Chapter 7 - I MAKE MY OWN BAD DECISION
The doctor discharged me after three nights.
Kidney function normalized.
Electrolytes stable.
I could eat small meals without nausea.
The baby remained reassuring on ultrasound.
No guarantee about every future pregnancy outcome.
But no evidence of direct injury.
I went home with Auberon.
Police had released the main house.
The shed remained taped off pending final evidence processing.
I saw the yellow tape through the kitchen window.
Could not look away.
Then the family messages started.
Aunts.
Cousins.
Fenella’s church friend.
Some believed me.
Some said:
“Five days sounds impossible.”
Others:
“Fenella is strict, not evil.”
One:
“Maybe Clotilde is confused from dehydration.”
That one broke me.
I wrote a long public post.
Not just family.
Public.
Fenella imprisoned me while pregnant and tried to starve my unborn child because she wanted control of our marriage. She impersonated me for five days so my husband would not rescue me. She planned all of it.
I posted photographs of my hospital wristband.
The broken padlock.
The shed door.
Not evidence photos.
My own.
Within an hour, hundreds of comments.
Then a local reporter messaged.
Then Fenella’s lawyer filed notice about public statements.
Laurel Keene, my attorney, called.
“Take it down.”
“Why?”
“Some facts are supported. Some are still allegations.”
“She locked me there.”
“Yes.”
“She gave me no food.”
“Yes.”
“She used my phone.”
“Likely. Digital forensics is not finished.”
“She planned it.”
“Evidence suggests planning. Trial has not happened.”
I stared at the screen.
“Why should I protect her?”
“This is not about protecting her.”
Then:
“It is about not turning your trauma into claims broader than the evidence.”
I hated that.
Then Laurel said:
“Also, ‘tried to starve my unborn child’ sounds like intent to harm the fetus. We do not yet have evidence that was her purpose.”
My hands shook.
“She starved me.”
“Yes.”
“That affects the baby.”
“Yes.”
“Then—”
“Risk and specific intent are not the same.”
There.
I deleted the post.
Screenshots existed forever.
I issued a narrower statement to family only:
Fenella intentionally confined me in the shed for five days, withheld food, and prevented normal communication. Police are investigating how messages were sent from my phone. I should not state motives or unverified digital facts as final before the investigation is complete.
The damage remained.
Some relatives had already repeated:
Fenella tried to kill the baby.
Police never said that.
The prosecutor never said that.
I had turned fear into a charge.
That became my mistake to own.
It also made Fenella’s defense easier.
Her lawyer could say:
Clotilde exaggerates.
I would later have to testify:
May you like
Sometimes I did.
Then point back to evidence anyway.
