Chapter 15 - Violet Testifies
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The tension in the courtroom the next morning was suffocating.
Violet walked down the center aisle, holding Clara’s hand until they reached the wooden gate. The bailiff gently escorted the tiny girl to the witness stand. She looked incredibly small sitting in the large, leather chair, but she clutched her stuffed rabbit tightly and sat perfectly straight.
Gabriel stared at his daughter, his face a mask of desperate, pleading panic.
The prosecutor went first, gently walking Violet through the events of that evening. Violet answered clearly, explaining how she hid, how she turned on Mr. Bun-Bun, and exactly what she heard her father say.
Then, it was Marcus Thorne’s turn.
Thorne approached the stand with a predatory, condescending smile.
“Hello, Violet,” Thorne said smoothly. “You really love Clara, don't you?”
“Yes,” Violet answered firmly.
“And Clara was very mad at your daddy, wasn't she? Because your daddy was spending time with Samantha?”
“Objection, leading the witness,” the prosecutor snapped.
“I’ll rephrase,” Thorne smiled. “Violet, didn't Clara tell you to press the button on the rabbit? Didn't she tell you to say Daddy was putting bad things in her tea so she could take all his money?”
Violet frowned, looking at the lawyer as if he were incredibly stupid.
“No,” Violet said clearly into the microphone. “Mama Clara didn't know about the rabbit. I did it because Daddy is a bad man.”
Thorne’s smile faltered. He stepped closer, raising his voice to intimidate her. “You’re confused, Violet. You didn't hear him talking about poison. You just heard him talking about vitamins, right? Clara told you to say poison.”
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Violet didn't cry. She didn't shrink back. She leaned forward in the heavy wooden chair, glaring directly at Marcus Thorne with a terrifying, absolute certainty.
“Daddy said he was giving her medicine to make the baby die,” Violet stated, her voice ringing crystal clear across the silent courtroom. “He said he was going to send me away to Switzerland so he wouldn't have to look at me anymore. I heard him. I am not confused, and I am not a liar.”
