Chapter 32 Elsie
Elsie
Honestly, I was tired of battling a racing heart every time I came in here.
Today, I almost considered staying at Lukas’s house instead of coming anywhere near this courtroom.
It would have been immeasurably easier to rot away in bed than to sit in the gallery and listen to my father give his testimony on the witness stand.
Yet here I was. Sitting in the front row.
Henri and Noah on my left. Ivy and Remy on my right.
Soon, Lukas would sit in the section for the prosecution, and those I cared about would surround me.
This morning, Lena had even texted me, offering her support since she knew it would be a hard day for me.
I’d waited through the morning’s proceedings just for this moment.
With a heart rate of at least one-twenty, I waited quietly, eyes trained on the empty witness seat.
According to Alicia, the Oathbreaker broke my father’s blood oath with ease, suggesting that the oath was indeed with Aster. It relieved me to know that my father didn’t have to endure severe physical pain for the oath to be broken. If the oath had been with someone unknown, he would have suffered.
I was thankful he cooperated with justice.
He’d clearly done something inexcusable and criminal, and could have refused to give testimony against Aster.
However, he’d taken a plea deal not only to testify but also to take the truth serum on the stand to solidify his remarks.
It would significantly reduce his prison sentence when his time before the jury came.
I couldn’t wait for the day I was finished with this courtroom.
Perhaps there would be a reprieve in my anxiety levels.
And that day seemed to be on the horizon, because the prosecution was nearly finished with its witnesses.
Noah and Ivy had given their last week, spilling more details that I hadn’t even asked for before.
I was utterly horrified for Ivy that she’d been manipulated so much, and Henri and I had cried silently as Ivy revealed the truth to the jury.
When Noah had gone to the stand, Henri squeezed my and Ivy’s hands on either side of her as he spoke of his heroic acts that he saw as nothing more than protecting Henri.
By the end of his questioning, we were all crying.
Suddenly, officials were talking, and my father was walking to the witness stand. I must have zoned out completely, because I also hadn’t noticed the prosecution or defense come in.
William Middleton always looked put together. There had never been a day when he had looked disheveled or out of sorts. Usually in perfectly pressed suits and ties, he always kept his nose in the air and his eyes set in pointed glares.
Today wasn’t terribly different. With a pristine navy suit and cerulean tie, he walked to the witness stand with an air of arrogance and power.
His dark blond hair was styled perfectly, and the blue eyes that look a bit too much like mine were glaring across the room at Aster.
There was a single magical shackle around his right wrist, meant to subdue all of his magic.
I was staring at him as though he weren’t my father. In this moment, he was just a stranger taking the witness stand, not someone I was kin to.
The buzz of the officials speaking and my father's swearing-in didn’t register in my brain.
Too focused in thought about how this witness was my dad, the one meant to protect and fight for me—the one meant to protect and battle for justice—was now manacled in a witness stand for his crimes against other witnesses, even my friend.
I watched with ringing ears as my father downed a vial of truth serum before he handed the vial to a court official.
“Mr. Middleton, you were formerly retained as Mira Aster’s defense attorney, correct?” Alicia Vane’s voice boomed in the courtroom's silence.
“Correct,” Father said.
“You met with her frequently in the weeks leading up to the trial?”
“Yes, multiple times per week.”
“In those meetings, you discussed legal defense, but were there other topics discussed?”
“Not at first. In the beginning, it was us discussing the potential outcomes of this trial, given all the evidence against Aster. How we might reduce her sentence.”
“At some point, the discussion must have shifted. Is that true?”
“Yes. In one meeting, Mira asked me if there was any way for the trial to be delayed.”
Vane nodded, humming in affirmation. “And what was your response?”
“I told her the only realistic way the trial and verdict could be continually delayed was if there was a problem with witnesses. The other options were much less likely.” Father’s face was tight as he told the truth, eyes staying stone cold.
“Did she encourage you to delay proceedings?”
“Yes. She asked me to find a way to delay proceedings to give her more time. She said she would pay me twenty million if I could simply continue to delay the schedule.”
“And you agreed?”
Father shook his head. “Not at first, no. After all, she was just an academy professor. I didn’t believe she could procure that much money. But then she set up the money in an account and gave me the key to open it once she activated it. I saw the money myself.”
“This account. What bank was it with?”
“Crownwick Vault.”
I was going to be sick. Of course, I knew there had to be some motivation behind my father helping Aster in such a horrific way, but I never would have guessed it was because of money.
Something he had more than enough of already.
Sure, twenty million was a large sum, but not enough to commit such serious crimes.
“So you conspired with Mira Aster to delay the proceedings in exchange for money. Was it Ms. Aster’s idea to curse witnesses?”
“No, it was entirely my idea. I found a book in my personal library that had the ancient curse written in it and thought it was the best method for me not to get caught.”
Vane nodded. “Did you and Ms. Aster decide together which witnesses you would curse?”
“Yes, Mira hand-picked each witness that she wanted to curse. She knew that some had more powerful testimonies than others. She also stated it would make her feel good to know they were suffering and hoped that my curse would give them misery in sickness. There were more than just the three that I cursed. I didn’t get that far. ”
Henri and Noah both tensed. Without turning to look at her, I gently grabbed her hand and held it. Noah wrapped an arm around her shoulders in quiet comfort, but I knew he was filled with rage over this news.
“So, is it true that you conspired with Mira Aster to obstruct this trial?”
“Yes. It is true.” William’s eyes moved slowly from Alicia to Aster and finally to me. His eyes lingered on me for too long, but I held his gaze with all the anger I felt for him.
“So to be clear, you did not curse the witnesses for your own need to see justice obstructed?”
“Correct. I did it only for the money.” A powerful, truth-serum-fueled statement.
Alicia turned her attention to the judge. “Your Honor, the prosecution has no further questions. The testimony has made plain that the defendant orchestrated and approved of these acts.”
No one in the room moved. It sounded as if no one breathed, either.
Finally, the judge nodded, his face a blank slate with no emotion.
“Though the counsel’s actions are criminal in their own right, this chamber sits in judgment of the defendant.
The evidence presented shall weigh on that matter.
The court will adjourn until tomorrow.” With the slam of his gavel, those who had once been still in silence moved.
Aster and her defense team were escorted out, and my father was escorted to the opposite side.
Then the prosecution left, but not before Lukas turned to give me a sympathetic smile.
The gallery quickly filled with chatter.
Every day that I’d come since Henri’s original day to stand witness, the gallery had been packed out, and more spectators filled a viewing room.
Today was no different, and I knew we wouldn’t be getting out of here quickly unless I wanted to fight a crowd, which I did not.
“Are you okay?” Henri whispered, squeezing my hand.
For a while, I just stared ahead and tuned out the cluster of noise and movement around me.
I hated him. I think in a way, I always had. I had always felt sick at the need in me to win his approval or love, yet I’d kept trying. I’d always wished to see the better side of him.
Turns out, there was no better side.
He was just a miserable man with no objective morals. A man focused on money and power when his sole job was intended for justice.
When he initially took the position as Aster’s defense, I was shocked.
How could he do such a thing? He didn’t know the specifics of what had happened to me during the love potion attacks, but he had known enough.
He knew that I had moved home because of what had happened to me on campus.
He knew I was always looking over my shoulder.
He knew that what Aster did permanently affected me.
In the weeks after my incident, he’d even shown a softer side of himself, offering tea in the morning without me even asking.
Yet he took the position as her defense, with no justification. And even joined her madness by stalling the case with his own criminal actions.
As far as I was concerned, he deserved the maximum punishment for his crimes. I promised myself I would be there on the day of his sentencing to watch him get whatever punishment his jury would deem appropriate.
“It’s mostly cleared out. Are you ready?” Ivy asked quietly, a hand on my arm. It snapped me out of my daze, and I looked around.
The gallery held only a few lingering onlookers in discussion, so I nodded.
Standing, I held my chin high as I left the courtroom. I knew I caught the eye of a few people I passed by, and I was oddly okay with that. My name had been officially cleared of any obstruction of justice, so I was simply just the forlorn daughter of a criminal.
Today, we got one step closer to justice. And for that, I allowed a smile to brighten my face.