Chapter 14 - The Uniform in Evidence
Elena’s torn red uniform was displayed inside a clear evidence bag.
Victoria stared at it from the defense table.
Without Elena inside it, the garment looked ordinary.
Cheap fabric.
Restaurant stitching.
A missing line of buttons.
Victoria’s attorney argued the tear was accidental.
The video played.
Victoria’s fingers gripping the shoulder.
The deliberate pull.
The words:
You’re nothing but a servant.
Elena took the witness stand wearing a dark gray suit.
No locket was visible.
She kept it beneath her blouse.
The prosecutor began with the assault.
Then asked about the financial records.
Elena explained how she traced employee deductions into Silver Fountain.
“How were you qualified to review those transactions?” the defense attorney asked.
“I studied forensic accounting.”
“But you did not complete your degree.”
“No.”
“You were employed as a waitress.”
“Yes.”
“So you were not authorized to access executive documents.”
“No.”
“You stole confidential records.”
“I copied evidence that employee funds were being diverted.”
The attorney lifted the uniform bag.
“Were you angry because Mrs. Vale accused you of theft?”
“I was afraid.”
“Yet you challenged her publicly.”
“I told the truth publicly.”
The attorney suggested Elena had revealed the locket intentionally to manipulate Dante.
She looked toward the jury.
“I kept it beneath my uniform because I did not know whether the Moretti family was safe.”
“Then its appearance was convenient.”
“Victoria ripped my clothes.”
The simplicity of the answer ended that line of attack.
The prosecutor played Victoria’s interview confession.
She admitted knowing Richard concealed Elena’s survival.
She admitted maintaining Silver Fountain.
She admitted using company money for personal expenses.
Nathan testified under a plea agreement.
He blamed his mother for the historical conspiracy.
But he admitted expanding the employee-fund theft and presenting false records to Dante.
When asked why he did not stop Victoria from attacking Elena, he answered:
“I thought the investment was already gone.”
The jury heard what that meant.
He evaluated the assault through financial loss.
Not human harm.
Victoria was convicted of assault, conspiracy, fraud, obstruction and participation in the long concealment of Elena’s identity.
Nathan was convicted of fraud, benefit theft, false investor statements and obstruction.
Their sentences included prison and restitution.
Vale Crest’s family ownership ended.
But the largest trial still remained.
Nicholas faced charges connected to Elena’s parents and dozens of later crimes.
Dante’s testimony could help convict him.
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It could also incriminate Dante.
👉 To give Elena justice for the past, Dante would have to describe every crime he committed while believing Nicholas’s lies.
