CHAPTER 2 – The Phone That Was Never Supposed to Exist
Emily carefully placed the evidence bag on the courtroom projector table.
Every movement was deliberate.
No shaking.
No panic.
Just confidence.
Richard's attorney stood immediately.
"Objection! That device has never been entered into discovery."
Emily nodded calmly.
"Because nobody knew it existed."
The room froze.
She explained that the phone had belonged to Michael Ross, the company's former cybersecurity director.
Three years earlier, Michael had died in what police ruled was a tragic car accident.
Case closed.
At least...
That's what everyone believed.
Emily slowly broke the evidence seal under the judge's supervision.
The phone powered on instantly.
Gasps filled the courtroom.
Richard's face lost all color.
"Impossible..."
The first video appeared on the courtroom screen.
It showed a private executive boardroom.
Richard was laughing.
Not about profits.
About ruining innocent employees who threatened to expose illegal transactions.
The second recording was worse.
Executives discussed paying witnesses to lie under oath.
Then came the third.
Richard himself signed off on making Michael's "problem disappear."
The courtroom became deathly silent.
Reporters forgot to write.
Jurors stared in disbelief.
Even Richard's own lawyers slowly pushed their chairs away from him.
Emily finally revealed the truth.
"Michael never trusted your encrypted servers."
"He recorded everything."
"And before he died..."
"He mailed this phone to someone he believed would finish what he started."
The judge leaned forward.
"And who received it?"
Emily swallowed hard.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
"My father."
The entire courtroom gasped.
"My father wasn't just Michael's friend..."
"He was the detective who reopened the investigation in secret."
She reached into her briefcase one final time.
"I've spent five years waiting for today."
Then she placed a thick sealed envelope on the judge's bench.
Across the front, written in Michael's handwriting, were six chilling words:
"OPEN THIS ONLY AFTER RICHARD LIES."
The judge slowly reached for the envelope...
And Richard suddenly screamed—
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"DON'T OPEN IT!"
To be continued...
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