Chapter 13 - ELENA TAKES THE STAND
Elena testified for three days.
Victoria’s attorney began gently.
He asked about her grief.
Her financial stress.
Her anger toward the Langley family.
Then he changed direction.
“You inherited Ashcroft Manor after only nine years of marriage.”
“Yes.”
“You inherited shares worth hundreds of millions.”
“They were restitution.”
“That is your interpretation.”
“It is written in Jonathan’s agreement.”
“You became chairwoman after Victoria’s arrest.”
“Temporarily.”
“You benefited from every accusation made against my client.”
Elena looked toward the jury.
“My mother lost twenty-four years.”
“My father lost his life.”
“My husband lost his life.”
“If you call what remains a benefit, you do not understand loss.”
The attorney displayed the footage of Jonathan’s death.
“You poured out the water.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed evidence.”
“Without knowing it.”
“You expect the jury to believe Victoria instructed you?”
“The audio proves it.”
“The audio may have been altered.”
“It came from her server.”
The attorney stepped closer.
“You hated Victoria before the necklace incident.”
“I feared her.”
“That was not my question.”
“Yes.”
“I hated what she did.”
“Did you ever wish she were dead?”
The courtroom became silent.
Elena looked at Victoria.
“Yes.”
Victoria’s attorney smiled.
Elena continued.
“The night I learned she killed Jonathan, I wished she were dead.”
“When I found my mother in that factory, I wished it again.”
“Then why should anyone trust you?”
“Because I had the chance to let her drown.”
“I moved toward the water.”
“Detective Cole stopped me.”
Aaron looked at her from the gallery.
Elena had never admitted that thought publicly.
She continued.
“I do not know whether I wanted to save her or watch.”
“I know I am ashamed that part of me hesitated.”
The attorney’s smile faded.
Elena looked toward the jury.
“Victoria never hesitated.”
“That is the difference between us.”
The prosecutor played the final video from Jonathan’s vault.
Jonathan sat alone in the library.
“My sister believes power means deciding what everyone else is allowed to remember.”
“If I fail, Elena may believe our marriage was another theft.”
“It was not.”
“I did not choose her because she was a Mercer.”
“I chose her because she saw people my family trained me not to see.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
Jonathan continued.
“If Victoria accuses Elena, examine what Victoria gains.”
“She never creates chaos without arranging the inheritance afterward.”
The video ended.
Victoria stood suddenly.
“He betrayed this family.”
The judge ordered her to sit.
She ignored him.
“He handed everything to a stranger.”
Elena faced her.
“I was your brother’s wife.”
“You were staff with a wedding ring.”
The words echoed through the courtroom.
Victoria had finally said publicly what she always believed.
People like Elena could enter a wealthy family.
They could serve it.
Entertain it.
Clean for it.
They could never truly belong.
The jury saw the same contempt that drove the necklace accusation.
Deputies forced Victoria into her chair.
Her attorney asked for a mistrial.
The judge denied it.
As Elena left the stand, Victoria called after her.
“You think that house makes you a Langley?”
Elena stopped.
She turned.
May you like
“No.”
“It made Jonathan a Mercer.”
