Chapter 21 - The Sister on Trial
Audrey faced conspiracy, fraud, obstruction, and accessory charges connected to the mission deaths.
Her defense argued coercion.
Eleanor controlled her through fear, approval, and threats.
That was true.
It was also true that Audrey authorized the payment and helped destroy my reputation.
The prosecutor asked me to testify.
Audrey’s attorney asked me to emphasize her role in saving the Hamilton.
Both sides wanted pieces of the truth.
I decided to give all of it.
In court, I described the blouse tearing, the forged records, the mission sabotage, and Audrey’s years of cruelty.
Then I described the uplink room.
“She could have protected herself,” I said. “She chose to save the fleet.”
The prosecutor asked whether I forgave her.
“No.”
Audrey looked down.
“But accountability and forgiveness are not the same thing.”
The jury convicted her on the major financial and conspiracy charges but acquitted her of direct responsibility for the deaths.
The judge considered her cooperation and sentenced her to eight years.
Before sentencing, Audrey stood.
“I spent my life trying to become the daughter my mother would value. I hurt my sister because I believed her strength made me invisible.”
She turned toward me.
“You were never the shame of our family. I was ashamed of what I became beside you.”
I did not embrace her.
But I nodded.
It was the first honest moment between us in decades.
Arthur’s trial followed.
His defense portrayed him as a patriot forced into secret compromises.
The government presented the poison pen, the corrupted software, the false psychiatric records, and the illegal weapon facility.
Then Eleanor offered to testify against him in exchange for protection.
Arthur laughed when he heard.
“She will bury everyone to save herself.”
Eleanor’s testimony lasted four days.
She described Arthur as weak, greedy, and obsessed with reputation.
Arthur’s attorney asked whether she loved him.
“I loved his usefulness.”
Arthur looked older after that answer.
The jury found him guilty on every major count.
But before sentencing, he suffered a massive stroke.
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He survived without the ability to speak.
📖 Arthur could no longer defend his legacy, leaving Clarissa to decide whether to expose the full truth publicly or protect what remained of the Vance name. 👇
