Chapter 5 - The Trial of Iron and BoneThe courtroom was packed to maximum capacity. The media presence was suffocating, but I barely noticed them. My eyes were fixed on the defense table.
Liam sat there in a bright orange county jumpsuit, shackled at the waist and wrists. He looked malnourished, his hair thinning, the arrogant glow of wealth completely stripped from his skin. Beside him sat Eleanor, wearing a drab gray suit, looking a decade older and broken.
I took the witness stand. I wore a stunning white dress, my heavily pregnant belly resting proudly before me. I didn't use my cane to walk to the stand; I limped slightly, but I walked under my own power.
The prosecutor led me through the events of that horrific night. I spoke clearly, without shedding a single tear. I didn't give them the satisfaction of my grief. I gave them only cold, hard truth.
Then, the prosecutor played the video on the massive screens in the courtroom.
The sound of the hammer hitting my foot echoed off the mahogany walls. The jury physically recoiled. Two jurors began to cry. Even the judge looked at Liam with a gaze of pure, unfiltered disgust.
When it was the defense attorney's turn to cross-examine me, he stood up, looked at the furious jury, looked at me, and then slowly sat back down.
"No questions, Your Honor," he mumbled. There was no defense against the truth.
Before closing arguments, Liam suddenly stood up, ignoring his lawyer’s frantic whispers.
"Clara, please!" Liam begged, his voice echoing in the silent courtroom. "I'm sorry! I was stressed, I lost my temper! I love you! I love our baby! Don't take my life away from me!"
I looked down at him from the witness stand. The man who had once terrified me now looked like nothing more than a pathetic, squirming insect.
"You didn't lose your temper, Liam," I said into the microphone, my voice echoing with finality. "You lost your victim. And I am never coming back."
The jury deliberated for less than forty-five minutes.
The foreperson stood. "We find the defendant, Liam Vance, guilty on all counts of aggravated torture, domestic battery, and attempted grievous bodily harm. We find the co-defendant, Eleanor Vance, guilty of accessory to torture and attempted kidnapping."
The gavel fell. Liam collapsed into his chair, sobbing uncontrollably. Eleanor screamed as the bailiffs dragged her away.
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I stood up from the witness stand, walked down the aisle, and walked out the heavy oak doors of the courtroom into the bright, warm sunlight.
It was over. I had won.
