Chapter 16 - The Trial of Shadow
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Three months passed.
The autumn air turned bitter cold, and the trial of State v. Evan Vance-Miller began in the county superior courthouse.
The courtroom was packed with reporters, local citizens, and curious onlookers. The story of the "Wedding Night Wire Fraud" had made national news headlines.
I sat in the front row of the gallery, wearing a tailored black suit. Next to me sat Uncle David, holding my hand tightly.
Evan sat at the defense table, wearing an orange jumpsuit and heavy ankle shackles. His hair was shaved short, his designer polish completely erased.
His high-priced defense attorney tried to argue that Evan had verbal permission from me to manage the trust, claiming that the whole incident was a "domestic property dispute between newly married spouses."
Then the prosecutor called their surprise witness to the stand.
Peter stepped up to the witness box, wearing a grey suit provided by his public defender. He looked pale, but his voice was steady.
"Mr. Mercer," the prosecutor asked. "Did the defendant, Evan Vance-Miller, instruct you to steal the safe keys from your sister's purse on the morning of the wedding?"
Peter looked across the courtroom at Evan. Evan glared back, his eyes full of silent threats.
"Yes," Peter testified clearly into the microphone. "Evan told me that if I didn't get the keys, he would tell the Chicago lenders that I was the one who authorized the loan. He blackmailed me into helping him forge Mark’s signature."
A wave of murmurs rippled through the gallery.
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The defense attorney tried to cross-examine Peter, but the evidence was overwhelming: the bank app logs, the pink carbon paper, the fingerprints on the safe, and the recorded jailhouse text message Evan had sent to my phone.
The jury deliberated for less than two hours.
