Chapter 12 - THE TRIAL BEGINSThe trial began seven months after the wedding.
By then, the cut near Sophie’s ear had faded into a thin pale line.
The nightmares came less often.
But every time she saw a wooden menu outside a restaurant, her hand moved toward the scar.
Preston entered the courtroom wearing a navy suit.
His attorneys had changed his appearance.
His hair was shorter.
His expression was carefully humble.
He looked like a man attending a funeral.
Perhaps he was.
The life he believed untouchable had already ended.
My father sat behind him.
His own criminal case would follow.
My mother sat on the opposite side of the courtroom under the terms of her plea agreement.
She did not look at either of her children.
The prosecutor opened with the CCTV footage.
The jury watched Preston remove the phone from his jacket.
They watched him place it in Sophie’s pocket.
They watched him wait.
Then they watched him perform outrage for the room.
The prosecutor paused the recording on Preston’s smile.
“This was not a misunderstanding,” she said.
“It was a plan.”
The video resumed.
When the board struck Sophie, one juror covered her mouth.
I stared straight ahead.
I had watched the footage dozens of times with prosecutors.
It never became easier.
Daniel Cho testified next.
He repeated Preston’s comment that Sophie would be crying before dessert.
The violinist played her phone recording.
Preston’s voice filled the courtroom.
That’s what happens when you raise a thief.
Kyle Mercer testified under his plea agreement.
He described my father’s envelope.
He described deleting the local files.
He described believing the remote archive had been disconnected.
Cassandra took the stand on the fourth day.
Preston stared at her throughout the testimony.
She described the plan.
She described the messages.
She described the bruise he gave her when she threatened to leave.
The defense attempted to portray her as a rejected bride seeking revenge.
Then the prosecutor displayed Preston’s message on the courtroom screen.
Evelyn will sign once she understands what happens to her little thief.
The courtroom became silent.
My mother testified after Cassandra.
Her voice shook as she admitted knowing Preston planned to accuse Sophie.
She claimed she had not believed he would use violence.
The prosecutor asked why she removed the jacket.
“To protect my son.”
“From what?”
“The consequences.”
“Did you consider protecting your granddaughter?”
My mother looked toward Sophie’s empty seat.
The judge had allowed her to wait in a separate room until her testimony.
“No,” my mother whispered.
It was the first completely truthful answer I had heard from her.
When my turn came, Preston finally looked away.
I described the accusation.
I described his smile.
I described stepping between him and my daughter.
I described the board coming down.
The defense attorney asked whether I resented Preston because of the company sale.
“I opposed the sale.”
“That was not my question.”
“No.”
I looked at my brother.
“I resented the protection that taught him other people’s lives were less valuable than his comfort.”
The attorney asked whether I wanted Preston imprisoned.
“I want the court to protect the people he believes he is allowed to hurt.”
Then Sophie entered the courtroom.
She wore a blue dress and held Detective Ortiz’s silver badge sticker inside a clear plastic sleeve.
The judge allowed her to testify through a child-friendly video link from an adjoining room.
Her face appeared on the monitor.
The prosecutor asked what happened at the wedding.
Sophie told the truth.
She did not exaggerate.
She did not perform.
She explained the cake.
The jacket.
The phone.
The board.
Then the defense attorney asked whether she might have forgotten touching Preston’s phone.
Sophie shook her head.
“I remember because he called me a thief.”
“Sometimes memories change when adults ask the same questions.”
“My mommy only asked me to tell the truth.”
“Were you angry with your uncle?”
“I was scared.”
“Are you still scared?”
Sophie looked through the camera.
“No.”
The attorney paused.
May you like
“Why not?”
“Because now everyone can see what he did.”
