Chapter 18 - Corrine Finally Spoke
Corrine began beautifully.
Calm.
Controlled.
Maternal.
She described Graham’s death.
The burden of holding a family together.
Thane becoming distant.
Sloan becoming reckless.
Alora arriving and “changing the center of gravity.”
Her attorney asked:
“Did you intend to steal Sterling House?”
“No.”
“Did you believe you had a family interest in the property?”
“Yes.”
“Did Julian tell you documents existed confirming that?”
“Yes.”
“Did you intend to harm Alora?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
Corrine looked toward the jury.
“She panicked. I panicked. Everything escalated.”
Thane almost laughed.
Alora did not move.
Corrine continued.
“I grabbed her because she tried to reach the alarm.”
“Did you pull her hair?”
“I may have held it briefly.”
The prosecution replayed the video later.
Briefly lasted twenty-six seconds.
Then the prosecutor cross-examined.
“You said everything escalated unexpectedly.”
“Yes.”
“You were instructed by Julian Mercer to leave if Alora was home.”
Corrine stiffened.
“I don’t recall.”
The audio played.
Julian:
If Alora is home, do not touch her. Leave.
Corrine:
She’ll call Thane.
Julian:
Then leave.
The prosecutor stopped it.
“Is that your voice?”
“Yes.”
“So before entering, you knew Alora might be there.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew you were supposed to leave.”
“I was not taking orders from Julian.”
“Yet you were participating in his plan?”
“My family’s plan.”
The prosecutor nodded.
“Your family plan included a forged property transfer?”
“I did not know it was forged.”
“A forged voting amendment?”
“I believed Malcolm.”
“An unauthorized trust restructuring?”
“I believed it reflected Graham’s wishes.”
“Despite the original document saying the opposite?”
“I never saw the original.”
“Because it was locked in the safe you were breaking open?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
Then came the debt.
Nine million.
The planned twenty-five-million-dollar loan against Sterling House.
The prosecutor asked:
“You had already promised a house you did not own as collateral?”
“I believed it would become family property.”
“By morning?”
Corrine’s face changed.
The prosecutor replayed Sloan’s words.
By morning, this house is ours!
“Did you tell Sloan that?”
“I may have.”
Then:
“Why did you need Alora’s safe code?”
“To retrieve documents.”
“Why were jewelry and cash packed?”
Corrine looked toward Sloan.
“My daughter did that.”
“Did you stop her?”
“No.”
“Did you call police when you discovered the alleged misunderstanding?”
“No.”
“Did you leave?”
“No.”
“What did you do?”
Corrine did not answer.
The prosecutor played Thane’s video.
Cry louder! Nobody is coming for you! GIVE ME THE SAFE CODE!
The courtroom was silent.
The prosecutor asked:
“Was that panic?”
Corrine looked at Thane.
For one second he saw something almost human.
Shame.
Then it vanished.
“I was angry.”
Finally.
A true word.
“Why?”
Corrine’s voice shook.
“Because everything I built was being handed to her.”
Thane stared.
The prosecutor asked, “What did you build?”
“The Sterling family.”
“Did you build Sterling Meridian?”
“I stood beside Graham.”
“Did you create Thane’s shares?”
“No.”
“Did you own Sterling House?”
“No.”
“Did you own Sloan’s trust?”
“No.”
“Did you own Alora’s marital trust?”
“No.”
Corrine’s voice rose.
“I made sacrifices.”
The prosecutor stopped.
There it was.
Not legal ownership.
Emotional accounting.
She believed sacrifice created title.
Corrine looked at Thane.
“I gave you everything.”
He did not respond.
The prosecutor asked one final question.
“Did Alora owe you her safety because you believed you had sacrificed for this family?”
Corrine whispered, “No.”
It was too late.
The jury deliberated the following day.
They returned guilty verdicts on the principal home-invasion, burglary-conspiracy, coercion-related, and assault counts presented to them.
Not every count.
Enough.
Corrine closed her eyes.
Thane felt no triumph.
Only exhaustion.
Outside, Alora took his hand.
“It’s over.”
He looked toward the federal courthouse across town where Julian and Roark’s cases still continued.
“No.”
She understood.
“The bedroom is over.”
May you like
Thane nodded.
For now, that was enough.
