Angel (Damiano David & Victoria De Angelis)

Chapter 38

Friday morning, everybody was on edge and the whole morning was kinda hectic. Damiano didn't eat anything...he was way too nervous. They had relocated to Rome the day before, so now they were staying in a nice little house that all of their families used together. Usually, they didn't stay there, but none of them had own apartments and Damiano definitely couldn't go home to his mother when she still didn't even believe him, and he hadn't heard from his father in months. The two of them could have stayed with Victoria's parents, but she didn't think he was ready to stay with someone else at the moment. So, for now, they stayed here...it wouldn't be a permanent solution...but they could at least stay there until the trial started. At 1.30 PM, they made their way to Mrs. Porcaroli's office. Just her and Damiano. They had all agreed that Ethan and Thomas could come to the next meeting if the lawyer wanted them to, but for now, it was best for just the two of them to go.

"Deep breath, Angel. It'll be okay.", Victoria assured Damiano as they were standing in front of the elegant looking white building. "I'm so fucking scared right now, Vic. I feel like I can't even breathe.", he whispered, looking around anxiously. It was clear that he wasn't dealing with this very well. Some people were looking at them while passing by, probably recognizing them. Luckily, though, nobody said anything to them. She turned towards him, taking both of his hands into hers: "I know, love. I know this is hard, but it's okay. She...or they – I don't know how many there will be – won't do anything you're not comfortable with. We're just going to introduce ourselves and let her take some information if she needs to, alright? Nothing more." He looked at her, holding onto her hands tightly:" What if they want to know something that I don't want to tell them? What...what if it makes me freak out again?" She gently brushed through his hair:" Honey...if that happens, we'll be able to deal with it easily. We've been through a lot worse things, don't you think?"

Once they entered the office, they were greeted by a young blonde woman. She had a friendly smile on her lips as she reached her hand out to shake Victoria's, then Damiano's:" Mrs. DeAngelis, Mr. David. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. My name is Chiara Porcaroli. I'll be the leading prosecutor for your case. Sit down.", she told them as she closed the door behind them. Victoria nodded, sitting down in the black leather chair in front of the wooden desk. The woman who was now sitting in front of them was wearing an elegant dark blue jumpsuit, black pumps, and a black blazer. Her blonde hair was cut into a chin-length straight bob which made her appear strict and serious, though her brown eyes showed nothing but compassion. Victoria was sure that she was a nice woman and that she would handle their case well. Damiano didn't seem all too convinced yet. He was a nervous wreck, and Mrs. Porcaroli seemed to notice. She smiled encouragingly at the both of them:" I know this must be a very scary situation for you, but I promise you, today we'll only go over things very briefly. I don't need to hear any details yet and when the time for that comes, we'll find a way to make it as comfortable as possible for you. For now, I mainly want to introduce myself. As I said; my name is Chiara Porcaroli, but seeing that we will work together for a good while, I'd like for you to call me by my first name. May I do the same with you?" Both of them nodded and Victoria was eager to hear what their lawyer had to say. "Alright. So, I am 27 years old and I'm a lawyer specialized in cases like yours. I mostly work with women, but I've had a few cases with male victims too. I'm positive that we have a good chance of winning this trial. Of course, there is the stigma of women never being the abuser, and unfortunately Mrs. Marda's lawyers are very good. But that doesn't mean we can't win this. I have a list of a ton of witnesses we will call to the stand. Of course, I also have a team of other very competent lawyers to support us, but I'm your primary lawyer, so I'd like you to come to me for concerns and anything else you might want to talk about. Of course, I will need to ask you some questions you might not particularly like, but we'll work towards that slowly, and I will do my best to handle all of this with care. Some topics might be triggering to you, Damiano, so I would kindly ask you or Victoria to come in on a separate day to talk to me about that, so we can work this out together. Your well-being is our highest priority, of course. Would that be alright with you." Damiano didn't say much, still obviously uncomfortable with the situation, but Victoria was definitely relieved to see how nice this woman was. "Yes. We can come in again whenever you want. We'll tell you whatever you need to ensure that things will go as smoothly as possible.", Victoria agreed, making Chiara smile. "Alright then. As I said, I really just wanted you to be able to get to know me today, so that's all for today. If you could come in again on Monday at 10 AM, I would appreciate that.", she said as she got up. Victoria got up as well, shaking the woman's hand:" Monday at 10, it is."