Too Late for Regret (Annalise and Roger) novel Chapter 126

Taking Them Down with Me

Chapter 126

Tiffany’s POV

“Are you crazy? A million a year? For what, gaining a little weight? She’s lost the weight now, so how can

you dare claim that she needs any money for it? This happened so long ago, yet you keep crying about it,” I

cried out.

“Ms. Vaughn, you will have a turn to speak soon. Do not interrupt Attorney Briggs again,” the judge stated.

“Your Honor, my client has documentation from her therapist. A therapist who is board–certified in trauma

therapy. My client has had recurring nightmares for the last few months, ever since Ms. Vaughn

senselessly attacked her. That attack clearly shows that Ms. Vaughn still believes she can harm my client

at any moment. My client was hospitalized as a result of that attack. Ms. Vaughn is still considered to be a danger to my client,” her attorney stated.

I was grinding my teeth so hard that I was surprised I didn’t c***k them. I hadn’t seen this coming. I wasn’t prepared for this to happen. How could I know that he would be able to use it against me? I mean, it doesn’t really matter. I won’t be sticking around to see what happens tomorrow. I’ll be leaving this place as

soon as I deal with that smug b***h. She clearly thought this was funny, asking for such a high sum.

I heard my mother gasp behind me. She hadn’t expected that either. My father was glaring at Ana just as

hard as I was. She had plenty of money. This was just a power play for her. She already cost my father her

father’s backing. She’s only giving the tabloids something to humiliate me over again.

I was trying so hard to keep my mouth shut, as I wanted to let loose at her. But I calmed myself, knowing that I would be getting my hands on her tonight before I left. It was the only thing holding me together at

the moment. I relaxed and stared at her, thinking about what I was going to do once I got my hands on her.

If she thinks I hurt her before, she has another thing coming tonight. I was going to make her sorry.

Her attorney was good, but I wasn’t going to be sticking around to be sentenced. So, none of his arguments held any weight. I glanced over at her husband. He was focused on watching her on the stand. His concern for her was evident. How did she manage to find him? I saw the comments online about how he acted at their wedding. How did she rate such a quality man? She didn’t deserve him. Now that her father pulled his backing from my father’s business, the Billingsley family has surpassed us. Dad blames

me for it happening.

If I had known how this would all play out, I would have left that annoying b***h alone. I would never have put my hands on her if I had known this was coming. I was so stupid to send those texts. I thought she was deleting them, like I was. I never thought she was saving them to come at me like this. No decent man is going to accept me now. No matter, I didn’t want to be forced into marriage anyway. The man my mother was trying to set me up with was attractive, but older than I preferred. Now that I’ve seen him, I want someone like Charlie Billingsley as my husband.

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Taking The Down with Me

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I glanced behind her husband and glared at my brother. Sitting on Ana’s side of the courtroom, in clear support of her. He’s my brother. He should be supporting me, no matter what I’m accused of. Yet he sits there, with sympathy for Ana on his face. Doesn’t he realize that she has no business being a Vaughn? She’s weak. Totally pitiful, and entirely unworthy of our family. If she had been worthy, he wouldn’t have had to ask me to watch over her at school. She would have been able to protect herself. The great Ana

Caldwell. In truth, she’s not as great as they thought she was.

“Your Honor, I intend to prove IIED, intentional infliction of emotional distress, for my client. Ms. Vaughn’s

repeated attacks, which occurred multiple times a week, prove the first element. Her intentional abuse and derogatory words caused great harm to my client. The second element was clear, as she intentionally went after my client with no apparent cause. She has no defense for her actions, your honor. Ms. Vaughn

intentionally injured my client, and some of those injuries left scars behind. She also caused Ana great emotional distress. We have Ms. Vaughn overheard on several videos mocking and belittling my client as she assaulted her. That alone showed what Ms. Vaugh was thinking about my client as she carried out her vicious actions,” her attorney suggested.

He spoke not just to the jury, but to the room itself. Setting the stage for proving exactly what I had done

to her over those two years. He didn’t mince words. He’s intentionally causing as much damage as possible to my reputation while portraying Ana as the victim. He has obviously been waiting to pull this out

to catch us unaware for a while now. I haven’t even heard of this kind of charge in my life; it sounds made

1. up.

I wrote it down on my notepad to ask Martin, and he nodded his head. Yeah, if I had known any of this, I

would have just left her alone. Gretchen looked at me with a frown. So, I wrote down that it was valid. She

tried to keep her face neutral, but I know that we were both failing at looking nonchalant. She was already nervous before we even left the jail this morning. She knew that we were leaving today. My parents paid a fortune to obtain fake passports and new identities for us. At least I won’t have to live here after all this.

The shame of it would have ruined me.

No one wanted to sit behind us and support us. It was just family members. I told Gretchen not to warn her parents about us leaving. If she did, one slip–up could ruin all our careful plans. I kept reminding her that if she kept us from escaping, it would cost her. I’ve bent over backwards to help her, so she better

stay in line. Otherwise, she would be on my list too. She knows what that means. With money, anything is possible. She wouldn’t make it a month in prison if I wanted her dealt with. She needs to do as I’ve asked

of her. She can talk to her family once we get to safety.

“The third and final element of IIED is showing my clients severe emotional distress. I would say that a weight gain of sixty–seven pounds is a direct result of the defendant’s actions. She callously caused my client much more than most could bear. My client was told what was going to happen and would worry about the pain that she would soon be facing. Along with the public humiliation in front of her peers, even when it wasn’t a physical attack. Being drawn on with a permanent marker at school, her clothing ruined, was a level of humiliation that few could handle. Ana’s pain is palpable in her pictures. I want you to really look at her. See how broken she was during this timeframe. She was unable to stop the continued attacks against her. Helpless and alone, she had no one to turn to as she tried to protect her family. I ask you to

Taking Thein Dawn with te

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put yourself in her shoes, and have empathy for all my client was put through by Ms. Vaughn,” her attorney

suggested.

Then they showed the pictures of her injuries for this trial. Her face was barely visible in some of them, depending on the location of the injury she was showing. But I could sense the jury was doing just as he had asked. By the time the slideshow was over, there were several members of the jury who were looking at me as if I were a monster. I didn’t need to be clairvoyant to know how this would play out. I was going to lose. I had no defense. Well, if I had to go down, I was taking Seth with me.

“This is all Seth Caldwell’s fault. He used me, and then left me. Ignoring my texts and calls when he went back to college. I was an innocent girl when he had s*x with me, and then turned his back on me. When he dared to leave for school and asked me to look after his precious sister, I agreed. But not to protect her. Every single thing Ana went through was a punishment I meant for you, Seth. All those times you berated Ana for gaining weight, or for being petty for turning her back on me, and Holden. That’s on you, too. You hurt your own sister by defending us. You hurt her so badly, she’ll never forgive you,” I cried out.

My attorney tried to pull me back down into my seat, but I wasn’t going to stop now. Not when I was finally getting this all off my chest. Seth stared back at me with shock written all over his face, but I wasn’t done yet. Not by a long shot. I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to know the pain I felt when he rejected me. I cared for him. I would have been an excellent wife for him. Yet he couldn’t stand to be around me. I

caught him by surprise that day, or we would have never had s*x.

“You knew I hated Ana from the moment she took the attention off of me when we were children. Then you had the gall to ask me to protect her. What were you thinking? I had been bullying her for years before my senior year. You and Holden were just so caught up in your own lives that you didn’t even notice. I didn’t go too far the first year you left. But once I knew she was too scared to tell, I made sure she suffered. I want you to know that every time you slept with one of my friends, I knew about it, and Ana paid the price for it. I also made sure that when Holden did the same thing, we made sure she knew how much he didn’t want her. That her weight gain had made her repulsive to him, and we made sure she was aware of it. I’m sure she didn’t mention that to either of you, did she? Just know that each time Gretchen and I were hurt, we made sure to pass it on to Ana. Whether she knew it or not, she was hurt because of your actions. I doubt she’ll ever forgive either of you for what you’ve done,” I cried out.

Angry tears rolled down my face, but seeing the look on their faces made me happy. They were the reason for all her pain, and it was past time they knew it. I may have been jealous of Ana, but I never seriously hurt her until Seth hurt me. His callous actions and Holden’s had hurt Gretchen and me deeply. We were attractive, desirable women. There was no reason for us to be rejected by them. Seth and Holden had taken what they wanted and then discarded us. I hope the guilt of what they’ve done crushes them for the foreseeable future. I might not be able to get them back for what they did to us, but seeing their faces as they processed what I told them had really helped.

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