Chapter 10 - The Trial
Julian rejected the first plea agreement.
He believed he could win.
Then prosecutors introduced the photograph.
It appeared on a courtroom monitor.
Julian in the bedroom.
Victoria.
The confidential folder.
Her bidder badge.
One accidental photograph had captured adultery, procurement evidence, and the beginning of the end.
Victoria testified.
Margaret testified.
Financial experts testified.
Then Elena took the stand.
Julian stared at her.
His attorney asked whether she hated her husband.
“I hated what he did.”
“Did you want revenge?”
“No.”
“You sent that photograph to his employer.”
“Yes.”
“Knowing it could destroy his career?”
Elena looked toward Julian.
“I sent evidence to the people responsible for investigating it. What destroyed his career was what the evidence showed.”
The courtroom became silent.
During cross-examination, Julian’s attorney suggested Elena had provoked the bedroom confrontation.
Elena calmly described the slap.
The shove.
The fracture.
The threats.
Then prosecutors played Julian’s messages.
DELETE IT.
YOU WILL REGRET IT.
May you like
His own words did what Elena never could.
They showed the jury who he became when he lost control.
