Chapter 73 - Grant Holloway Put My Marriage on Trial
Holloway’s criminal trial began six months later.
Julian was ninety-three.
I was eighty-nine.
We both hated those numbers.
The government’s case was enormous.
Too enormous.
That worried prosecutors.
Juries understood stories better than spreadsheets.
Holloway’s defense understood that too.
So they created a simple story.
The Sterlings wanted revenge.
Vanguard hated CivicAxis.
Meredith Grace manipulated Phoenix.
Federal investigators protected our family.
Every prosecution witness became part of a billionaire conspiracy.
Then Holloway’s attorney called me.
Not as a prosecution witness.
Defense.
The courtroom murmured.
His strategy was obvious.
Attack motive.
I took the oath.
“Mrs. Sterling, your husband fired Grant Holloway decades ago?”
“Yes.”
“You testified against a business model similar to one Mr. Holloway later pursued?”
“Yes.”
“Your granddaughter became executive director of a trust whose projects competed with his company?”
“Sometimes.”
“Your daughter allowed an undercover investigator into her organization?”
“He wasn't an investigator. He was a criminal.”
“Allegedly.”
“He pleaded guilty.”
The judge told me to answer only questions.
Julian looked delighted.
The lawyer continued.
“After Phoenix discovered irregularities, your family coordinated privately?”
“We spoke to each other.”
“Daily?”
“Usually.”
“About the investigation?”
“When legally appropriate.”
“Did your husband suggest purchasing CivicAxis?”
Julian stopped smiling.
I answered.
“Yes.”
The courtroom erupted.
The attorney turned toward the jury.
“Interesting.”
“No.”
He looked back.
“Excuse me?”
“It is not interesting.”
The judge sighed.
I continued.
“My husband suggests buying things whenever he is irritated.”
Laughter.
“Mrs. Sterling—”
“At various times he has suggested buying a newspaper, a hotel, a marina, two airlines, a television network, and once an entire vineyard because the owner served him warm white wine.”
Julian whispered something to Eleanor.
Probably defending the vineyard.
The attorney recovered.
“But he did consider acquiring CivicAxis.”
“Yes.”
“Which would benefit your family.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because my granddaughter told him no.”
“Your family could have gained control.”
“We already had more money than any reasonable family should possess.”
Some jurors smiled.
The lawyer changed direction.
“Isn't it true your marriage became famous because Mr. Sterling used his wealth against your father?”
The fountain.
Always the fountain.
“Yes.”
“He called your father’s debt.”
“Yes.”
“Seized his law firm.”
“Yes.”
“Your family has a history of using financial power against enemies.”
The room became quiet.
That question mattered.
I looked at Holloway.
Then at the jury.
“My husband used power aggressively when we were younger.”
“Thank you.”
“I wasn't finished.”
The judge allowed me.
“And sometimes I approved because the people targeted had harmed us.”
Holloway’s attorney looked surprised.
He expected denial.
“Do you regret it?”
“Some of it.”
Julian stared at me.
We had discussed this privately.
Never publicly.
“What changed?”
“Age. Experience. Consequences.”
“And now?”
“Now I believe institutions should survive without requiring one rich man to punish another.”
The attorney frowned.
“That sounds convenient.”
“It was inconvenient enough that we refused to buy your client’s company when doing so might have solved our problem faster.”
The jury noticed.
He moved on.
Then he made his mistake.
“You expect this jury to believe your family has changed?”
I smiled.
“No.”
He blinked.
“No?”
“I expect them to evaluate evidence.”
Silence.
“That is the entire point.”
The prosecutor did not need to rehabilitate me.
The defense had done it accidentally.
Outside court, reporters shouted about my admission that Julian and I regretted some past actions.
Social media exploded.
Half praised honesty.
Half called us hypocrites.
Both were probably correct.
At home, Julian sat beside me.
“You regret seizing Campbell & Associates?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Some things remain satisfying.”
He laughed.
Then became serious.
“I do regret enjoying Robert’s fear.”
I looked at him.
“So do I.”
We sat quietly.
Our marriage had survived enemies.
Children.
Grandchildren.
Courts.
Death.
Age.
But perhaps its strangest achievement was surviving the truth.
Not the flattering truth.
The whole one.
“We were angry,” he said.
“Yes.”
“He deserved consequences.”
“Yes.”
“But we liked the power.”
“Yes.”
Julian took my hand.
“At least we got older.”
“Alternative was worse.”
He smiled.
The next morning, Voss testified.
And unlike me, he had recordings.
Grant Holloway’s voice filled the courtroom.
Destroy the archive.
Price needs five.
Use Sterling family cohesion against them.
Then the final recording.
Once Phoenix collapses, communities won't care who owns the system. They’ll care who turns the lights back on.
The jury stared at Holloway.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
May you like
Not because we had attacked him.
Because his own words had finally removed every place left to hide.
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