Chapter 17 - The Trial
Six months later, Clara sat in the front row of the federal courthouse. Richard and Eleanor Sterling looked frail, aged by the stress of incarceration and the overwhelming evidence stacked against them.
The jury took less than two hours to deliberate.
"Guilty on all charges," the foreman read, his voice echoing in the silent courtroom. Murder in the first degree, embezzlement, corporate fraud, and conspiracy.
Eleanor let out a sharp sob, collapsing into her chair. Richard stared straight ahead, his eyes hollow, a completely broken man. As the bailiffs approached to lead them away, Richard turned his head and locked eyes with Clara.
She didn't gloat. She didn't smile. She simply looked at him with the cold, detached pity one reserves for a dying insect. She had won.
Outside the courthouse, the press swarmed her, flashing cameras and shouting questions about her victory and the future of the company.
May you like
Clara raised a hand, silencing them with the effortless command she had mastered. "The past is buried. Sterling Enterprises is looking to the future. Thank you."
She stepped into the waiting limousine, where Elias was sitting in the shadows.
