Chapter Ten:

Epilogue

Arthur, Alfred, and Matthew stepped into the court room. They were nervous, oh so nervous to be facing their family who had abused them over these past years.

"Attention, all rise for the judge" yelled the voice of the bailiff.

Arthur and the boys who had just taken their seats stood up immediately as the judge walked in. As soon as he was seated, everyone retook their seats and the prosecuting attorney stepped onto the floor.

"We are here today to put on trial four people. Two for the offence of Child abuse and Child neglect and two more for the same charges as well as attempted murder. We have documented the testimonies of several different doctors from hospitals in both Canada and America stating what they witnessed to believe was child abuse, along with the testimonies of our three witnesses, Arthur Kirkland and the two victims of the case today, Matthew A. Williams and Alfred F. Jones. At this time, I ask Arthur Kirkland to take the stand."

Arthur walked forward and stepped into the eye-witness stand.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do", he replied with his hand raised and the other hand laying on the Bible provided.

"Dr. Kirkland, you were the boy's physician at the hospital when they first came in that night, October the 17th. Can you tell the court what you witnessed?"

"Objection", yelled the defending attorney, "That is clearly a broad topic and could go any which way."

"Objection overruled", stated the judge, "please answer the question the way you see fit doctor."

Arthur nodded as he took a deep breath, preparing himself.

"That night or day, I guess you could call it, at one in the morning, I got a call from my front desk nurse telling me that I was needed in the ER. When I got down there from my office, two boys were standing in the lobby dripping wet and nearly collapsed. I rushed both into the care of my nurses as I prepped Matthew for surgery. The boy had a stab wound from a broken beer bottle with pieced embedded into his stomach. When first questioned about the wound, the boys reported it was due to an accident. It was after this that I began looking into their old cases and finding other signs of possible abuse. I contacted DCS immediately and they showed up right after the kid's parents showed up."

He paused and glanced at the four on trial who continued to stare at him. He swallowed nervously as he continued on at the prosecutors prompting.

"After this, I cleared Alfred fit to go home. Tiana and I had no proof with which to keep the boy and he wasn't bad off enough to warrant another night in the hospital. I walked him and his mother to the front lobby doors and saw them off."

"After which led to you finding Alfred, correct?" Arthur nodded.

"How did that happen? How did you find him?"

"I spoke to Matthew about his brother and the boy admitted he feared for his safety. I told him I would check up on his brother for him, as is allowed by a doctor concerned for the safety of his patient. So when I left work the following morning, I went to the house. I admit, I broke into the house, but I sensed something was wrong. When I entered, I…"

"Objection!" yelled the defense attorney again, "he clearly just admitted to a criminal act."

"Objection sustained", the judge ruled, "What was decided about this testimony?"

"It has already been discussed with the police who have ruled the act in favor of acting in the interest of saving a life. Dr. Kirkland has been given a warning and made to pay a small fine."

"Continue then please Doctor", the judge replied as he accepted the information, silencing the defense attorney once again.

"After I entered, I smelt the metallic scent of blood and alcohol. I knew the smell because of my time as a surgeon. When I finally located the boy, he was…in horrible shape. I rushed to him and began staunching some of the blood flow, trying to calm him down as we waited for the police and ambulance to arrive who I called after finding Alfred. After that, I rushed with him to the hospital where I worked on him as his primary surgeon. Alfred suffered severe injuries and remained in a coma for two days before he finally woke."

"Thank you Doctor, that is all for now."

Arthur nodded as he climbed off the stand and went back to his chair. He comfortingly squeezed both boys' hands as he sat down in between them.

"We now call to the stand Matthew and Alfred…"

"Objection! Why are two witnesses going up together?"

"Objection sustained", the judge thundered, "Answer the question prosecutor."

"Matthew is an eleven year old autistic child and Alfred is an eight year old who suffers panic attacks. DCS felt it would be wise to allow them to go up together and I also feel this would be best. They already know to help one another collaborate their stories and merely talk from their point of view."

"Continue", the judge said as he watched the two boys meekly make their way to the eye witness stand. His smile became gentle when he noticed them watching him, shaking like newly fallen leaves.

"Easy boys", responded the prosecutor with a kind smile, "do you guys swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"We do", they replied in unison.

"Matthew A. Williams, would you tell for the court your own story of what happened to you through your childhood?"

Matt took a deep breath as he squeezed his little brother's hand in his own.

"It all began when our mother died. Father began drinking a lot more and he became angrier. Then he met Melina. They married and she hated us. She often hit us and father did too when he got overly drunk. Ivan, her brother, would come over and purposely make Alfred angry so that Alfred would do something to deserve being hit. It continued through the years. Sometimes they broke our arms, or our legs, or sometimes they just tossed us down some stairs. There was one occasion when…"

"You little piece of garbage!" screamed Melina, "I practically raise you like my own son, how dare you do this to me! You…"

"Defense attorney, please reign in your client!" roared the judge as the attorney nodded and began trying to calm the woman down. She was obviously not helping her case at all with that outburst.

Matthew trembled at the pure rage he saw in her eyes. The court held their breath waiting for him to continue, but he couldn't find the words as tears pricked his eyes. Alfred wrapped his arms soothingly around his brother. Matthew calmed at the familiar embrace and took another breath.

"There was one occasion when she decided to really punish Alfred. She locked him in a closet for the entire weekend and refused to let him out to do anything. Not go to the bathroom or eat something. Nothing. When she finally let him out, he was…he was starving practically and very dirty. I helped him take a bath."

"How old were you both when they did this?"

"I was eight and Alfred was five."

The court rumbled with a wave of anger through the crowd who heard the testimony. The four on trial knew they were sunk, but they refused to show it as the prosecutor then turned to Alfred.

"Alfred, please state for the court the events leading up to the your most recent stay in the hospital."

"It was after we went to the hospital to treat Matt's stomach wound after dad stabbed him with his broken beer bottle in a drunken rage of anger. I was alright, according to Arthur, so he released me to leave the hospital with Melina. When we got home she hit me and beat me something fierce. When she told me she was going to do the same to Mattie…" he paused and stared at his brother who was watching him, "I couldn't let her. I told her to let me take it."

Matthew gasped, tears running down his face. "Al…" he cried.

Alfred continued speaking.

"I made a deal with her to take my brothers punishment, but I knew my defiance had angered her even more. She beat me real bad to the point I lost consciousness, then she handcuffed my ankle to a leaky pipe in the basement. I attempted, in self-defense", he stated as he was instructed to say, "to free myself from my situation by stabbing my step-mother. However Ivan stopped me. Furious, mother…she stabbed me through the hand and left my pocket knife sticking through it. Ivan then decided to teach me a lesson."

"What was your current condition while in the hospital?"

"Arthur says I had five broken ribs, multiple cuts and bruises, a major concussion that warranted a medically induced coma, as well as broken arm and badly sprained ankle. The one that had been chained. Ivan also dislocated some of my fingers and my shoulder, but they were put back into place."

"Thank you boys", the prosecutor replied as he helped the two down and back to their places beside Arthur who smiled at them and whispered a good job to them.

"With so much evidence, it has been decided ahead of time that we have enough to prove them guilty. We ask your honor, for you to make the final decision."

The judge stood up and raised his gavel.

"I hereby order that Allen Jones be convicted of Child Abuse and Child Neglect and sentenced to seven years in prison. I hereby order that Ross Branson be convicted of aiding and embedding a known Child Abuser and is hereby sentenced to seven years in prison with his social work license revoked. I hereby order that Ivan Ashdod and Melina Ashdod Jones be convicted of Child Abuse, Child Neglect, and the Attempted Murder of Alfred F. Jones and are both hereby sentenced to fifty years in prison. Case dismissed."

The judge brought down the gavel as everyone cheered. Well, almost everyone.

"How dare you do this to me?! I am your mother! You hear me?! I am your mother! You're a little…" Melina was pulled into the back, but as Ivan passed the boys, he leaned by Alfred.

"Your time is coming, nephew", he growled in a low tone, but Alfred merely turned away, ignoring the way his heart sped up at the threat.

"What did he say to you?" asked Arthur curiously.

"Nothing", Alfred whispered, "he didn't say nothing."

Arthur nodded, but he didn't believe him. Still, for now he was just relieved that their problems were over, even if it did only lead to something more major. A life together as a real family. Arthur almost couldn't imagine it.

"Come on boys", he replied as he took their hands, "let's go home."

"Home", whispered Matthew, "What a lovely word."

Alfred nodded in agreement. "Thank you Arthur, for all you have done for us."

Arthur merely shook his head.

"No my love, thank you", he replied instead and mentally added, 'for showing me the true meaning of family and giving me a reason to really live.'

"In Place of Hope, is Security; In place of Security, is Faith; and in place of Faith, is Love."

"These three key factors are what constitutes a family."

~ DaLantis

AUTHORS NOTE:

Hey, I hope all you wonderful readers enjoyed the story. I may or may not be writing a sequel. Let me know what you guys want and I will decide based on how many people say they want one! Thanks for everything and all your support throughout this story!