<><> TRIGGER WARNING <><>
The following chapter describes intense scene of sexual assault. Reader discretion is adviced.
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— The day before, I texted Gem to ask her for money. It was no use; she wouldn't answer my calls or messages. I told Hunter to give me some time to pay him back, but he said he'd give my name to the collectors so they'd come after me too if they came for him. I didn't take him that seriously because on other occasions he'd wait, but this time he went to my workplace to cause a scene. That's why…
— Excuse me for interrupting. Could you clarify who those collectors were?
— The drug dealers. They call themselves "the dogs" because the gangs dismember their victims; sometimes, after killing them, they feed them to the fighting dogs they keep hidden.
— And what do you mean by "people on the street"?
— That's what we call those of us who sell drugs. Hunter gave it to me; I sold it and gave him a share of the profits.
— Understood. Continue.
— I spoke with Hunter and asked him to wait for me; I promised I'd get the money that very morning. I thought my best option was to go to Gem's house and ask her to lend me the amount I needed.
— Can you specify the amount?
— One thousand five hundred dollars.
— Go on.
— My shift at the restaurant started in the evening; which was when Hunter made a scene at the restaurant to ask me for the money; I finished at ten in the morning, so at that time, the two of us in his car went to Gem's house. She had apparently already seen the messages I'd sent her the previous afternoon and didn't want to open the door, but since I didn't say I was there, after I knocked several times she opened it. I think she thought it might be someone else.
— What happens at the door?
— The first thing she told me was that she didn't have the money, and that even if she did, she wouldn't give it to me because she knew it was for drugs. She told me she was upset that I hadn't gone to rehab and that I wanted to drag her into stuff like that. She was still talking when Hunter threw some powder in her face and I stepped in to keep her from falling to the ground.
— Did Gem say anything to Hunter that made him react that way?
— No, sir. At first, when Gem opened the door, he was leaning against the car door, looking at us. She recognized him, and that's when she started asking me why I kept hanging out with people like that. At some point he started to approach; I didn't realize it until he was already behind me. Then, when Hunter threw the powder, she pushed both of us and tried to close the door, but since I stepped in to keep her from falling when I saw her eyes roll back, the door didn't close, and we both went inside so no one on the street would see us. I picked her up and laid her on the sofa, trying to wake her up, but she didn't respond. I immediately panicked, because I was thinking he'd used scopolamine. That's very dangerous; a person could die. Then I saw that Hunter was looking for something, searching for money or something valuable to pawn. He asked me if I knew where she kept her jewelry or where her wallet was. That's when we got into a fight because I was trying to get him out of the house, but he threatened me with a knife he had in his jacket, and when Sebastian texted me, I wanted to reply, but Hunter thought I was going to call the police. That's when he took my phone, saw Sebastian's messages, and sent him our location. I didn't see him type anything else.
— On the screen, you can see the message log from the defendant William's chat — says the prosecutor. The message, which, according to William's testimony, was sent by the defendant Hunter, was recorded at 10:41 a.m. Tell us: Do you remember what time the defendant Sebastian House arrived at Ms. Gem Goldstein's residence?
— I'm not exactly sure, but there was a clock on the wall above the TV in the living room, and it read a little past 11 when I heard the doorbell ring. At that moment, I was sitting next to Gem while Hunter was looking upstairs. I didn't want to answer the door, but since Hunter was already coming downstairs with a jewelry box in his hands, I got up and opened it so we could leave quickly. I told Sebastian we were leaving, but he caught a glimpse of Gem lying on the couch and asked me about her. That's when I noticed she was moving; she managed to sit up but was shaking her head from side to side. She saw me and asked me to help her stand up. I told her she had fainted, and that I was going to take her to her room while I signaled to Hunter with my hands to leave. "Wow, she looks like a zombie. What happened to her?" Sebastian asked. She snapped to attention and pulled away from me, but since she had no balance, she couldn't support her own weight and fell backward, hitting the steps. She was crawling up the stairs, but Hunter grabbed her by the ankle and threw something in her face. She fainted again.
— Did you see what he used to knock her out?
— I didn't get a chance to see. After that, Hunter dragged her by the shoulders up the stairs and Sebastian grabbed her ankles. They both made comments about her figure, her face, and her breasts. I shoved them both toward the door so we could leave and get away from her, but Sebastian hit me so hard in the face that he knocked me out. I don't know how much time passed, but when I woke up, he was completely naked from the waist down and was on top of Gem.
— Which one of them?
— Sebastián House — William says, looking down so as not to see her — Gem had her face pressed into the pillow; she wasn't moving while he… he was raping her. I pushed him, pulled him off her, and he just laughed. Hunter told me to relax, that he'd forgive my debt if I let him be with her, so I… didn't get in the way. Between the two of them, they satisfied themselves with her mouth and genitals while I was getting high.
— Did the victim regain consciousness at any point?
— Once, he woke up briefly and complained, but Hunter used some drops that he put in his eyes to make him fall back asleep.
— In the image on the screen, Your Honor, we've included evidence of a dropper that appears to be for eye drops, but inside it contained the substance used to chemically sedate the victim — says the prosecutor — That time she woke up, was she able to defend herself?
— No, she was just moaning in pain; she couldn't even open her eyes all the way. After a while, Sebastián left, and later Gem's friend, Yenedith, entered the house with a man.
— According to the forensic analyses conducted on the very day of the incident using the bodily fluids found on the victim, one of these tests came back positive, concluding that you also participated in the violent sexual assault. Is that correct?
— What did you do, Mr. Hofstadter?
— Well… — William begins to cry.
— Answer the question, defendant! — says Ismael.
— I masturbated over her vagina — says Wilmer, and begins to cry so dramatically that he breaks into sobs.
— I have no further questions, Your Honor — says Prosecutor Faiber.
Up until that point, none of the defendants had testified about the events of that day or their explicit involvement in the incident, but the prosecution's appeal for a harsher sentence pressured William and Hunter to testify against the others.
During Hunter's testimony, Gem leaves the courtroom to get a drink and wash her face — I feel so tired of this.
— Gem, I came as soon as I could! — says Yenedith, giving her a hug — Bianca called me.
— I called you; I haven't seen you in weeks — says Gem.
— I was out of the country; I just got my number back.
— We should go back; he's probably about to finish his testimony — says Bianca.
When they enter the courtroom, Hunter is talking about a previous conversation he had with William — I texted him that if he set me up with a date with Gem, I could get the money some other way and he wouldn't have to pay me.
— What did the defendant reply? — asks the prosecutor.
— He said she agreed.