Chapter 31 - The Trial Commences
A year after the horrific night on the industrial road, the wheels of justice finally arrived at the courthouse.
The trial of Teresa Sterling was the most highly publicized legal event of the decade. The courtroom was packed wall-to-wall with journalists, legal analysts, and members of high society who had come to watch the spectacular downfall of the once-untouchable matriarch.
Teresa sat at the defense table. She looked haggard and pale, her arrogance replaced by a desperate, twitching nervous energy. She had been assigned a public defender, just as Daniel had promised.
Valeria sat in the front row of the gallery, wearing a sharp, elegant navy suit. She looked radiant, powerful, and completely unbothered by the presence of the woman who had tried to murder her.
The defense attorney stood up to deliver his opening statement.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,"
The public defender began weakly.
May you like
"This case is built on circumstantial evidence and panic in a storm. My client merely lost control of her vehicle due to hydroplaning. There was no premeditated intent to harm her daughter-in-law."
Valeria did not flinch. She simply watched the pathetic display with cold, clinical detachment. The defense was grasping at straws, entirely unaware of the lethal weapon the prosecution was about to unleash.
