Chapter 17 - The Trial Begins
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The prosecutor, a sharp woman with steady eyes, gently guided me through my testimony.
"Mrs. Armitage," she asked, "in your own words, please tell the court what happened on the morning of July 30th."
I took a deep breath, letting the steady rhythm of the courtroom anchor my nerves. I spoke clearly, describing the prenatal vitamins Julian had left for me, the quiet morning light, Evelyn’s sudden venomous shift in tone, and the twelve steps that led to the edge of an abyss.
"She didn't lose her temper," I told the jury, looking directly into their eyes. "She didn't stumble. She placed both hands firmly against my back and shoved me with deliberate intent. And as I lay bleeding on the floor, unable to move, she leaned down and whispered that I needed to lose my child to preserve her family's status."
Defense attorneys cross-examined me aggressively, suggesting exhaustion, prenatal dizziness, and misinterpreted motives. But their arguments disintegrated the moment the video played again on the big screen. The cold, mechanical eye of the camera showed the undeniable truth: Evelyn’s hands pushing me forward.
When Evelyn herself took the stand against her lawyers' advice, she delivered a final, damning portrait of her own soul.
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"I was protecting my legacy," she testified with chilling arrogance, her chin raised high. "My son was being manipulated by an outsider who understood nothing of bloodlines and duty. That child was an inferior branch on a proud tree."
A collective murmur of disgust rippled through the gallery. In the front row, Julian bowed his head, his shoulders shaking once before he quietly stood up and walked out of the courtroom, unable to stomach another second of the woman who had birthed him.
