Chapter 10 - The Hearing at the High Court
Three months later.
The Municipal High Court building was a heavy, neo-classical stone fortress that stood in stark contrast to the modern glass towers of the financial district. Rain fell in steady, gray sheets, slicking the wide granite steps leading up to the grand entrance.
Inside Courtroom 4B, the air was thick with the smell of wet wool, oak polish, and legal tension.
Evelyn Vance sat at the defense table, dressed in a conservative navy-blue wool dress, her blonde hair neatly tied back in a modest velvet ribbon. Her high-priced defense team, led by the city's most notorious criminal attorney, sat beside her, whispering over stacks of legal motions.
Across the aisle sat the prosecution team, flanked by Victor, Clara, and Martha.
Judge Harrison, a stern woman in her sixties with sharp silver spectacles, banged her wooden gavel against the desk.
"We are here for the bail reinstatement hearing in the case of the State versus Evelyn Vance," Judge Harrison announced, her voice echoing off the wood-paneled walls. "Counsel, present your arguments."
Evelyn’s lead attorney stood up, adjusting his gold cufflinks. "Your Honor, my client is a prominent member of this community with no prior criminal record. The allegations against her are based entirely on unverified video footage provided by a domestic employee with an axe to grind, and the hysterical statements of a former nanny who was facing termination."
He looked toward Clara, offering a dismissive, condescending smile.
"The defense contends that these video stills were manipulated using modern digital tools," the attorney continued smoothly. "Furthermore, the defense submits that Mr. Victor Vance has orchestrated this entire smear campaign to avoid a costly divorce settlement."
A quiet murmur rippled through the gallery of reporters sitting in the back rows.
Evelyn sat quietly, her hands folded gracefully in her lap, her face portraying the picture of an innocent, maligned society wife being persecuted by an ungrateful husband.
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Victor’s jaw tightened. He started to stand up, but Clara laid a steadying hand on his forearm, holding him back.
"Wait," Clara whispered. "Look at the judge."
