Chapter 9 - The Verdict
A year later, Victoria Sterling’s criminal trial became the media circus of the decade. She had refused a plea deal, arrogant enough to believe she could charm a jury into believing she was a victim of her son’s incompetence.
I took the stand on day four as an expert witness for the prosecution. I walked the jury through the forensic evidence. I showed them the pixelation on the forged signature. I traced the money flow. I dismantled Victoria’s defense brick by brick.
But the nail in the coffin was Julian.
Taking the stand in a prison jumpsuit—having already pleaded guilty to a lesser charge—he looked at his mother with pure venom. He read aloud the text messages she had sent him.
“Just get her phone while she’s sleeping and approve the transfer. She’s too stupid to notice.”
Victoria screamed from the defense table, “You ungrateful little bastard!”
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The judge ordered her restrained. The jury deliberated for less than three hours.
Guilty on all counts: Wire fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy. The judge sentenced her to twelve years in federal prison, freezing what little assets she had left to pay restitution.
