Chapter 19 - What the Jury Saw
Rose's hands shook when she took the oath. She told the jury about the dropped tray, the dress tearing beneath her fingers, and the moment she thought she would fall with Eleanor.
Victoria's lawyer questioned her job loss, her conversations with Nathaniel, and the legal support the Callaway family had offered.
"You benefited from becoming a hero, didn't you?"
"I lost my job," Rose said. "My brother was threatened. People called me a murderer. I would rather none of it happened."
"Yet you accepted help from Mr. Callaway."
"I accepted a lawyer. I didn't sell my eyes."
Eleanor testified next. She admitted what she did not remember, including the instant her feet left the ground. Then she described Victoria's hands pressing against her back and the fear of the empty air below.
The jury heard the wireless microphone recording and saw the restored film after experts explained its source, timing, and preservation. They examined photographs of the torn jacket and the broken bracelet fastening recovered from its seam.
Nathaniel testified about the Harbor House negotiations and Victoria's concealed financial interest. Documents linked Miles to the camera shutdown and the unauthorized lending pledge.
After days of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Victoria for attempted murder. The related financial proceedings against her and Miles continued separately.
Outside court, reporters surrounded Rose.
"How does it feel to have justice?" one asked.
Rose looked past the microphones to Eleanor, who was holding Nathaniel's arm.
"It feels like being able to tell the truth without somebody turning it into a lie," she said. "And I'd like to go home."
That night, Amelia called with one more piece of news.
May you like
North Quay had withdrawn its claim to Harbor House, but a new buyer had offered the foundation even more money for the waterfront property.
Eleanor asked for the proposal to be placed on her desk.
