Chapter 15 - THE TRIAL
Vittoria’s trial began in March.
The courthouse steps filled with cameras.
Forty-seven families submitted victim statements.
Elena agreed to testify.
Liana did too.
Matteo was called for three days.
Vittoria watched all of them from the defense table.
She appeared smaller than she had in the mausoleum.
But no less controlled.
When Liana testified about Elias, Vittoria did not look away.
The prosecutor asked, “What did the hospital tell you?”
“That my son died.”
“Was that true?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“He was transferred under a falsified code.”
“And where was he found?”
“In a hidden room at Saint Aurelia.”
“How old was he?”
“Twenty-two days.”
“What did you believe during those twenty-two days?”
Liana looked toward the jury.
“That I had buried him.”
No one moved.
The prosecutor showed Elias’s false death certificate.
Then his actual medical file.
Healthy infant.
No respiratory failure.
No death.
Liana described the funeral.
The tiny coffin.
The flowers.
The rain.
She did not exaggerate.
She did not need to.
When Elena testified, Vittoria finally looked uncomfortable.
Elena described being taken at seventeen.
Years of controlled pregnancies.
Threats.
Name changes.
Isolation.
Then the prosecutor asked the question everyone feared.
“Why didn’t you leave?”
Elena looked at Vittoria.
“I did.”
Pause.
“Again and again.”
The courtroom was silent.
“People imagine captivity always has bars.”
“Sometimes it has addresses.”
“Documents.”
“Doctors.”
“People who tell police you are unstable.”
“Employers who receive calls before you arrive.”
“Bank accounts opened in your name.”
“Children you are told will suffer if you run.”
She turned toward the jury.
“I did not fail to leave.”
“They worked very hard to make sure leaving never meant freedom.”
Vittoria looked down.
Matteo testified last.
The defense attorney attempted to frame him as a beneficiary.
“Your family gained an heir.”
“Yes.”
“You loved Nico.”
“Yes.”
“You continue raising him.”
“Yes.”
“So despite your criticism of my client, you benefited.”
Matteo looked at the attorney.
“My son is not a benefit.”
“He is a person.”
The attorney changed direction.
“You inherited wealth generated by Varric holdings.”
“Yes.”
“Some holdings financed the medical network.”
“Unknown to me.”
“Convenient.”
“Not particularly.”
Several jurors hid smiles.
The attorney frowned.
“You expect this jury to believe you knew nothing?”
“No.”
“I expect them to believe evidence.”
“And the evidence shows I learned what happened when Liana Graves entered my foyer.”
The attorney glanced toward Liana.
“Miss Graves has since entered a romantic relationship with you.”
“Yes.”
“So her testimony benefits you personally.”
Matteo’s voice remained calm.
“Her testimony nearly destroyed my family publicly.”
“It exposed crimes committed by both my parents.”
“It proved my late wife kept major secrets from me.”
“It proved my son’s birth involved reproductive theft.”
“If that is your definition of personal benefit, I recommend a different dictionary.”
This time even the judge hid a smile.
The jury deliberated four days.
Vittoria was convicted on multiple federal counts.
Alessandro accepted a plea agreement and provided additional financial records.
He received a sentence that guaranteed he would likely spend the remainder of his life in prison.
Vittoria never apologized.
At sentencing, she looked at Matteo.
“You destroyed your name.”
Matteo answered quietly.
“No.”
“I separated it from yours.”
Then he walked away.
Outside the courthouse, reporters shouted questions.
Matteo ignored them.
Liana waited beside the car.
Elias in her arms.
Elena held Nico.
Claire stood beside her.
And on a phone video call, Aaron waved from Oregon.
Matteo stopped.
Family.
Not the kind Vittoria built.
Not blood arranged like a business chart.
Something messier.
Chosen.
Repaired.
Still healing.
Liana smiled.
“You coming?”
May you like
Matteo walked toward them.
“Yes.”
