Chapter 239: So Far Gone
The news of Sidney’s plan to do an interview before her testimony reached the prosecutor’s office. They knew this is not a good idea and they tried to convince Sidney not to give the interview so close to her testimony.
There is always a danger of her saying something contradictory to her initial statement or her testimony. Being on television "Live" is an anxiety-inducing task. She might slip up and mix up things and that could be used as evidence by the defense lawyers during the trial.
And the defense lawyers will question Sidney’s motive in giving interviews. She does come off as someone who likes the limelight as a victim of abuse. The jurors might perceive her as a narcissist who is in an avenge mode rather than as someone pitiful.
The defense team will use that as an excuse to remove Sidney from testifying.
But Sidney was not listening to any of that. She was so sure that she is going to be fine. Even when they threatened to remove her from the witness stand, she refused to give up the interview stating that she was not going to get another chance like this. She thought this interview would be a test run.
Matt, the prosecutor who talked to Rory previously came to visit her again. When he talked about how dumb and unhinged Sidney conducted herself, he didn’t think that she would be allowed to testify.
He told Rory that enduring trauma and abuse for a long time has altered Sidney a lot. She might be deemed unsuitable to testify.
Of course, Rory knew trauma can do a lot to the brain, but Sidney is a smart person. Surely, she wouldn’t have let her trauma affect her to that extent. She really thought Matt was exaggerating because he wanted her testimony.
She wanted to talk to Sidney first. but she knew arranging a meeting with Sidney won’t be perceived as normal considering that the prosecution is planning on dropping Sidney as the main witness.
She talked to Liam about it, and he said he’d asked someone to find out what happened between Lennon and Sidney during their meeting. The guard who was nearby told that Lennon was manipulative, and Sidney was falling for it.
"So, it is nothing new," Rory sighed.
"You were brought up a lot of times. So, it would be better if you stay away from Sidney," Liam said.