Lizzette Martinez - Jane Doe #9: A Surviving R. Kelly Victim Speaks Out

JANE DOE #9 published by:

WILDBLUE PRESS

P.O. Box 102440

Denver, Colorado 80250

Publisher Disclaimer: Any opinions, statements of fact or fiction, descriptions, dialogue, and citations found in this book were provided by the author, and are solely those of the author. The publisher makes no claim as to their veracity or accuracy, and assumes no liability for the content.

Copyright 2021 by Lizzette Martinez and Keelin MacGregor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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ISBN 978-1-957288-42-0 Trade Paperback

ISBN 978-1-957288-43-7 Hardcover

ISBN 978-1-952225-85-7 eBook

Cover design 2021 WildBlue Press. All rights reserved.

Interior Formatting/Cover Design by Elijah Toten

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INTRO

Im waiting. Waiting every day on pins and needleswatching the news, looking up articles, updating the same sites in my laptop browser over and over, and contacting my lawyer in hopes she has insight unavailable to the general public. Waiting for justice.

I didnt know for sure if I would be listed in the indictment as a potential witness. They asked me to be a witnessthe FBI didbut you never know. Still, I stand with all the survivors, whether were put on the stand or not. Whether weve been able to publicly come out or not. Every time I see these ladies on the stand, I pray. Hard. The day Jerhonda took the stand, I bit off all my nails and pulled out some of my hair. I was so nervous for her. Im watching my sisters as theyre labeled groupies or super fans for testifying about things that happened years ago. Still? Even now, in new relationships, with new lives, trying to move on from their pain, there are people still trying to dumb it down into something so ridiculously simple?

The bullying has only gotten worse, and depression in this waiting period hit me so hard I couldnt get out of bed. I hear holes in certain accounts; stories Ive heard firsthand. Stories protecting him. I want to throw up.

Nothing I do right now leads to anything more than waiting. Im on the list, but who knows if Ill go testify. In the meantime, I cant sleep. My anxiety, depression, and insomnia keep getting worse. I feel exhausted, emotionally drained, and physically depleted. Sounds like the last twenty years or so repeating itself.

Im ready to get on that stand if I need to, though, because there should never be the opportunity for another woman to be hurt by this man. Robert Kelly.

I am Jane Doe #9.

PROLOGUE

Where is Robert ?

Cmon, Lizzette, you know he could be anywhere. Probably at the studio. Oblivious to the world.

When none of my calls to Robert went through, I had dialed Demetrius again. To my surprise, he finally answered, but hes not giving me anything.

Where is he? I repeat.

I dont know, Hon. Hes not answering the phone for me either.

Bullshit. Where are you?

Lizzette, I already said, I dont know where he is!

I hate you. Both of you.

Its taking every ounce of effort to not smash the phone against the wall. Ive become one more scattered piece of Robs life to be put away in a box of a hotel room for safekeeping while he does whatever he wants without consequences.

The food I ordered to the room earlier is sitting on the floor congealing and hardening in the open air. I had only managed a few bites before the nausea and pain kicked in, forcing me to stop and set the fork aside for good. These cramps just keep getting worse. As a more insistent pang bites into my abdomen, I curl up around the phone on the floor.

Demetrius, Im coming to you, I mutter through clenched teeth.

What? Hes not with me. Hes in his own thing right now, dealing with stuff his way. Please, Lizzette, you got to understand.

I have to understand what? I shout, throwing the Nokia cell phone across the room. Its Robs anyway. He paid for it, continues to pay for it, and uses it to check up on everything I do and who I talk to. Well, nows your chance to check up on me. Any minute now would be fantastic. I roll to my knees, push up off the floor with trembling arms, and stagger to the large windows facing out toward the Chicago city streets.

Staring out the thick glass windowpane of the hotel, I imagine what it would be like to fall through, to step into the air away from heartache, disappear from all this trouble. Would my soul drift up into the sky so I could look down one more time on the lights reflecting off Lake Michigan?

What about your unborn baby?

Hot tears crowd my eyes as I press my hands against the chilled glass, almost wishing it would give in and let me go. I start pacing around the small suite to distract my mind. Theres plenty of room to move around. Rob can afford all this, provide all this, but hes not here now, when its so important.

Warmth spreads along my leg and I glance down at jeans blotched wet and dark. Shit. Where is he? Dropping to the floor, Im hunting for the previously thrown Nokia when the room phone interrupts my search. Scrambling, I pull it down beside me as the cramps double me over again. Knees buckled under, my forehead rests against soft carpet.

Rob?!

Hello, this is the front desk calling. We have a message for R. Kelly.

Wait, hes not even here. You dont mean a message from R. Kelly?

No, sorr

Second flying phone of the night. Christ. I call my best friend Michella on the block of a cell phone I finally located. Peeling off the damp pants, I drag myself to the shower to rinse off the blood. Red swirls down the drain in a sickening spiral.

Go back to the hospital! Michellas voice is frantic and loud in my ear. Now! Lizzette, you have to listen to me.

Hes not here cant take me My head is heavy. Hard to hold up. Nobody is here. Not allowed to leave on my own. Is is against the rules. My best friend is cursing up a storm, but its a distant drone. Everything is running together. Words and surroundings drip over each other like fresh paint in the rain. I cant pick anything apart. No idea what shes saying. Cant remember what I was doing.

Another spike of pain pulls my knees tight to my chest, phone forgotten on the cold tiles. How many days has he been gone? I cant remember. The doctor said cramps were normal. This should be normal then. No need to worry. It seems like a lot of blood for normal. But he said, the doctor said the baby would be fine, even with the unusual cramping, that I just needed rest. See, Lizzette? Just rest. It will help. Thats what I whisper to myself as my vision turns fuzzy and black creeps at the edges. Rest. Normal... I slip into darkness.

CHAPTER 1

I wish Id kept that slip of paper. It was his signature move, sending his bodyguard with a note and number to the young women he had eyes on. Like sending a note to your crush in sixth grade asking, Do you like me? Check yes or no. Except Robs came with a catchhe could help me start a music career. When youre seventeen and dreaming of being a professional singer performing for packed crowds, an opportunity like this feels like a gift that just fell out of the sky. That whole gift part seems pretty ironic now.

If you think I told my story for money hahahahahahahaha . Check yourself and start listenin up. So far, opening up about my past has only brought me pain, broken relationships, and mistrust in the human race. Ive lost jobs and friends, been threatened more times than I can count, called every name in the book, questioned my worth as a human being, came close to giving up on everything altogether, and found I can still stand. Judge away if you like. Everything was taken away and Im still here.