Chapter 13 - HELENA’S DEFENSE
Helena pleaded not guilty to every charge.
Attempted murder.
Kidnapping.
Conspiracy.
Financial fraud.
Unlawful imprisonment.
Witness intimidation.
Her attorney, Charles Voss, described her as a concerned mother caught in a conflict between an ambitious son and an unstable daughter-in-law.
He claimed Damian acted independently.
He argued that Sienna invented Helena’s involvement to reduce her own sentence.
He suggested Evelyn had stolen from the estate and fabricated her assault.
Most disturbingly, he claimed Clara voluntarily took the sedatives.
The trial attracted national attention.
Reporters called it the Vale Dynasty Scandal.
Photographs of the lavish party appeared beside images of the kitchen where Clara had been forced to work.
The public wanted a simple story.
A cruel mother.
A helpless wife.
A billionaire husband seeking revenge.
The truth was more complicated.
Clara was not helpless.
I was not a hero.
I had ignored warning signs because believing my family was easier than confronting them.
On the first day of trial, Evelyn testified.
Her wrist remained stiff from the fracture.
She described finding Clara unconscious beside the laundry machines.
She described smuggling food into the bedroom.
She described overhearing Helena discuss the clinic.
Voss attempted to portray Evelyn as a disgruntled employee.
“Mrs. Vale dismissed you for stealing silverware, correct?”
“No.”
“You were found carrying property from the main house.”
“I was carrying Mrs. Vale’s phone.”
“Without permission.”
“She asked me to help her call her husband.”
The jury watched Voss carefully.
Evelyn continued.
“I would steal a thousand phones before leaving a pregnant woman trapped with that family.”
The prosecutor played Evelyn’s recordings.
Helena’s voice filled the courtroom.
Increase the dose.
She is becoming suspicious.
Another recording followed.
Once Julian’s plane goes down, no one will question her grief.
Helena sat without expression.
Clara gripped my hand.
Damian testified the following day.
He admitted arranging the aircraft sabotage.
He blamed Helena for ordering it.
The prosecutor displayed messages showing Damian negotiating payment.
“You could have refused,” she said.
“I was afraid.”
“You were offered control of a multibillion-dollar company.”
“That too.”
His honesty did not help him.
Sienna testified for nearly six hours.
She cried while describing the tea.
Helena stared at her daughter as if she were a stranger.
During cross-examination, Voss asked why the jury should trust someone who betrayed both her brother and mother.
Sienna looked at me.
“They shouldn’t trust me because I’m Julian’s sister.”
She turned toward the jury.
“They should trust the recordings.”
When court adjourned, Clara and I walked toward the exit.
Helena suddenly called my name.
“Julian.”
I turned.
May you like
Her expression softened into the face she used when I was a child.
“I can still explain why I did it.”
