“That’s right.” She nodded and took a seat the small table across from Evie, pulling out a laptop and setting it up in front of her. “You’ll be testifying right after Mr. Orlovic, but I don’t know if that means this afternoon or tomorrow sometime. I know Harvey will be calling the FBI agents who handled the case first, then the defense gets to cross-examine, Harvey might redirect, although I doubt it, it just depends how much the Defense plans to fight.”
Evie nodded. Her father had turned down the plea deal offered the previous summer, something that hadn’t surprised Evie in the slightest. She’d actually told Harvey Levinson, the District Attorney prosecuting the case that her father would laugh in his face, and that was exactly what happened. Her Father had laughed in their face, fired his defense lawyers who were telling him it was in his best interest to take it and hired new criminal defense lawyers.
The prosecution had interviewed her mother at the start of their investigation, but Della had been completely in the dark about everything and at best, she could only speak to herhusband’s temperament and volatility, which they already had multiple testimonies from Sloane Technologies employees, the board and Evie about, so between that and her general fragility, they decided it wasn’t worth it to put her on the stand and as far as Evie knew, she hadn’t been asked by the defense either and was still in North Carolina with her brother and his wife, although she mentioned coming back to be here when Oscar was sentenced.
It was just after lunch on the second day of the trail before the bailiff came to get her for her testimony and led her through a side door into the courtroom. “The people call Evelyn Stanley.” He announced as he led her to the witness stand. There was a sudden increase in the volume of the room as all eyes swung to her and Evie had to clasp her hands in front of her as she followed him to the witness stand. She could see pictures being taken and people whispering to one another and, as she turned to face the bailiff to be sworn in, she saw Oscar for the first time since his arraignment and almost choked on her own saliva in her shock.
He looked good. Far better then she expected him to considering he’d spent the last year and half behind bars. He’d lost some weight and seemed more muscular. His suit had been tailored to fit him perfectly, and the flushed, sweaty, angry expression that had been almost a permanent fixture since Tommy took over as CEO was gone, leaving an almost serene expression of just the right amount of remorse and hopefulness in its place.
The bailiff instructed her to raise her hand and asked if her testimony would be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When she nodded and responded in the affirmative, she was told to take a seat and as she adjusted her microphone, she saw Oscar wiggle his pinky at her, somethinghe used to do when she took the stage for recitals, a way to say he was there and proud of her. Licking her lips, she looked away, focusing on Harvey as he approached to start asking her questions.
He first asked her about her relationship with her father, asking her to explain in her own words, their estrangement and the cause. He then asked her to explain her relationship with Tommy and why she was with him when her father had him taken, before finally asking her to go through the event’s of the day, starting with the lead up to Thorn approaching them, then the actual kidnapping, her actions after Thorn left with Tommy and what happened at the Tower, ending with Evie recounting how Oscar had attempted to stab Tommy in front of her, the board and two FBI agents.
“And why do you think he attempted to murder Mr. Sloane in front of all those witnesses?” Harvey paused in front of her, folding his arms and stepping directly between Evie and her father so he was blocked from her line of sight, something he’d subtly done a few times when he noticed Evie’s anxiety start to rise.
“I think he knew he was screwed, so he decided to finish what he set out to do.” Evie swallowed, keeping her eyes on Harvey as he gave her a subtle nod and smile, letting her know she’d done a good job.
“Thank you Miss. Stanley. No further questions, your honor.” Harvey sat down and Evie drew in a quiet breath, knowing she was about to be cross-examined and trying to mentally prepare for it. Harvey had told her they wouldn’t dare attack her directly, but that they would try to undermine her testimony.
“They will question, not what you remember, but how you remember it and if your memory is correct. They don’twant to make you the bad guy, they want to make you seem discreditable. Don’t let them change the narrative, you were there, you saw what you saw. If they say something like, “It happened very quickly, didn’t it?” say something along the lines of, “yes, but in the moment those few minutes felt like hours” and then repeat what happened from your prospective and you’ll be fine.”
“They’re also going to question your relationship with Tommy pretty thoroughly, just be honest and sincere and they won’t have a leg to stand on.”
Harvey had been pretty much spot on with his predictions, Oscar’s lawyer first asked about her relationship with Oscar growing up, then segued into their falling out and what led to it.
“You stated that your father was upset that you switched your major from law to computer sciences, correct?”
“Yes.” Evie kept her eyes on the defence lawyer, he’d been very soft and gentle with her so far, but she didn’t let herself relax, not wanting to give him an opening.
“Why did you switch?” He asked, making Evie frown. She’d already answered that question when Harvey questioned her.
“Law really wasn’t for me.” She shrugged. “I prefer computers and software design. Something both my parents knew before I started university, they insisted that I at least try it out. It was my understanding that if I decided I couldn’t continue, then I’d be able to switch.”
“And you maintain that Thomas Sloane had nothing to do with your decision to switch to Computer Studies?”
“When I spoke to Tommy about switching, he encouraged me to do whatever was going to make me happy.” Evie couldn’thelp the hint of annoyance that slipped into her voice at the question. It was like they didn’t think she was a person capable of making her own choices. “He didn’t push me toward computer studies, and it was only after my father cut me off that Tommy said he would pay my tuition and help me out with other expenses, since I wouldn’t qualify for student loans.”
“And why do you suppose he agreed to do that?” Evie’s jaw tightened at the innuendo she heard in the lawyer’s voice.
“Because he considers me the closest thing to family he has left?” She forced herself to keep her tone even, despite wanting to slap the smirk off his face. “Unless you think a thirty-three-year-old man had interest in a barely legal teenager who he’s known since she was a baby.” She was over people thinking Tommy was some kind of pervert because of their relationship and if the lawyer was going to hint in that direction, she’d make him come out and say it. She saw Harvey duck his head and smile when she snapped at the lawyer, but he didn’t object.
The defense lawyer cleared his throat, and she watched a flush rise up his neck with a rush of satisfaction, knowing she had just stopped that line of questioning in its tracks. If he said yes, he was opening himself up to a slander suit from Tommy and if he dropped it, it made it clear he was fishing for a motive. “No, of course not.” He forced a smile back into place. “Just trying to make sure I understand your relationship with Mr. Sloane, that’s all.”
“Well, as I’m sure you’re aware, his parents were my godparents, and they were very close to my parents. Tommy has been like a big brother to me since I was two months old.” She gave him a fake smile and leaned forward slightly. “Which is also why I was with him visiting his parent’s grave that day. Something my father would have been very aware of.”
The rest of the cross-examination was kept factual and in line with the answers she had already given during Harvey’s questioning and when they finished, the judge thanked her for her testimony and let her go sit with Thorn while they called Tommy. As she walked through the gate that separated the front of the courtroom from the gallery, she kept her gaze straight ahead, avoiding looking at her father until she was safely seated next to Thorn, who dropped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
“You did great,Mališa.” He murmured and she could hear the pride in his tone. Looking up at him she smiled faintly, trying to ignore the way the reporters in the courtroom were trying to get more pictures of her.
“Thanks.” She watched as Tommy was sworn in and sat down, smiling confidently the whole time. She let her attention drift a Tommy went over everything that happened, the lead up to the kidnapping, why they were forcing Oscar into retirement, what happened after Thorn took him, and the final confrontation before Oscar was arrested. They recessed for the day when Harvey finished, with the judge telling them that the trial would continue the next day with the defence’s cross-examination of Tommy’s testimony.
Given how high profile the trial was, there was extensive news and media coverage, with reporters giving live courtroom updates throughout the day via social media, followed by a summary of the days testimony on the evening news and once Evie’s testimony was out there, public opinion of Oscar, which had been a little sympathetic at first, with some new outlets really playing up how he’d been forced from his position by a younger CEO who was only in that role due to nepotism and how he felt Tommy was stealing his family from him, soured badly. Somehow, one of them managed to get some clips of the securityfootage from Tommy’s office and began playing them without much explanation or context, tanking whatever sympathy Oscar had garnered during Thorn’s testimony.
Unfortunately, a small, but very vocal group turned against Evie too, blaming her for everything that had happened. They took Oscar’s outburst at her, where he screamed that he had no daughter, and said she was disloyal to him, that she planned everything with Tommy, to heart and began to see her as the reason Oscar had tried to kidnap and kill him, saying that she was trying to get rid of both her father and Tommy so she would have control over Sloane Technologies. As the trial continued over the next few weeks, hate mail began pouring into the mailroom of Sloane Tower, her car was vandalized outside the courtroom after she was shown getting into it and driving away on the news, but the final straw came when her apartment address was leaked and people began protesting outside the building, forcing her to give it up and find a new place for the upcoming fall semester.
When the trial ended with a guilty verdict at the beginning of August, they hoped things would start to die down. When it didn’t and instead started affecting how his employees were treating Evie while she did her internship, Tommy released a statement hoping to set the record straight, but all it seemed to do was reinforce their beliefs that Evie had some kind of weird hold on Tommy and was misleading him. He ended up sending out a tower wide notice that if anyone was heard discussing his and Evie’s relationship or caught treating Evie rudely or disrespectfully, he would personally fire them. He had to follow through on that threat four times before it stopped, but by then Evie was finished her internship and gone back to do her third year of university.
Chapter Fourteen: Aftermath
