Chapter 16 - Vanessa Tells Her Own Story
Vanessa testified against her attorneys’ advice.
She entered the witness box wearing a black suit similar to the one from the gala.
She described herself as a philanthropist.
A businesswoman.
A woman forced to manage families that refused difficult decisions.
She said Eleanor’s decline was real.
She said the island patients required privacy.
She said Hale misunderstood security instructions.
She said Dr. Vale prescribed medication independently.
Every person who committed a crime had somehow acted alone while benefiting her.
The defense asked about the raised hand.
“I was reaching for Eleanor’s shawl.”
“The maid attacked me.”
The prosecutor played the footage frame by frame.
Vanessa’s palm was open.
Her arm swung backward before moving forward.
“Is that how you adjust a shawl?”
“I was angry.”
“Why?”
“She insulted me.”
“Did you intend to strike her?”
“No.”
“Then why did you tell investigators she deserved discipline?”
Vanessa looked toward the jury.
“I spoke emotionally.”
The prosecutor moved to the tracking files.
“Why maintain medical leverage on employees?”
“It was risk management.”
“Why record guest bedrooms?”
“Security.”
“Why fabricate footage of Emma administering medication?”
“I did not.”
“The editing software was registered to your foundation office.”
“Someone used it.”
“Why were dead people alive on your island?”
“They were not legally dead when admitted.”
“They were declared dead afterward.”
“By lawyers your foundation paid.”
“I cannot control every contractor.”
The prosecutor placed Eleanor’s guardianship petition beside the palace trust.
“You stood to gain control of billions.”
“I stood to stabilize assets.”
“You stood to inherit through marriage.”
“I loved Alexander.”
“Did you love his mother?”
Vanessa’s face hardened.
“She tried to destroy us.”
The prosecutor leaned closer.
“She tried to give away a palace.”
“That palace was her property.”
“It belonged to the family.”
There it was.
The belief beneath every act.
Property did not belong to the legal owner.
Bodies did not belong to patients.
Choices did not belong to employees.
Everything belonged to the structure Vanessa called family.
The prosecutor asked about Margaret Hale.
“Why keep her on the island?”
“She was unstable.”
“Why tell Owen she was dead?”
“To protect him.”
“From what?”
“From her.”
Margaret Hale made a sound in the gallery.
Vanessa turned.
For the first time, she saw the woman she had erased sitting in open court.
The prosecutor lowered her voice.
“You did not protect Owen from his mother.”
“You protected yourself from what she knew.”
May you like
Vanessa did not answer.
“No further questions.”
