Chapter 5 - The Bail Hearing
The courtroom of Judge Jonathan Miller was packed to absolute capacity.
Dozens of journalists were crammed into the gallery benches, their cameras flashing through the glass panels of the double entrance doors. At the defense table, Ethan Vance sat in an expensive gray suit—provided by his legal team to make him look respectable—his hands resting on the wooden table. Beside him sat Arthur Pendelton, a tall, silvery-haired lawyer with a legendary reputation for getting high-profile criminals off on legal technicalities.
Across the aisle, Prosecutor David Chen sat quietly, organizing his papers.
"Your Honor," Pendelton began, standing up and buttoning his pristine jacket, his voice echoing smoothly across the courtroom. "My client, Mr. Ethan Vance, is a respected businessman with deep roots in this community. The allegations leveled against him are based entirely on a single, illegally obtained video clip provided by a disgruntled former police officer with a personal vendetta against his family."
Pendelton turned slightly, casting a dramatic look toward the gallery. "There is no physical evidence tying Mr. Vance to the substance found on that cake. The catering kitchen was an open environment accessed by dozen of staff members. Without the testimony of the lead culinary staff, this entire case rests on speculation and media hysteria. We request that bail be set at a reasonable amount so my client can prepare his defense from home."
Judge Miller leaned forward, scanning his documents. "Mr. Chen, does the prosecution have any updates regarding the location of the venue’s head chef, Pierre Laurent?"
Prosecutor Chen stood up. "Your Honor, up until twenty minutes ago, we believed Mr. Laurent had fled the jurisdiction. However..."
The heavy oak doors at the back of the courtroom burst open.
The entire courtroom turned.
Sophia Sterling walked through the entrance, dressed in a sharp black pant suit, her head held high, her expression unreadable. Behind her walked Emma Miller, alongside two armed state troopers escorting a handcuffed, trembling Pierre Laurent.
A storm of gasps and camera shutters erupted from the gallery.
Ethan’s head snapped around, his eyes widening in pure horror as he saw Pierre being led down the aisle. Beside him, Pendelton’s smooth demeanor cracked, his pen slipping from his fingers onto the legal pad.
"Your Honor," Prosecutor Chen continued, a victorious smile appearing on his face. "The prosecution would like to enter new physical evidence into the record. We have in our custody Mr. Pierre Laurent, who was apprehended ninety minutes ago while attempting to flee the country using funds provided directly by the defendant's family."
Chen handed a tablet to the bailiff, who brought it up to the judge's bench. "We have provided the court with encrypted text messages, bank transfer confirmations from the Vance family’s Panamanian accounts, and a signed, sworn confession from Mr. Laurent stating that Ethan Vance paid him fifty thousand dollars to clear the catering kitchen so the poison could be introduced into the bride's cake."
Judge Miller reviewed the tablet, his face turning increasingly dark with every passing second. He looked up over his glasses, his eyes burning with absolute disgust as he stared down at Ethan Vance.
"Mr. Pendelton," Judge Miller said, his voice dropping into a terrifyingly quiet register. "Do you still maintain that your client is not a flight risk and that the evidence is purely speculative?"
Pendelton opened his mouth, looked at the tablet, looked at Pierre sitting in the witness row, and slowly sat back down in his chair without uttering a single word.
"The application for bail is DENIED," Judge Miller slammed his gavel down with a sharp, violent strike. "The defendant will remain in state custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Facility pending trial. In light of the new evidence regarding witness tampering and financial bribery, I am also issuing an immediate arrest warrant for Victor Vance as a co-conspirator to attempted grand murder."
Ethan’s composure completely collapsed. He stood up frantically, knocking his chair backward. "No! You can't do this! Sophia! Sophia, look at me!" he screamed across the courtroom aisle as officers grabbed his arms, forcing him toward the holding cell door. "Sophia, I loved you! They forced me to do it! My father forced me! Sophia!"
Sophia didn't blink. She stood motionless in the aisle, watching her former fiancé kick and scream like a child as he was dragged through the iron doors into the dark corridor beyond.
When the courtroom began to clear, Emma walked up to Sophia, standing beside her.
"One down," Emma said softly. "One to go."
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Sophia turned to look at her. "Victor Vance isn't going to go down quietly, Emma. He has private security, offshore assets, and connections in the federal government."
"Good," Emma said, a cold fire burning in her dark eyes. "That just means it's going to be more fun to break him."
