Chapter 7 - The Final Trial
Three weeks later. The High Court of Justice.
The trial of Victoria Sterling had captivated millions around the globe. Streams were watched by tens of millions of people worldwide. It was dubbed "The Trial of the Century."
Victoria sat in the defendant's dock, stripped of her silk dresses and diamonds, wearing a plain gray prison jumpsuit. Her legal team had attempted every defense—claiming mental instability, claiming the tape was an AI forgery created by Harrison Vance and Marcus the funeral director to steal the estate.
The courtroom fell silent as the judge called the final witness to the stand.
The tiny eight-year-old boy, Leo, walked up the steps, carrying his wooden toy car in his small hands. He sat in the witness chair, his feet barely touching the floor.
"Leo," the prosecutor asked softly, "can you tell the court once more... who gave you that toy car?"
Leo looked across the room at Victoria. Then he looked at Harrison. Then he looked at the wooden car in his hands.
"Mr. Arthur gave it to me," Leo said clearly into the microphone.
"And did he tell you to bring it to the funeral?"
"Yes," Leo replied. "He told me that when the car was turned over, the truth would come out."
The prosecutor turned to the jury. "Your Honor, the prosecution rests. The evidence is absolute. The murder weapon was slow-acting poison, the motive was $500 million, and the witness is the very child this woman abandoned nine years ago."
The jury deliberated for less than thirty minutes.
"Guilty of First-Degree Murder."
Victoria was sentenced to life without parole. Julian was evicted from the estate, penniless and disgraced. The Sterling empire was placed into a secure trust managed by Marcus and Harrison until Leo came of age.
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Justice had been served. The boy had won.
Or so the world thought.
