Chapter 13 - The Trial Prep
The revelation of the life insurance policy sent the investigation into overdrive. The FBI raided Marcus’s safety deposit box and found the documents, just as Sylvia had claimed.
The trial preparation took six months. During that time, Eleanor moved back into her beautiful mountain estate. I moved out of the suburban house I had shared with Marcus, selling it and buying a sleek, high-security condo downtown. I buried myself in work, using my cybersecurity firm to help the FBI track down and dismantle the Vegas loan shark syndicate Marcus was involved with.
One afternoon, Victor and I drove up to Eleanor’s estate to prepare her for her deposition.
She was sitting on her back porch, overlooking a stunning, crystal-clear lake. She looked a decade younger. The color was back in her cheeks, her mind was razor-sharp, and she moved with the confident grace she had possessed her entire life.
“Are you ready for this, Eleanor?” Victor asked, setting his briefcase on the patio table. “The defense is going to try to paint you as confused. They’ll use your age against you.”
“Let them try, Victor,” Eleanor smiled, taking a sip of her tea—real tea, untainted by poison. “I survived the Great Depression, the loss of two husbands, and six months of being locked in a dark room by my own grandson. A defense attorney in a cheap suit doesn't frighten me.”
I pulled out my laptop, organizing the digital evidence files. “I’ll be testifying right after you. We’re going to walk the jury through every single keystroke Marcus made.”
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Eleanor reached across the table and placed her warm, steady hand over mine.
“We aren't just doing this for justice, Clara,” she said softly. “We’re doing this to excise a rot from this family. When we walk into that courtroom tomorrow, we walk in as survivors. They are the ones who should be terrified.”
