44. Sam

As soon as the words are out, I'm on my feet. "Penny, no!"

The judge was banging her gavel. "Sit down Ms. Williams or I will have you removed from the courtroom." The rest of the audience is just as unruly, and it takes several more bangs and warnings before everyone is calmed down.

I couldn't believe it. Why? Why would Penny tell the truth? The whole point of me running away was to protect my sister and keep the focus on me. I was perfectly willing to go to jail and had accepted that fate.

Why change things now?

One of the other lawyers leaned over to me as I sat back down. "You have to stay calm. This was always her plan, Sam."

I narrow my eyes at the lawyer but keep my hands in my lap, trying to keep myself from jumping up again. But Joshua isn't done. He walks over to the bench and reached into a box on the floor.

When Sam saw what was inside, she felt the bile rise in her throat. It couldn't be. Not since the night of the incident had she even seen one, much less the one that had been used.

Joshua lifted the evidence bag into the air. "This is a sig sauer p22. The same one that Sam purchased two weeks prior to the alleged murder." He set the gun on the judge's bench, then went back to his box and withdrew another folder. "And this is a forensic exam of the pistol. You can see there is dried blood on the butt of the gun. The analysts concluded that it is Sam's blood, and they were able to find her hair as well as Penelope Bennett's fingerprints." The judge studied the gun with a face full of disgust before putting it aside. "Underneath are a few photos." Joshua tapped the photographs.

The judge was looking through the evidence he was presenting, her brows low as her eyes darted over the pages. Joshua took the photo and walked to Penny.

"Can you describe these pictures?"

Penny closes her eyes, pain etched in her expression. "It's Sam at the hospital for her broken nose."

"And the second one?"

She studied it for a second. "I've never seen this one. It's in Spanish but looks like an ID."

With careful steps, Joshua took it back and gave it to the judge. "It is a student ID from Universidad de Costa Rica. Taken three weeks after the murder. In the zoomed in image on the back, you can clearly see the deep cut above her right eyebrow, as well as bruising along her neck."

At the sight of so much of my horrifying past, the air in my lungs is suddenly sucked away. Like I can't breathe because oxygen doesn't exist anymore. They were speaking about my trauma and past like it was some sort of clinical study. Everything was moving so fast, like a freight train off the tracks. It felt like I was suddenly back in that moment, a sharp pain hitting me in the chest. His hands tightening around my neck, the deafening sound of the gunshot.

As if Joshua knows how I'm feeling, he gives me a careful look of pure sympathy before going back to his wife. "Now Penny. Please tell me what happened afterwards."

"I put her in the shower, dressed her in pajamas and drove her to my apartment. Once there, I grabbed my passport and some cash. I told her to go far away, to just start over somewhere new where she could be happy. I promised I would take care of everything. I would go to the police in the morning once she was gone and confess."

"Did you?"

Penny looked down and touched her own stomach. "No."

"Why not?"

"I slept in the next morning after taking some more of my anti-nausea medicine. I was woken up by my phone ringing. The doctor was calling to say it wasn't the flu, that I was pregnant with my daughter."

The courtroom started talking again, many murmuring excitedly. Penny looked up at Joshua. "I was so scared. Imagining going to jail pregnant and you, abandoning me because I was…" she started sobbing again. "A murderer."

Joshua's face softened, but he didn't say anything. If I had to guess, Joshua was hurt that she thought so little of him.

"I called Sam. She was already in Mexico. I told her about the baby, and she told me not to go into the police. She said it was her fault for not leaving Kevin sooner. I begged her to come back and promised I would confess everything after the baby was born. But she told me no. She said the police would think it was her and to let them."

"And did you?"

"Yes. I still had the gun in my purse. So I decided to hide it." She looked directly at a still shocked Sam. "But I swear, Sam, I always knew I would turn it in someday. I put the gun in a ziplock and took it to a shooting range and locked it inside one of their lockers under a fake name. Until three weeks ago, I hadn't even looked at it. That's when I got it and gave it to my husband, erm you Josh, explaining the real story."

"So why now?" Josh asks.

Penny dabbed at her eyes with the soaked tissue and nodded, clearly ashamed. "When my second son was born, he was sick, and she saved his life. I knew I couldn't let her take the fall anymore."

"Our son," Joshua said, a small bit of moisture in his own eyes. "Yes. Can you explain that in more detail?"

She straightened her back and explained the medical issues and how Sam had rushed back from Costa Rica to donate a piece of her liver.

"She sounds like a hero."

Penny sniffled and looked at Sam. Their eyes met, and Penny's lips twitched into a small grin. "She is."

"No further questions," Joshua says. Instead of going back to the bench, he leaned over to his wife and pecked her cheek.

The prosecution was called again for cross-examination and started their questioning. For the most part, focusing on why Penny didn't call the police and why she would help me run if she planned on confessing. But there weren't holes to be poked in her story, and eventually, they relented. After asking Josh if he had any rebuttal—which he didn't—she left the courtroom, and everyone settled into quiet once more.

The judge looked at all the evidence and then laced her fingers together.

"Obviously, this presents a problem." The courtroom went completely still. My whole body started to tremble as the judge studied my face. "In light of the confession of Penelope Bennet and evidence presented here today, I am approving the motion to drop the murder charge against Elaine Williams."

A murmur spread across the courtroom. Josh had mentioned it would probably take days for the judge to reach a decision. But it seemed as though things were going much better than anyone expected.

The judge raised her voice. "As for the remaining charges against Ms. Williams, including the potential addition of a perjury charge, a separate hearing will be scheduled to determine how we proceed, in line with legal protocols."

She looked down again. "Regarding the allegations against Penelope Bennett, this confession necessitates further investigation. The state will convene a grand jury to examine the evidence and decide if charges should be brought forward. This process will take time to ensure due diligence. Court is dismissed."

No one moved. Even I was afraid that if I did, the spell would be broken, and I would wake up to find myself in prison. It couldn't possibly be over, could it?

Joshua turned to me, a sad smile on his face. "We're hoping for a deal for the other charges. In light of the evidence, I think they'll come to us in the next few days."

"But Penny?" I ask, my voice choked with emotion.

"Are you asking me as her husband or her attorney?" But I couldn't speak, afraid to sob in front of so many people. I know the reporters were still watching. Joshua waved a hand, trying to show he wasn't at all worried. "As her husband, I'll say this; she did it. She did it to keep you alive and has no guilt about it. Whatever happens, she's okay with it."

"Josh, she can't go to jail!" I was shaking all over. Keeping my sister and me out of jail was the whole reason I never came home. Though I am relieved for myself, the worry for my sister was only growing.

He rubbed my back with a small smile. "Then as her attorney, I'd say that given the circumstances, we'll argue it was self-defense. But I'm not gonna lie, it's complex—the law requires us to prove that Penny believed she was in imminent danger and that her response was reasonable. It'll be tough, everything will be scrutinized, but I'm confident." He takes a deep breath as if already in the middle of his wife's defense. "Between you and me? I'm proud of her. If he would have…" He was growing more emotional and swallowed hard. "My beautiful Annie and Penny are both only alive because Penny pulled that trigger, I'm sure of it. If she hadn't, Kevin would have killed you and her."

Looking over my shoulder, I see Penny seated in the front row, Greg's arm around her shoulder. Penny let loose a small, crooked grin, and I return the gesture. It's done now. I might be free but know that Penny has a long road ahead.