Chapter 7 - THE TRAP IS SET
The courtroom was suffocatingly tense.
Julian sat at the respondent's table, wearing a custom navy suit, looking like the picture of an aggrieved, perfect father. Beatrice sat in the gallery behind him, glaring daggers at my back.
Their lawyer, Sterling, stood up to make his opening argument.
"Your Honor," Sterling began smoothly, "this entire case is a dramatic overreaction by a bitter wife seeking leverage in a divorce. My client is a loving father. He placed his daughter on the terrace for less than five minutes as a routine time-out. The door was never locked. He was in the kitchen the entire time. The mother’s claims are entirely fabricated."
The judge, a stern-looking man nearing retirement, looked over his glasses at my lawyer. "Counsel, do you have a response?"
Evelyn stood up slowly, a predatory smile playing on her lips.
"We do, Your Honor," Evelyn said. "In fact, we would like to call Mr. Julian Vance to the stand before we present our evidence."
Sterling frowned but nodded. Julian confidently walked up to the witness stand, swearing on the Bible to tell the whole truth.
Evelyn approached the podium. "Mr. Vance, just to be absolutely clear for the record... you swear under oath that you never locked the terrace door?"
"Absolutely not," Julian lied flawlessly.
"And you swear you were inside the apartment the entire time your daughter was outside?"
"I was in the kitchen making her lunch," Julian smiled softly, playing the victim.
"No further questions," Evelyn said.
May you like
Julian smirked, thinking he had won. He started to stand up.
"Your Honor," Evelyn said loudly. "At this time, we would like to submit Exhibit A into evidence. It is a time-stamped security video from the living room, captured on the day of the incident."
