CHAPTER 18: The Trial of Richard Harlan
Richard Harlan’s trial began six months later.
By then, the story had faded for people who only cared about headlines. But for Ethan, Mara, Eleanor, and everyone harmed by the stolen foundation funds, the truth still had weight.
The courtroom was colder than the ballroom.
Richard arrived in a gray suit, thinner now but still arrogant. His attorneys argued that the glass switch had been misinterpreted. They claimed the spider could have entered the glass by accident. They suggested Ethan had been coached. They implied Mara wanted money.
Mara gripped the bench until her knuckles whitened.
Then the prosecution played the footage.
The room watched Richard’s hand move across the table again and again.
They showed the packet. The lab results. The financial records. The threatening messages Richard had sent after Eleanor hesitated to approve one final transfer. They called Sam. They called Detective Bennett. They called Eleanor.
Finally, they called Ethan.
The courtroom seemed too big for him, but he sat straight.
The defense attorney softened his voice. “Ethan, is it possible you only imagined what you saw?”
Ethan looked at the jury.
“No,” he said. “Adults imagined I was lying. I saw what happened.”
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Even the judge looked down for a moment.
Richard did not smile after that.
