Abe turned and headed for the audience seats, Hans not far behind him. The two men ignored one another as best they could, both choosing their place carefully.

Klara and Daniel were seated in the back row, Abe not really acknowledging them. He glanced up the front row, seeing Helga and Freda. Helga nodded to him and Freda tried her best not to look at him; Her eyes were fixed only on her father. Abe's heart went out to the poor girl. It must be so difficult for her.

Abe took his seat on the bench, a small argument breaking out behind him. Klara was attempting to get Hans to sit with her; he was refusing. Abe sighed in irritation as Hans walked towards him, annoyed that he also chose to sit in the front row. He couldn't help but glare at him, Hans glaring right back.

Who would be the first to speak?

"I hope you won't be causin' no more trouble after this," said Abe in a low voice. "She's gotta take things easy, and you're makin' that difficult."

"You seem worried about her spending time with me."

"Yeah, 'cause you're a fuckin' asshole," spat Abe, not noticing that Freda and Helga were watching them now. "All you do is upset her. Why can't you just back off?"

"She needs me," insisted Hans.

Abe snorted. "She ain't needed you for years. And when she did need you, you weren't there."

Hans fell quiet, suddenly defeated. "Might I sit the other side closest to Freda and Mrs Von Hart? They will need a translator if Anna speaks in English."

Abe sensed the change in him and simply nodded. He sat right back as Hans shifted past him, ensuring to focus his gaze downwards so he wasn't tempted to take another verbal swipe at him. Hans clearly didn't need to punish him any more than he was already doing to himself. Instead, Abe turned his attention to the man in the stand. Ernst Werner.

It was all Abe could do to remain seated and not run down and tear the piece of scum apart. He hated him so much... it was the same way he had felt about Keller. This man had put Anna through so many unspeakable things. He was glad he was going to be there when he was sentenced. He just hoped that Anna was all right.

*

Downstairs, Anna finally began her walk into the courtroom. She tried her best to ignore the click of cameras as she walked in, or the eyes glued to her. She focused solely on the stand, getting herself ready to be questioned.

"Anna?" called a voice across the room. She looked up.

It was Ernst.

Much to her pleasure, he looked terrible, everything about him drawn and tired. He was clearly pained to see her, his eyes wild as they followed her. She looked down, focusing on her path to the stand.

"Anna!" he called again, standing up out of his seat.

"The defendant will remain seated," said the judge, the sound of the gavel hitting the bench echoing across the room.

Ernst was wrestled back into his seat as Anna was helped up onto the stand.

Anna cleared her throat, ready to begin.

The judge leant forward. "Can you please state your name for the court."

"Anna Coleman, formally Lehman," she said clearly, her eyes now fixing on Ernst. He truly didn't look how she had expected. He was so defeated.

Keller hadn't looked that way. Tired, maybe, but never defeated.

Perhaps the fear she had in Ernst was unfounded. Perhaps she gave him credit for his leadership of that vile place when he was nothing more than a puppet being pulled about a stage. He was not as malicious as Keller. Sometimes, she wondered if he even understood all the harm he had caused her? Perhaps he was so inherently evil that everything he did was second nature. Keller liked to play with people; Ernst just liked to demolish them.

The prosecution had now risen, Anna looking at the man in front of her.

He cleared his throat also, making sure his voice was loud and clear. "Mrs Coleman, could you please tell the court how you know the defendant?"

"I was a prisoner in his camp, and also served as tutor to his daughter," she replied, trying to stop her voice from wavering.

"But you also had an intimate romantic relationship, is that correct?"

Anna could feel all the eyes burning into her skin. She hadn't felt this kind of judgement in so long. "Those are not the words I would use to describe our relationship."

"Could you please describe it in your own words?"

She took a deep breath, aware of the look of angst on Ernst's face. "I entered into a sexual relationship with him in exchange for the life of my sister, who remained an inmate in the camp. There was no love between us, at least not for my part."

Whispers spread through the crowd in the stands above, Anna trying her level best to ignore the word 'whore' which she heard so clearly.

She looked at Ernst instead. He sat back in his seat, deflated as the translation was read to him.

The prosecution continued. "But it is true that you lived with him from August 1944 to February 1945."

"That is correct."

"And in this time, did you see him take part in any camp related activities?"

"He once showed me a map of the camp complex, and detailed what the markings were," explained Anna. "He told me that in the satellite camps they would burn the bodies of the inmates that died rather than take them to the mass death pits."

Murmurs turned to exclamations, the gavel banging to silence them.

"Did you see these satellite camps in person?"

"Only one. That is the last camp my sister and I were detained in."

"Was it Mr Werner that took you there?"

"No, it was a man named Mathias Keller. He..." Anna began but felt a wave of nausea wash over her.

"It's all right, Mrs Coleman," assured the prosecutor. "Please continue."

"Mathias Keller was the man in control of the sector of the camp that I was first sent to. He was close personal friends with the defendant." She took a deep breath. "He raped me many times when I was held in the camp, and it was the defendant who covered it up."

More mutters went through the crowd.

Anna glanced at Abe, who's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white. She could see his anger even from here. "He was also the man that took me to the death pits."

"So you have seen these death pits first hand?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Can you explain to us what they were and why you were there?"

Anna steadied herself again, her hands gripping the stand in front of her for support. She could see Freddie's body in front of her again... the expression on his face, how cold his skin was, how heavy his body had been as it pinned her into the mud. She hadn't thought about it in so long; she had blocked it from her mind. Tears welled in her eyes, Anna trying desperately to sniff them back as the prosecutor waited patiently for her answer.

"Mathias had taken me and my young sister there so that we might help bury the bodies of dead inmates. It was a mass grave." She paused again, Freddie's empty eyes seemingly right in front of her. "Ernst told me that they set fire to them all when they had been thrown in. Mathias had taken us there specifically so that we would find the body of my friend, Friedrich Müller. He had shot him and made us bury the body."

Ernst looked up at her as the translation finished. His eyes were wide. He clearly didn't know.

"But the defendant never took you himself?"

Anna shook her head, unable to stop the tears falling down her cheeks. "He had everyone do his dirty work for him," she mumbled quietly. "And he taught Mathias everything he knew."

"You mean he personally mentored him on his duties at the camp?"

"Yes, but it was more than that."

"Can you elaborate?"

Taking a soothing breath, Anna looked past Ernst's burning gaze and directly at the prosecutor. "Mathias told me that Ernst had nurtured him into his habit of raping and hurting women."

The prosecutor took a moment, clearly not ready for that answer. "Did you see this happen?"

"I saw Ernst rape Maria with my own eyes," managed Anna, her stomach churning. A pain shot through her, making her double over. Everything dulled around her for a moment, the agony blinding her to everything else.

"Mrs Coleman?"

Hissing through the pain, Anna tried to stand straight and focus. The aid beside her had his arm outstretched, ready to catch her. It began to subside, her eyes now wide again.

Ernst was on his feet, being subdued into his seat. The prosecutor was directly in front of her, repeating her name. She looked up to the stands. Both Abe and Hans were on their feet, leaning over the side. Anna waved her hand at them both, ushering them to sit down. "I apologise, I'm fine."

"Do you need a brief recess?" asked the prosecutor.

Shaking her head, Anna stood proud again. "I'm fine, I assure you. But could you repeat the question?"

He cleared his throat. "Did you see this happen?"

"As I said, Ernst raped Maria. Mathias never took anyone else in the camp. But his guards did. And there was nothing Mathias approved that Ernst didn't know about."

"Does this extend to things such as the death pits?"

"Absolutely. He approved everything that went on in the camp. There were always papers of approval on his desk. It all went through him."

"Do you remember any specifics of these papers?"

"Mainly the ones about human experimentation," she continued. "My sister, Elli, was kept in the medical bay at my behest. When I slept with Ernst, he gave her a safer position there as a gift."

She dared to glance at Ernst again. He looked ill, his mouth turned down at the corners.

"I was allowed to see the report that Doctor Grüber kept on my sister. She was being kept there as a healthy patient to track the other inmates against. They always experimented on other young children around Elli's age..."

"That was your idea!" shouted Ernst, everyone looking at him. "You wanted her kept there alive, so I found a way to do that!"

"Order!" called the judge.

Ernst fought against the guard that was trying to keep him in his seat. "Does that count for nothing?!" cried Ernst, Anna watching him as the judge ordered him back into his seat. He finally sat back down, his gaze now fixed solely on Anna.

The prosecutor took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Mrs Coleman, for your honesty. I know that must have been hard for you. Is there anything else you can tell us about the camp?"

"Not to my recollection," she replied.

"Is there anything else you can tell us about his character and conduct whilst at the camp?"

"Most definitely," she said, her voice hard and clear.

The prosecutor gestured for her to continue.

"Ernst Werner was two different men. He was the pragmatic and cold hearted Commandant of a Nazi Concentration camp, but also a strange and needy man who had been devoid of love for most of his life. He was a good father. He doted on his three children, and when he thought me to be carrying his child, tried his best to look after me as any lover might." She paused, making sure her eyeline met Ernst's. "But this was the same man who had raped my friend Maria on several occasions. He was the man who molested me many times against my will and the same man who threatened to hurt others in exchange for any intimate contact with me. He was also the man who beat me so badly that I lost my unborn child when I was six months pregnant.

"When I refused to reconcile with him, he attempted to assault me... he pinned me down on the bed we shared and tried to force himself on me. That was only two weeks after I had given birth to my still born daughter. It was also the night..." Anna paused. She had only ever told Keller about this when they were locked in his room together.

"Go on," urged the prosecutor.

"That was the night I tried to drown myself in the lake by the main house," she admitted, her voice growing evermore throaty. "I wanted to be away from him, so I went out in the middle of the night and walked into the lake. He came after me and pulled me out. I sometimes think, if he had really cared for me, he would have let me drown."

The courtroom fell deathly silent.

"Can I clarify that you attempted suicide as a direct result of your time with the defendant?" asked the prosecutor.

"That's correct," said Anna. Clenching her hand into a fist, she dared to look at Abe. He was horrified, his beautiful face drawn and seemingly gaunt. She should have told him. But how do you tell someone that? Hans had got to his feet, edging out of the stand past Abe. Encouragingly, Abe ignored him and gave her a small nod. She knew what he was telling her; 'you got this baby.' "So yes, Ernst," spat Anna, switching to German and addressing him directly as they stared at one another. "In the end, it counts for nothing." She stared at him until he could no longer withstand her gaze, looking down at his lap.

"Thank you, Mrs Coleman. I have no further questions," said the prosecutor.

Anna was shocked.

Was that it?

Was that what all of this had been building to?

She had said so little, the torment of her years there summarised in mere minutes. Perhaps she should be grateful that she had had to relive so little. Anna took one last look at Ernst; he wasn't looking back, his head now buried in his hands. Thankful that this was over, she stepped down from the stand.

Anna barely had any time to react as she stepped out of the courtroom, Hans' arms already around her the moment the doors shut behind her. She hugged him back for a moment, then looked around. She saw Maria smiling at her, standing beside Charles, who had her tucked under his arm.

"Where's Abe?" she asked, Hans heart clearly sinking as she drew away from him.

"I'm here, baby," he called, shoving Hans aside to get to her.

"Abe," she breathed, but allowed him to enclose her in his arms all the same. She really needed him in that moment.

"You did it baby," he whispered, kissing her all over her damp cheeks. "I'm so proud of you."

"You were very brave," said Hans quietly, trying not to react to Abe's scornful look.

Anna smiled a little at Hans, who returned it wholeheartedly. "Thank you," she replied. "And thank you for staying."

"I couldn't leave you," said Hans earnestly.

"Again, you mean," spat Abe.

Anna looked up at her husband. "Abe, please..."

Abe ignored her. "But you're all good now," continued Abe. "We'll be going home tomorrow. So we're done here."

"Clearly, there is more for Anna and I to discuss," snapped Hans, the two men now squaring up to each other.

"Gentlemen, please," said Maria sternly, now coming to Anna's side. She too, was ignored.

"How did you think this was gonna go?" asked Abe, his gaze hard and imposing. "You had to know we were gonna leave. What you gonna do? Become her little lapdog and follow her everywhere?"

"Abe, don't be so cruel!" implored Anna.

"You don't deal with jealousy very well, do you?" said Hans, his voice smooth and calm.

"Jealousy?" growled Abe.

"There is a clear divide between Anna's affection here... past and present. Trust me, our relationship runs deep, and will not be lightly cast aside."

"Hans, stop antagonising him!" snapped Anna.

"I'm simply speaking the truth," returned Hans.

Abe took a deep breath, looking at Anna. She beseeched him with her eyes, begging him to stop.

He sighed heavily. "Come on baby, you need to rest," Abe mumbled, Anna sighing in relief as she took his outstretched hand. "We'll deal with all of this later." He looked at Maria and Charles. "Would you like to come with us? Have a drink?"

Maria nodded, walking on Anna's other side and offering her arm in support. They began to walk away, Anna shooting Hans a look of warning not to say anything else. She squeezed Abe's hand in appreciation as the four of them walked away.

"Anna," called Hans, all of them turning around. "I'm not going to give up."

Before Anna could respond, Abe had dropped her hand and gone charging towards Hans.

"Abe!" Anna called, trying to go after him, but she stopped in her tracks. Her stomach cramped again, far more violently than the last time. She hissed through her teeth, doubled over in pain.

Neither man could see. Abe had reached Hans and shoved him for good measure. He was strong, nearly sending the usually sturdy Hans to the floor. "Stay the fuck away from my wife!"

Hans sized him up. "You'll have to kill me if you want me gone."

Maria and Charles were trying to help Anna, Maria's face filled with concern. "Anna, darling," she soothed, rubbing her back as Anna tried to stand up straight and failed.

"I need to lie down," managed Anna, her eyes focused downwards.

Then she saw... her skirt was wet.

Maria saw too. The two women looked at each other, Maria's mouth pressed into a thin line.

The baby was coming.

"Get Abe," she said, Maria gesturing to Charles to break up the ridiculous fight.

He darted over to them, just about getting between them as Hans made to shove Abe back."Enough!" shouted Charles, both of them staring at him. "Anna needs you!"

They both glanced over, Abe's face falling. "Anna," he breathed, dashing over to her with. "Baby, what's goin' on?"

"I think the baby is coming," she said.

Abe looked her over and sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of her skirt. "Let's get you to the hotel," he said, his attention now entirely refocused, as though moments ago, he wasn't ready to beat Hans half to death. He held her up and helped her walk to the door.

Hans followed them, his mind also fixated on Anna.

As they stepped out into the sun light, Abe looked around him frantically. "Don't y'all have any fucking taxis?" he said, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"The hotel isn't far Abe, we'll walk," said Anna.

Abe shot her a look. "But we gotta get you there quickly, baby, and you need a Doctor!"

"Maria and Charles can go on ahead," suggested Hans, both of them looking at him. "We can help Anna."

"See, that works?" agreed Anna, but Abe was scowling. "For goodness sake, Abe, now isn't the time."

All Abe could do was nod, clearly disinclined to agree. He relayed this to the other two, who nodded and made to leave.

But Anna stopped Maria. "Helga," she said. "Helga will want to know."

"I'll tell Helga," promised Maria, "Charles can run ahead to the hotel."

"Thank you."

Maria gave her an encouraging smile before she looked at the two men now holding her up. "Can you get her there without killing one another?"

"Of course," promised Abe, Hans nodding in agreement.

"Then let's get going," said Maria.

Charles ran ahead, Maria darting back into the courthouse. Tentatively, Anna placed her free hand in Hans', who took her arm firmly in both of his. Murmuring only words of encouragement, the three of them set off, now focused solely on getting Anna prepared to bring her child into the world.