Chapter 15 - Julian’s Hubris
Against the frantic advice of his attorney, Julian insisted on taking the stand in his own defense. His narcissism convinced him that he could charm the jury, that he could spin a tale of being a victim of his mother’s madness and my supposed vindictiveness.
He walked to the witness box wearing a borrowed suit that hung loosely on his depleted frame.
“I loved Clara,” Julian lied smoothly to the jury, looking deeply wounded. “I was under immense pressure. My mother is a very domineering woman. When she threw the oil, I went into severe shock. I didn't know what I was saying. The extortion… it was a panic response to try and save my company so I could provide for my wife.”
The prosecutor stood up for cross-examination, holding a thick binder of evidence. He looked at Julian like a scientist looking at a particularly disgusting insect.
“You claim you loved your wife, Mr. Sterling?” the prosecutor asked.
“With all my heart,” Julian nodded solemnly.
“Then why were you funneling four hundred thousand dollars of her money to an Instagram model named Vanessa Croft?” the prosecutor slammed the bank records onto the podium.
Julian’s face froze. He stammered, completely blindsided. “That… that was a business expense. Public relations.”
“You bought her diamond earrings and leased her a Mercedes for public relations?” the prosecutor mocked. “We have texts where you promised to lock your wife in a psychiatric ward so you could marry Miss Croft. Was that also a business expense?”
Julian looked at the jury, but they were glaring back at him with absolute disgust.
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“And let’s talk about your 'panic response',” the prosecutor continued relentlessly. “You panicked so badly that you purposefully covered up a fatal truck crash caused by your faulty brakes, bribed federal officials, and then tried to blame your own mother for everything to secure a plea deal.”
Julian had no answers. His arrogant hubris had led him straight into a legal slaughterhouse. He stepped down from the stand an utterly destroyed man.
