Chapter 9 - The Final Trial
The criminal trial of State v. Victoria Sterling took place four months later in the city’s high court.
The courtroom was packed to maximum capacity. National media outlets had picked up the story of the "Hidden Heiress and the Evil In-Laws," making it the most watched trial of the year.
Victoria sat at the defense table, wearing an oversized grey prison jumpsuit, looking twenty years older than her age. Her hair was completely grey, her face lined with deep wrinkles, her hands constantly trembling.
Dominic sat in the second row of the gallery, wearing a cheap, borrowed suit. He looked broken, a ghost of the arrogant corporate executive he had once been.
I sat in the witness stand, wearing a simple navy wool dress, speaking clearly and precisely into the microphone as the prosecutor questioned me.
"Miss Vance," the prosecutor said, standing near the jury box. "Can you describe the events of the evening of October 14th?"
"I was walking toward the grand staircase," I testified, my voice steady, carrying softly through the silent courtroom. "Mrs. Sterling approached me from behind. She complained that I had not polished the silver trays correctly. When I turned to answer her, she leaned in and said, 'Maybe now you’ll remember your place.' Then she pushed me."
"Objection!" the defense attorney yelled. "Unsubstantiated testimony!"
"Overruled," the judge stated sternly. "The witness will continue."
The prosecutor turned to the clerk. "Your Honor, we submit into evidence Exhibit D: the recovered high-definition footage from the hallway security camera installed by Aegis Holdings forty-eight hours prior to the incident."
Victoria gasped, her head snapping toward her lawyer.
Dominic’s jaw dropped.
They hadn't known. When Aegis Holdings took over the maintenance of the estate, my security team had discreetly upgraded the property's security system, including a hidden camera embedded in the ceiling above the grand staircase.
The prosecutor pressed play on the large monitor facing the jury.
The video was crystal clear. It showed me walking toward the stairs. It showed Victoria following me. It showed her face—twisted with malice—as her hands pressed firmly into my upper back, sending me tumbling down eighteen solid marble steps.
It showed her walking to the top landing, looking down at my unconscious, bleeding body, and smiling before walking away.
Sobs broke out in the gallery. Two jurors covered their mouths in horror.
Dominic slowly turned his head to look at his mother. The last lingering shred of doubt in his mind was incinerated by the cold, undeniable video evidence.
He didn't see a protective mother defending her family. He saw a monster.
"The prosecution rests, Your Honor," the prosecutor said calmly.
The jury deliberated for less than forty-five minutes.
"On the count of attempted murder, we find the defendant guilty," the jury foreman announced. "On the count of aggravated assault resulting in the termination of a pregnancy, we find the defendant guilty."
The judge looked down at Victoria with absolute sternness.
"Victoria Sterling, your actions were driven by a terrifying level of cruelty, greed, and vanity. You destroyed a family, took an innocent life, and showed zero remorse until you were caught."
The judge struck his gavel hard. "I sentence you to twenty-eight years in the state penitentiary, without the possibility of parole for twenty years."
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Victoria screamed as the bailiffs grabbed her arms, dragging her out through the side door. "Dominic! Dominic, save me! Dominic!"
Dominic sat frozen in his seat. He didn't stand up. He didn't call out her name. He didn't move a single muscle as his mother was led away into the dark corridors of the justice system forever.
