CHAPTER 5 — The Grave That Should Have Been Empty
The prosecutor walked toward a large television screen.
"Your Honor, permission to display Exhibit 47."
"Granted."
An aerial photograph appeared.
A quiet cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
Rows of white marble headstones stretched beneath ancient oak trees.
One grave was highlighted in red.
RICHARD ASHCROFT
Julian stared at the image.
His face turned ghostly pale.
The prosecutor continued.
"Yesterday morning, federal investigators obtained a court order."
"We exhumed Richard Ashcroft's remains."
The courtroom fell silent.
Iris gripped the edge of the table.
She hadn't known.
Marcus hadn't told her.
He wanted her reaction to be genuine.
The prosecutor looked toward the medical examiner seated nearby.
"What did you discover?"
The examiner stood.
"The official death certificate listed heart failure."
He paused.
"That was false."
Every camera clicked at once.
"The body contained unusually high concentrations of a rare neurotoxin."
A woman in the audience gasped.
The examiner continued.
"One that could not have entered his system accidentally."
Julian whispered,
"No..."
The prosecutor wasn't finished.
"Who manufactured that toxin?"
The examiner answered without hesitation.
"Vance Medical Technologies."
Every head turned toward Julian.
He buried his face in his hands.
Nora began crying.
"You killed her father..."
She whispered the words as if saying them aloud might somehow make them less true.
Julian looked at her desperately.
"You don't understand."
"I had no choice."
Those five words echoed through the courtroom.
No choice.
The prosecutor seized the opportunity.
"No choice?"
Julian finally snapped.
"You don't know what Richard was planning!"
"He was going to destroy everything!"
The courtroom became perfectly still.
The prosecutor smiled.
"So you admit confronting Richard Ashcroft before his death?"
Julian realized his mistake.
He had just destroyed his own defense.
He slowly leaned back into his chair.
Outside...
Television helicopters circled above the courthouse.
Across the country...
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Millions of viewers watched the trial live.
No one changed the channel.
