Chapter 7 - The Trial Began With a Recording
Victor’s trial began ten months after freezer night.
The twins were healthy, still small but thriving.
Lena entered courtroom wearing navy suit.
Alex did not sit beside her.
Henry did.
Alex sat farther back, respecting that this was family wound.
Prosecutors played recording.
Victor’s voice filled courtroom.
“The insurance pays triple.”
Jurors watched Lena.
She kept face still.
Then her own voice:
“Think about your children.”
Victor:
“I am.”
That destroyed any claim of accident.
Defense shifted to diminished capacity from gambling addiction and threats by creditors.
Not innocence.
Mitigation.
Lena testified.
Defense attacked why she obeyed anonymous call.
Why she entered freezer.
Why she trusted Victor.
She answered simply:
May you like
“Because he was my husband.”
That sentence silenced courtroom more effectively than speeches.
