Page 37 of Claiming His Bunny
“It doesn’t help with the case, though,” Beth objects. “This video is clearly illegally obtained. It will never stand in court.”
She’s right, of course, but still… “I don’t think that was the main objective,” I say after a second’s hesitation. “The video tells people to speak up. Maybe now that it’s obvious Adams is no ‘upstanding citizen,’” I spit out sarcastically, “there will be witnesses. Someone to testify in court, to confirm that Adams has been abusing Aaron. Plus, his friends in high positions won’t help him anymore. No one wants to be associated with a child abuser.”
“No kidding. And once media get ahold of this, they won’t let it die down.”
She’s not wrong. By the end of the day, everyone in the country seems to have watched the video. Comfortably seated on my back porch, I sip my tea as I watch Benjamin Adams get shredded on national news.
“I find it abhorrent that no one cares that somebody broke into my house to plant cameras here!” Adams shouts, red in his face. He’s in his home office, glaring daggers at the camera. “That’s an abominable violation of privacy!”
The reporter interviewing him doesn’t move a muscle over his outrage. “Yes, yes,” she hums. “Terrible. However, the video shows you mentally abusing your own son. That—”
“The video is fake!” Adams bellows. “It’s all fake! Made with AI or some shit like that.”
“I would ask you to refrain from vulgarities, Doctor Adams,” the reporter admonishes. “And you just said someone broke into your house to plant the recording devices. So is the video fake or has it been recorded in your house?”
Adams opens his mouth, then closes it without saying anything, looking like a comical fish. His face is an alarming shade of red. Perhaps he’s going to have a heart attack.
The reporter flashes a victorious smile. “I see. Is it true that you’ve been under CPS investigation due to suspected abuse? And that you threatened the social worker who tried to interview your son?”
My eyebrows fly up. How do they know about that? Then again, Aaron’s therapist was there when Adams threatened me. Did she finally decide to speak up?
“You can’t share private information like that! I demand to know who told you this. Was it that Black bitch? It was her, wasn’t it? Oh, I will—”
His image abruptly disappears as someone cuts him off. The reporter shakes her head in disbelief, taking a deep breath before turning back to the main camera. “Dear viewers, we apologize for the disturbance during our interview just now. The behavior displayed was unacceptable and does not reflect the standards of professionalism or decency we strive to uphold. We have terminated the interview because we will not tolerate such language on our program. Thank you for your understanding.”
Her smile is a little forced as she looks into a different camera. “Next on, we have Cindy Monell’s report on abusers hiding among us. They might be all smiles in their daily lives, but what do they turn into when they’re home alone with their families? After that, we will dive deeper into the current topic by following the story of Doctor Adam’s wife. What caused Cordelia’s mental breakdown? Our guest in the studio will be a renowned psychiatrist, Doctor Hershell, who—”
Turning off the news, I put the phone away. I don’t need to listen to a renowned psychiatrist dissecting Aaron’s mother’s mental health on TV, and I certainly don’t need to see Cindy’s report on abusers.
Aaron will have it tough growing up, having had his family’s dirty laundry aired on TV like this, but at least he’ll be free from his father’s toxic influence. With love and gentle care, I’m sure he’ll eventually get better. All thanks to whoever planted cameras inside Adams’ house and leaked the footage.
I can’t help but wonder, was it my stalker? Is this his way of “helping” me with a case?
And if so, do I mind?
I should. After all, he committed a crime for me. Again. It’s not like a little breaking and entering and invasion of privacy compare to murder, but still. I shouldn’t be condoning any crimes. And yet, here I am, feeling grateful. I guess I am a terrible human being, after all.
“I don’t know if you can hear me,” I whisper, feeling a little silly talking to my own empty backyard. “But if you can, and if you did this…thank you.”
A chill runs through me as branches rustle in the distance. It’s just wind, I tell myself. Nothing but wind. And even if it was something else, I’m suddenly too tired to care. I barely manage to drag myself to bed before sleep takes over.
I laze around thehouse all Sunday. I sleep in, do some reading, watch some more shit fall on Benjamin Adams’ head, then take a nap.
My parents call to check on me. Thankfully, they don’t follow the news too closely, so they either haven’t heard about Adams or haven’t connected the case to me, for which I’m grateful. They’re already worried about me living alone, three hundred miles away. I don’t need them to worry about the vengeful father of one of my clients coming after me.
It’s funny how I don’t even consider the stalker a threat anymore.
An hour-long conversation with Amy reveals she’s doing better now, finally getting over her guilt about wishing Craig dead. She still struggles with seeing him as the abusive asshole he was, but she’s making progress, at least. And she agreed to see the therapist I recommended, so I hope she will continue getting better.
After a whole day of relaxation, Monday storms in with a flurry of news. Aaron has been removed from Benjamin Adams’ care. Doctor Singh, Aaron’s therapist, testified in court and confirmed that Adams repeatedly abused his son. She claimed Adams threatened not just to have her fired from the hospital but to destroy her entire career if she mentioned her observations to anyone.
Two women, formerly employed as maids in Adams’ residence, also spoke up. Both mentioned trying to help Aaron when his father locked him in the basement, and being subsequently fired and blackmailed to keep their mouths shut.
Laurel, to my surprise, handled the case professionally, her former admiration for Adams gone. She even brought a police cruiser along when it came time to extract Aaron, and it was a good thing she did because only their presence stopped Adams from physically assaulting her.
Later, she came over to apologize and also to warn me, because while Adams was mad at her for taking his son away, he still considers me to be the root of all evil. As if I was the one who forced him to abuse his own son. What a jerk.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my house for a few days?” Michelle asks for the umpteenth time as I pack my things and get ready to head home. “Look, Adams might not have the reach he had before, but he’s desperate now. Desperate and aggressive. And for some reason, he’s fixated on you. Well, you and Ethan Bennett.”
