Page 100 of Matlock
She nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “It consistently got worse until he strangled me. We were arguing about something—I don’t even remember what,” Savannah shook her head. “He just... he put his hands around my throat and squeezed. I couldn’t breathe. I thought I was going to die.”
My hands clenched into fists under the table. Alan had done this. He’d put his hands around another woman’s throat and squeezed until she couldn’t breathe. Until she thought she was dying. The image made my blood run cold.
Is that what he did to Sadie?Is that why she finally broke and killed him?
“What happened next?”
“I passed out,” Savannah said. “When I woke up, he was gone. I went to the hospital, and they called the police. I filed a restraining order against him.”
“And did Alan Sanders respect that restraining order?”
“No,” she said. “He showed up at my apartment twice. The second time, the police arrested him. After that, he left town. I never saw him again.”
Tony let that sit for a moment, then turned to the jury. He made eye contact with each of them, letting them see the gravity of what they’d just heard. I watched him work. Watched the precision of his movements, the calculated pause, the way he commanded the room. Even now, even with everything between us, I could see why he was brilliant at this.
“Ms. Reed, in your experience, was Alan Sanders a dangerous man?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “He was terrifying. I’m lucky to be alive.”
The words hung in the air.
Lucky to be alive.
That was what Sadie was.
“Thank you, Ms. Reed. No further questions.”
Tony walked back to the defense table and sat down beside me. He didn’t look at me, but I felt the shift in the air between us, the weight of what we both understood now. I should have done more. I should have protected her better. Sadie had been in genuine mortal danger.
I watched the jury.
Some of them looked shaken.
They believe her. They see what Alan was.
Rosalind stood, her expression hard. She approached Savannah with the kind of aggression that made my blood boil.
“Ms. Reed, you filed a restraining order against Alan Sanders two years ago, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re testifying here today because the defense contacted you, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Did the defense offer you any compensation for your testimony?”
“No,” Savannah said firmly. “I’m here because I want people to know what he was. What he did.”
Good. Don’t let her twist this. Please don’t let her twist this.
“Ms. Reed, you testified that Alan Sanders strangled you. Were there witnesses to this event?”
“No,” Savannah said. “We were alone.”
“So we only have your word that this happened.”
“I have medical records,” Savannah said, her voice shaking with anger. “I have photos of the bruises on my neck. I have the police report. This isn’t just my word; it’s documented.”
