Chapter 12 - THE TRIAL OF MARCUS STERLING
Marcus’s trial began sixteen months after the showroom incident.
The prosecution displayed the Ares data module before the jury.
Engineers explained the remote command.
The counterfeit chip.
The failed backup system.
The mountain road.
The audio recording played.
Daniel’s voice filled the courtroom.
Marcus.
Slow down.
I can’t.
The backup will engage.
It isn’t engaging.
You used the counterfeit chip.
Marcus looked toward Nathan.
His face showed no emotion.
Victor testified under a plea agreement.
He admitted using Grant’s account.
He admitted running Bay Zero.
He admitted receiving instructions from Derek.
Derek testified that Marcus approved the warning against Daniel.
Each man reduced his own role.
Victor only entered commands.
Derek only designed a temporary shutdown.
Marcus only wanted to frighten his brother.
No one claimed responsibility for the full road between decision and death.
The prosecutor connected each step.
Marcus authorized.
Derek created.
Victor transmitted.
The counterfeit part failed.
Daniel died.
Maya testified about the missing module.
Her abduction.
The threats.
Marcus’s attorney attacked her credibility.
“You continued working for Sterling Crown.”
“Yes.”
“You accepted compensation.”
“Yes.”
“You were promoted.”
“I was placed in an independent role after cooperating.”
“So you benefited.”
Maya looked at the jury.
“I would prefer the six weeks of my life back.”
The attorney moved on.
Grant testified last.
He admitted discriminatory conduct.
Bonuses.
Silence.
He admitted allowing Victor to use his computer.
He denied entering the remote command.
System logs supported him.
Marcus’s attorney asked:
“Did Nathan Sterling promise to rehire you?”
“No.”
“Did he promise money?”
“No.”
“What did he promise?”
Grant thought for a moment.
“Nothing.”
His testimony carried weight because cooperation had not restored his career.
Marcus took the stand.
He described Daniel as reckless.
Idealistic.
Unwilling to understand financial reality.
He claimed the brake command was intended as a controlled demonstration.
The prosecutor approached.
“On a mountain road?”
“The location was Derek’s decision.”
“You approved the vehicle.”
“I approved a service test.”
“You heard your brother say the backup failed.”
“Yes.”
“What did you do?”
“I called emergency services.”
Phone records showed Marcus waited six minutes.
During those six minutes, he contacted Victor first.
Then Derek.
Only afterward did he call for help.
“What did you discuss?”
“System failure.”
“You discussed deleting the command.”
Marcus’s face hardened.
“I panicked.”
“You panicked before calling an ambulance.”
“I believed Daniel was already dead.”
“You did not know that.”
“He was not responding.”
The prosecutor played another section of audio recovered from Marcus’s own phone.
Victor asked:
What do we do about the logs?
Marcus replied:
Erase the service account before police reach the car.
No grief.
No ambulance.
No brother.
Only records.
The jury returned a guilty verdict after eleven hours.
Second-degree murder.
Conspiracy.
Wire fraud.
Evidence destruction.
Kidnapping conspiracy involving Maya.
Marcus received life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after thirty years.
Victor received twenty-two years.
Derek received eighteen.
The judge described the crime as “entitlement disguised as corporate necessity.”
Nathan sat beside Henry during sentencing.
Neither felt victorious.
May you like
The company survived.
Daniel did not.
