only a child psychologist and the legal counsel present.
The courtroom monitors flickered to life.
On the screen, Lily sat in a comfortable armchair, wearing her favorite green cardigan. Her hair was brushed neatly, and her hands rested calmly in her lap. She looked small against the backdrop of the large room, but there was an unmistakable stillness about her that commanded absolute silence in the courtroom.
""Lily,"" the psychologist spoke off-camera, ""can you tell us what happened when your dad was at work?""
Lily looked directly into the camera lens. Her voice was steady, free of the frantic terror that had once choked her.
""Vanessa told me I was sick,"" Lily stated clearly. ""She said my brain was broken like my mom’s brain. Every night, she made me drink warm tea that tasted like crushed chalk. When I spit it out once, she put me in the laundry room and turned off the breaker so the light wouldn't work.""
A juror gasped audibly. Vanessa’s defense attorney lowered his pen, staring down at his legal pad in resignation.
""And what did she say would happen if you told your dad?""
""She told me Daddy was too tired to love a broken girl,"" Lily said softly. ""She said if I told him, he would leave us both and it would be my fault.""
Lily paused. Her eyes shifted toward the side of the camera, where Mark had stood during the recording. A gentle, radiant smile touched the corner of her lips.
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""But she lied. My dad doesn't leave.""
The screen went black. The silence in the courtroom was absolute.
