Chapter 24 - The Matriarch's Trial
Six weeks later, the criminal trial of Doña Carmen commenced in the state court.
Valeria attended the sentencing hearing in person, flanked by her mother and a phalanx of silent, heavily armed bodyguards. She wore a tailored black suit, her posture immaculate, radiating an intimidating, quiet power.
When Carmen was led into the courtroom by two armed bailiffs, she was completely unrecognizable.
The arrogant, perfectly manicured woman who had bragged about imported crystal and fake designer bags was entirely gone. Carmen wore a shapeless, faded beige prison uniform. Her dyed blonde hair had grown out, revealing stark, gray roots. Her face was pale, lined with deep, exhausted wrinkles, and her eyes darted around the room with raw, humiliating panic.
She looked exactly like what she truly was: a miserable, broken woman.
When Carmen saw Valeria sitting in the front row, wrapped in wealth and untouchable power, a sob tore from the older woman's throat.
"Valeria, please! Have mercy!"
Carmen wailed, struggling against the bailiff's grip as they forced her into the defendant's chair.
"I am an old woman! I didn't mean to hurt the baby!"
Valeria did not blink. She simply stared at Carmen with a gaze so entirely devoid of empathy that it silenced the weeping woman instantly.
The judge banged his gavel, demanding order in the court.
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"The defendant is a proven danger to society, having committed aggravated assault against a pregnant woman, alongside numerous counts of severe financial fraud,"
The prosecutor announced to the silent room.
