Chapter 13 - The Trial Begins
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Six months flew by in a blur of late-night feedings, diaper changes, and the beautiful chaos of raising a newborn alongside an energetic first-grader.
But the shadow of Gabriel Linwood still loomed on the horizon.
The criminal trial finally began in late October. The media had caught wind of the sensational story—the wealthy software CEO who tried to poison his pregnant wife and steal his daughter’s trust fund to run away with his mistress. The courthouse was swarmed with reporters and camera crews.
Clara walked into the courthouse wearing a sharp, tailored navy blue suit, her head held high. She was no longer the victim; she was the prosecution’s star witness.
Gabriel sat at the defense table, wearing a cheap, ill-fitting suit provided by the county. He looked haggard, his hair thinning, his arrogant demeanor completely crushed by six months in a maximum-security county jail. When Clara walked into the room, he couldn't even bring himself to look at her.
The prosecution laid out a devastating, methodical case.
They presented the bank records showing the systematic draining of Violet’s trust fund. They brought in forensic accountants who traced every stolen dollar directly to Samantha Drake’s luxury purchases. They brought in Dr. Aris, who testified extensively about the lethal combination of drugs found in Clara’s system and the catastrophic effect they would have had on her pregnancy.
But Gabriel’s new defense attorney, a sleazy, aggressive lawyer named Marcus Thorne, had a strategy.
Thorne couldn't beat the financial evidence, so he decided to attack the core of the attempted murder charge: the audio recording.
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“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” Thorne argued smoothly during his opening statement. “The prosecution’s entire murder case rests on a single, grainy audio recording allegedly made by a highly suggestible six-year-old child. A child who was actively coached by a bitter, vindictive wife seeking to destroy my client’s life and steal his business.”
Clara squeezed Eleanor’s hand under the table, her blood boiling. Thorne was going to try and put Violet on trial.
