The Stray Cat I Fed Warned Me About My Two Faced Best Friend Chapter 08

The Stray Cat I Fed Warned Me About My Two Faced Best Friend Chapter 08

The smirk froze on Derek’s face.

One message after another appeared on the courtroom screen.

There were instructions, payment terms, the restaurant’s address, and messages from Derek telling the group to make the attack look spontaneous.

His legs began to shake.

I watched him for a moment before speaking.

“There’s something else, Your Honor. It concerns what really happened to Vanessa’s pregnancy.”

I turned to Derek.

“You keep saying I killed your son. Do you even know how far along your wife was?”

He hesitated.

“Eight weeks. That’s what she told me.”

“And you believed an ultrasound at eight weeks could tell you the baby was a boy?”

Derek opened his mouth but couldn’t answer.

“Vanessa told you she was carrying a son.”

My attorney displayed a medical report on the screen.

“This report was obtained by subpoena from the private clinic she visited two weeks before dinner. It documented severe fetal abnormalities and recommended termination.”

Derek stared at it in disbelief.

“She knew there were severe abnormalities and that the doctor had recommended ending the pregnancy,” I said.

“She needed someone to blame and money to escape you.”

I held his gaze.

“I was the scapegoat she chose.”

“That’s bullshit!”

Derek shot to his feet, but the court deputy restrained him.

“My wife didn’t know anything was wrong. If she had, why would she…”

My attorney held up another document.

“This is a pharmacy record subpoenaed from Southside Women’s Medical Center. It shows that Vanessa was dispensed mifepristone and misoprostol three days before the incident.”

I looked directly at Derek.

“Your wife ended the pregnancy herself. I had nothing to do with it.”

His entire body began to tremble.

Then he suddenly turned toward the back row.

“Vanessa! Get out here!”

I followed his stare.

A woman in a baseball cap and medical mask sat hunched near the rear exit. At the sound of her name, she flinched and tried to leave.

A court deputy blocked the door.

When she lowered her mask, everyone recognized her.

Vanessa looked pale and much thinner than before. Terror filled her eyes.

The judge sharply called the courtroom to order.

“Order. Ms. Reed, you were subpoenaed as a witness. Take the stand.”

Vanessa was escorted forward.

She gripped the edge of the witness stand, refusing to look at either of us.

After she was sworn in, my attorney asked, “Did you take medication to end your pregnancy before having dinner with Natalie Parker?”

Vanessa remained silent.

Derek leaned forward.

“Answer the question! Did you kill my son?”

Vanessa finally raised her head.

She looked at me, then at Derek, and let out a broken laugh.

“I took the pills myself.”

The gallery erupted.

“Then why blame her best friend?”

“What kind of person does that?”

The judge called for silence.

Derek sagged into his chair.

“That’s impossible,” he muttered.

Vanessa’s tears finally fell.

“Natalie, I know I was wrong. I just couldn’t live with him anymore. He hit me all the time. I was terrified, but I was too scared to leave.”

Her voice broke.

“He said he’d kill my family if I ever tried to divorce him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

She covered her face and sobbed.

I felt nothing.

“So you decided to destroy my family instead?”

I looked at her coldly.

“My parents treated you like their own daughter for twenty years. If you were afraid of Derek, you could’ve called the police, gone to a shelter, or asked us for help.”

My voice hardened.

“But you chose to use that pregnancy as leverage and my parents’ life savings as the price of your freedom.”

I held her gaze.

“What makes you think I’d ever forgive you?”