Chapter 11 - REBECCA ON THE STAND
Rebecca testified for three days.
The defense began gently.
“You love your father?”
“I did.”
“Do you still?”
“I don’t know.”
“You wanted his approval?”
“Yes.”
“You resented Julia?”
“Yes.”
“Then jealousy influenced your investigation.”
“No.”
“But you were emotional.”
“Yes.”
The attorney smiled.
“Financial judgment can be affected by emotion.”
Rebecca looked at the jury.
“Emotion affected why I kept looking. The numbers remained the same.”
The attorney showed messages where Rebecca called Thomas a thief before completing the audit.
“You decided guilt first.”
“I recognized missing money.”
“You wanted control of Caldwell Industrial.”
“I wanted employees to receive what they earned.”
“You secretly copied records.”
“Yes.”
“You secretly recorded your father.”
“The camera was already recording.”
“You confronted him knowing he could become angry.”
Rebecca paused.
That question contained blame disguised as logic.
“I confronted him knowing he was responsible for his hands.”
The courtroom went silent.
The attorney changed direction.
He displayed a photograph of Helen spitting at Rebecca.
“Your mother did not believe you.”
“No.”
“Your brother left.”
“Yes.”
“Your mistress witness committed fraud.”
“Yes.”
“So every supporting witness is compromised.”
Rebecca answered, “Compromised people can still preserve accurate records.”
May you like
The case did not require saints.
It required evidence.
