Chapter 15 - THE TRIAL BEGINS
The courtroom did not look like television.
Too much beige.
Too many cables.
Too much waiting.
ADA Caroline Reed opened with the road.
Not the affair.
Not the urn.
“The defendant knew where Rachel Carter was going. He knew what she had discovered. He knew the barrier ahead was damaged. When she refused to surrender evidence and leave quietly, he used his vehicle to force hers toward that barrier.”
Defense attorney Michael Grant stood next.
“This case contains terrible conduct. It does not contain proof beyond reasonable doubt that Evan Carter intended Rachel Carter to die.”
Good defense.
Then:
“You will hear that Lauren Hayes, facing her own prison sentence, changed her story after learning Rachel survived.”
Also fair.
Lauren’s credibility would be attacked.
The prosecution did not depend on her alone.
Vehicle data.
Navigation.
Messages.
My phone.
Repair evidence.
Evan’s own statements.
The trial lasted three weeks.
First:
Road engineer.
Barrier compromised.
Report sent to Carter Recovery.
Evan accessed it twice.
Defense:
Executives receive hundreds of reports.
True.
Then Miles Grant.
Evan asked specifically:
Hollow Creek still washed out?
Miles:
South barrier is trash.
Defense:
“Could ‘trash’ mean visually damaged?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell Evan the barrier would fail if struck?”
“No.”
Good.
Then vehicle expert.
Throttle.
Steering.
Impact.
Defense expert:
A driver trying to block another car could create same data without intent to kill.
Yes.
Again.
Attempted murder required inference.
Then IT.
Deleted audit email.
Hayes Strategic files.
Carter Ridge transfers.
Motive.
Then me.
I wore flats because my leg still hurt in heels.
No cane anymore.
Mostly.
Caroline asked what I remembered.
I did not pretend to remember everything.
“My memory from after the second impact until the clinic is fragmented.”
“Do you remember Evan aiming at the barrier?”
“No.”
“Do you remember telling him you would expose the fraud?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember saying you were leaving him?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember Lauren telling him to stop?”
“Yes.”
That helped Lauren.
Truth does not choose sides neatly.
Then defense.
“You delayed reporting company irregularities because Evan was your husband.”
“Yes.”
“You confronted him privately.”
“Yes.”
“You were angry about his affair?”
“I learned the full affair after the crash.”
“You suspected?”
“Yes.”
“You had threatened divorce?”
“I told him on the road I was leaving.”
“So the confrontation was emotionally charged on both sides.”
“Yes.”
“And you struck him with your phone.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He grabbed me.”
“Any witness besides Lauren?”
“No.”
“Lauren says the same?”
“Yes.”
Michael Grant nodded.
Then:
“Mrs. Carter, you cannot tell this jury what was in Evan’s mind when he struck your vehicle.”
“No.”
“Thank you.”
Correct.
The prosecution would use evidence.
Not psychic certainty.
Lauren testified next.
She cried.
Defense attacked her plea.
“You avoided attempted-murder charges by blaming Evan.”
“I was never offered immunity from murder because prosecutors said evidence did not show I agreed.”
“Prosecutors control charging.”
“Yes.”
“You want a lower sentence.”
“Yes.”
“Would helping them help you?”
“Probably.”
Brutal.
Necessary.
Then she described the road.
“Did Evan say he wanted Rachel dead?”
“No.”
“Did he say he wanted to kill her?”
“No.”
“Did he say push her toward the barrier?”
“Yes.”
“Could he have meant force her car to stop?”
“I don’t know.”
That answer probably helped Evan.
Then:
“What did he say after?”
“If she’s alive, she comes back and destroys both of us.”
The courtroom went silent.
Defense could not erase that.
But post-impact.
Still.
The prosecution’s strongest moment came from Evan’s navigation cache.
“Route to South Barrier.”
Why route there if the road itself was his destination?
No good answer yet.
Then Evan announced he would testify.
I felt my hands go cold.
Not because I wanted confession.
May you like
Because I knew the man who spoke when cornered.
And sometimes he believed certainty could create reality.
