Chapter 13 - The Trial Begins
Six months later, the media circus surrounding the trial of State v. Mark Davis reached a fever pitch. The courthouse was swarmed with reporters. Mark's high-priced attorney, Richard Vance, had tried every trick in the book to suppress our evidence, but the judge allowed it all.
I sat in the front row of the gallery, holding Sarah’s hand. She looked completely transformed. She had gained her weight back, her color was healthy, and she wore a sharp, tailored navy suit. She was no longer the terrified victim chained in a basement; she was a survivor ready to end her abuser.
The DA delivered a blistering opening statement, laying out the timeline of Mark's embezzlement, his desperate need for Sarah's trust fund, and his calculated imprisonment of his wife.
Richard Vance stood up for the defense, entirely unbothered.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Vance purred, pacing the floor. "You are going to hear a wild, sensational tale of mobs and hitmen. But the truth is much simpler. You have a husband who was desperately trying to manage his wife's severe psychiatric breakdown. Sarah Davis was a danger to herself. My client made a terrible, misguided error in judgment by restraining her, but he did it out of love, not malice. He was trying to save her life."
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Mark sat at the defense table, wearing a perfectly fitted suit, looking solemn and appropriately tragic. He was playing the jury, trying to invoke their sympathy.
I squeezed Sarah’s hand. "Let him put on his show," I whispered. "Gravity always wins."
