Chapter 18 - THE TRIAL OF TWO HEARTBEATS
Victor’s trial began nine months later.
By then, Isabel had grown strong enough to come home.
Elena entered the courtroom holding her daughter.
Victor’s attorneys argued that Elena had fabricated the murder attempt with Adrian.
They claimed Hale Development’s collapse benefited Cross Meridian.
They suggested Elena activated the rescue beacon because she knew rescuers were nearby.
The prosecutor answered with evidence.
Traffic cameras showed Victor’s SUV and Evelyn’s vehicle traveling to Blackthorn Mountain.
The lodge plant contained traces of the sedative Evelyn placed in Elena’s tea.
Mason’s tools matched the cuts on the removed guardrail.
Victor’s torn glove matched the leather embedded in Elena’s coat.
His fingerprints were found on her shoulders.
The emergency beacon recorded Elena’s fall time.
Victor filed the insurance claim seventy-four minutes later.
The prosecutor played Victor’s encrypted calls.
“Elena is awake. Find the bracelet.”
The courtroom became silent.
Elena testified for two days.
She described the false courtship.
The locked bedroom.
The cliff.
The moment she felt her baby kick while lying beneath the snow.
Victor refused to look at her until she explained why she had named her child Isabel Naomi.
Then he laughed quietly.
The judge warned him.
Elena turned toward him.
“You considered my daughter a condition in a financial document. She is a human being. She survived you.”
Major Hart testified next.
So did Adrian.
Evelyn accepted a plea agreement only after learning Victor planned to blame her for everything.
Her testimony was devastating.
She admitted hiring Calvin.
She admitted learning about the trust before Victor met Elena.
She admitted discussing accidental death.
She admitted ordering Mason to remove the guardrail.
She claimed Victor made the final decision to push Elena.
Victor shouted from the defense table.
“You told me to finish it!”
The outburst erased any remaining doubt.
The jury convicted Victor of attempted murder, conspiracy, kidnapping, insurance fraud, extortion and multiple related offenses.
He received a sentence that ensured he would spend most of his life in prison.
Evelyn received decades for conspiracy, fraud, attempted kidnapping and obstruction.
Mason, Grant, Calvin and Paige received lesser sentences based on their cooperation and involvement.
Hale Development entered court-supervised liquidation.
Its legitimate employees were protected through a worker-compensation fund created from the sale of Evelyn’s properties.
Outside the courthouse, reporters surrounded Elena.
One asked whether the $50 million had been worth the pain.
Elena looked down at Isabel sleeping against her chest.
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“No amount of money was ever the point,” she said. “The point was that they believed my life had a price.”
👉 The Hales had finally lost their freedom, but Elena still had to decide what to do with the fortune that had nearly cost her and Isabel their lives.
