Chapter 23 - The Trial Begins
Victor Vance entered federal court in March wearing a gray suit and handcuffs.
He looked nothing like the monster who had stormed Whitmore Thermal.
That was deliberate.
His lawyers wanted the jury to see a businessman.
Not a predator.
Eleanor sat behind prosecutors.
Rafe sat beside her.
Victor turned.
Their eyes met.
He smiled.
Rafe's hand tightened.
Eleanor covered it with hers.
"Don't."
"I didn't do anything."
"Your face did."
"My face has limited settings."
Despite herself, Eleanor smiled.
Then court began.
The prosecution presented shipping records.
Financial transfers.
Survivor testimony.
Weapons.
Rail manifests.
Victor's recorded confession at Lake Lure.
His defense attacked everything.
They suggested Marcus had fabricated evidence because Victor was his estranged brother.
They portrayed Rafe as a criminal rival manipulating federal investigators.
Then they attacked Eleanor.
Her marriage contract.
Her sudden corporate control.
Her inheritance.
By the time she took the stand, headlines were already calling her THE BILLIONAIRE'S BOUGHT BRIDE.
Victor's attorney approached.
"Mrs. Calder, your husband paid millions in connection with your marriage, correct?"
"Yes."
"So you were purchased."
"No."
"Money changed hands."
"It funded employee payroll and rescued a company."
"And in exchange?"
"I married Rafe Calder."
The lawyer smiled.
"So yes."
Eleanor looked directly at the jury.
"My stepmother tried to treat me like property."
She turned back.
"That doesn't mean I agreed with her definition."
The lawyer's smile faded.
He tried another angle.
"Your husband is known for violence."
"I've heard rumors."
"You've seen him threaten people."
"Yes."
"Attack people?"
"People shooting at us?"
A juror hid a smile.
The lawyer frowned.
"You personally manipulated industrial equipment during an armed confrontation."
"To protect eighty-seven employees."
"You released dangerous steam."
"At a regulated safety temperature."
"You could have killed my client's men."
"No."
"How can you be certain?"
Eleanor's technical mind took over.
She explained temperature limits.
Pressure values.
Valve timing.
Distance.
Every detail.
By the time she finished, the lawyer looked annoyed.
"You expect this jury to believe you calculated all of that while armed men were shooting?"
"I've maintained that system since I was twenty-two."
"So yes?"
"Yes."
Victor stopped smiling.
Then the prosecutor asked Eleanor about Arthur.
About the recording.
About the altered car.
About Celeste.
Eleanor's voice nearly broke once.
Only once.
She found Rafe in the courtroom.
He wasn't trying to rescue her.
He was simply there.
She continued.
When she stepped down, Victor whispered as she passed.
"You think this ends with me?"
Eleanor stopped.
The marshal moved closer.
Victor smiled.
"There will always be men like me."
Eleanor leaned slightly toward him.
"Then there will always need to be women like me."
His smile vanished.
Three days later, the jury returned.
Guilty.
On every major count.
Victor received life imprisonment without parole on the murder and trafficking conspiracy charges, with additional federal sentences attached.
Outside the courthouse, reporters shouted questions.
Eleanor ignored them.
Rafe guided her toward the SUV.
Halfway there, she stopped.
She looked up at the spring sky.
"It's over."
Rafe studied her.
"The trial is."
"You think something else is coming?"
"With us?"
He smiled.
"Always."
She wrapped her arms around him.
Cameras flashed.
For once, Eleanor didn't care.
Let them photograph her.
May you like
Let the world see.
She wasn't hiding anymore.
