Chapter 9 - The Trial of Beatrice Thorne
Six months later, Beatrice’s criminal trial began in federal court. I was called as a witness for the prosecution solely to authenticate the ledger I had found in Lucas’s safe.
I walked into the courtroom in my service dress uniform, my medals gleaming under the fluorescent lights. Beatrice sat at the defense table, looking twenty years older. Her hair was graying at the roots, her posture slumped.
When the prosecutor projected the financial documents onto the screen, Beatrice’s defense attorney tried to argue that I had fabricated the ledger out of jealousy.
I leaned into the microphone. “Counselor, the ledger was extracted from a secure vault on a federal military installation. It was authenticated by NCIS cyber-forensics. I did not need to fabricate evidence to destroy your client. Her own greed did that perfectly well without my assistance.”
The jury deliberated for less than four hours.
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Guilty on all counts.
As the judge handed down a sentence of eight years in federal prison, Beatrice didn't look at me. She just stared at the floor, finally broken by the weight of her own arrogance.
