Chapter 7 - The Trial Preparation
The trial was set for a month later, fast-tracked due to the high-profile nature of the case and the undeniable mountain of evidence.
DA Thorne was pacing his office, looking frantic. "The defense is going to tear you apart, Nora. They are going to paint you as a bitter, hysterical wife who forged documents because you were jealous of his success. They hired Robert Sterling. He’s the best defense attorney in the state."
"Let them try," I said, organizing my notes. "Sterling is arrogant. He relies on intimidation. He'll try to break me on the stand to make the jury doubt my credibility."
"Can you handle it?" Thorne asked, genuinely concerned.
"Elias, for four years I lived with a man who manipulated my reality on a daily basis. I survived his psychological warfare. Robert Sterling is just a man in a fancy suit."
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But the real threat wasn't in the courtroom. It was the Vitiello family. I had anonymously leaked to the press that Marcus was in solitary confinement, heavily guarded, and that the prosecution had no intention of offering him a plea deal.
I made sure the mob knew that killing him would only draw more FBI heat. Marcus was useless to them now, but a dead Marcus was a liability. I had effectively trapped my husband in a cage where his only option was to face me in court.
