Malice
Avery Sinclair’s eyes glinted with resentment when he looked at me from the witness stand.
His gaze spread ice through my veins. I pretended to look elsewhere, but I could still see him staring at me, obsessed and fixated, seething.
He wasn’t there to tell the truth and nothing but the truth; he was there to destroy me.
ADA Mitchell approached the stand, his voice gentle but firm. “Avery, thank you for being here today. Can you tell the court how you know the defendant, Olivia Taylor?”
Avery gripped the edges of the witness stand, white knuckled. “She used to date my dad, Alan Sinclair, when she lived in Seattle. But back then, she went by a different name—Melanie Gates.”
Whispers swept through the courtroom. The revelation of my false identity was a bombshell felt by everyone, and especially the jurors.
Mitchell nodded. “Can you tell us more about what happened during that time?”
Avery’s voice hardened. “She wrecked my family. My mom and dad were happy before she showed up. Then everything changed. My dad was so into her, he didn’t even notice how she was playing him.
When my mom found out about Melanie—about Olivia—she left him.
They got divorced, and my whole life just fell apart.
She ruined everything. And she didn’t even care. ”
Mitchell leaned in. “Avery, did you ever overhear anything that might suggest the defendant had other motives?”
Avery hesitated, looking straight at me. “One night, I heard her talking on the phone, asking about getting a new ID, about disappearing and starting over. She said something like, ‘It’ll be easier this time—no one will find me.’ I didn’t understand it then, but now I get it.”
My teeth gritted. It wasn’t true, not one word of it. But it didn’t matter; the courtroom buzzed with whispers and gasps. The jury’s sentiment toward me dropped another five degrees.
Mitchell pressed on, sensing the momentum. “Avery, you mentioned that the defendant went by another name. How did that make you feel when you learned who she really was?”
Avery’s voice broke slightly. “It made me feel like my dad was in the claws of a stranger. Like everything she did was a lie. She wasn’t Melanie Gates. She’s just a nobody, a redneck farm girl from Texas, pretending she was someone else. Just like she’s doing now.”
It took everything I had to hide my raw feelings. A collective gasp rippled through the courtroom, quickly followed by a surge of murmurs and whispers. The shock was palpable. At first, they might have believed I killed Winston. Now they were sure, and they loathed me.
Judge Antunez brought the gavel down with a sharp crack. “Order! Order in the courtroom!” A couple more strikes cut through the noise, restoring a tense, reluctant silence.
Mitchell smiled politely, looking at the jury with visible satisfaction. “No more questions, Your Honor.”
Colton stood and walked over to the witness stand, his face a mask of calm control as he prepared to cross-examine the teenager.
I sensed he was rattled by Avery’s testimony, but he began in a soft, almost fatherly tone.
“Avery, I’m sorry you have to go through your parents’ divorce.
That’s never easy, especially at your age. ”
Avery shifted in his seat, the glint of rage in his eyes unyielding. “Yeah, it isn’t.”
Colton leaned in slightly. “But, Avery, can you really say Olivia was the sole reason for your parents’ divorce? Weren’t there other issues before she came along? Remember, you’re under oath.”
Avery hesitated, caught off guard by the question. “I mean . . . they fought sometimes, but everything got worse after she showed up.”
Colton seized the moment. “Of course. But let’s talk about that phone conversation. You said you overheard Olivia talking about getting a new identity and starting over. Did she say anything about doing something illegal? Or was she just talking about moving on?”
Avery frowned, seemingly trying to recall the details. “I don’t remember exactly . . . but it sounded suspicious.”
Colton nodded, still kind. “It sounded suspicious to you, a sixteen-year-old boy going through a tough time. But suspicion isn’t fact, is it?”
Avery fidgeted, scowling. “I guess not.”
Colton’s tone grew firmer. “Avery, people sometimes use different names for legal reasons, like privacy or escaping a difficult past. Did you consider she might have had her own reasons, unrelated to your family?”
Avery looked unsure, his earlier certainty wavering. “No . . . I didn’t think about that. But it’s still a lie.”
Colton nodded. “Finally, Avery, you said Olivia ruined your family. But isn’t it true that maybe, if your father had been as happily married as you’d like to believe, he wouldn’t have dated a young woman half his age?”
“Objection, Your Honor,” Mitchell intervened. “Calls for speculation.”
“Withdrawn,” Colton said. “No more questions.”
Relieved, I breathed a little easier, watching Avery leave the witness stand.
As he walked past the defense table, he stopped and leaned toward me. “I hope they put you down like a rabid dog,” he hissed.
Shocked, I gasped and pulled away, my heart racing inside my chest.
“Keep walking,” Colton intervened, his demand immediately followed by the pounding of the gavel.
“Order!” Antunez bellowed. “Bailiff, please escort the witness out of the courtroom. Mr. Mitchell, your next witness?”
Mitchell checked his watch. “Your Honor, it’s late. In the interest of ensuring the next testimony is presented without disruption, I suggest we adjourn for the day.”
The judge raised his gavel. “Court will reconvene tomorrow at nine. We are adjourned.” The gavel fell, and everyone stood, eager to stretch their legs and leave the courtroom.
Everyone except me.
I couldn’t shake the terror paralyzing me. A cold sweat clung to my skin. My chest had tightened, forcing me to breathe shallowly.
A few moments later, Billy Ray’s hand landed on my shoulder, squeezing gently. I jolted with a start, then breathed, grateful he was there.
“C’mon, sis, let’s get out of here.” He offered his hand, and I rose to my feet, feeling shaky and weak and completely drained.
Before heading for the exit, I looked around. Billy Ray and I were the only people left in the courtroom.
Colton was gone.