The Criminal Case
Chapter 11 - The Criminal Case
Prosecutors charged Logan with assault, witness intimidation, wage theft conspiracy, fraud, and misuse of charitable funds.
Charles faced fraud, obstruction, and retaliation charges.
The pool video opened the trial.
Jurors watched Logan follow Isabella, mock employees, and shove her while guests laughed.
The defense argued that the visual spectacle had prejudiced the case.
The judge reminded them that the video was evidence created by Logan himself.
Daniela testified about the immigration threat.
Teresa described the missing relief payments.
Former managers explained how stolen jewelry was planted on complaining workers.
Isabella testified last.
Logan’s attorney asked whether she attended the party intending to provoke him.
“I attended to audit records.”
“You concealed that your father was purchasing the company.”
“The acquisition was confidential.”
“You wanted Mr. Mercer to reveal his character.”
Isabella looked at Logan.
“I asked about wages. He chose what to reveal.”
The defense suggested she exaggerated fear because she knew her father was arriving.
“My father’s car did not make the pool shallower or the dress lighter.”
Logan looked away.
The jury convicted him on every major charge.
He received eighteen years.
Charles received twelve.
Several executives and attorneys accepted plea agreements.
The sentence did not erase the moment Isabella believed the wet fabric might pull her under.
It confirmed that the hand pushing her belonged to someone responsible for his choice.
The jury also heard from a water-safety expert.
Isabella’s dress had absorbed several kilograms of water within seconds. Logan’s presence in the pool did not make the act safer because he continued filming rather than supporting her body.
The defense repeatedly described the water as shallow.
The expert explained that panic, clothing, impact, and disorientation could make even shallow water lethal.
Logan watched footage of himself smiling while Isabella struggled.
For the first time during trial, his expression changed.
No one could know whether it was remorse or recognition that jurors saw what he had once considered funny.
The court did not need to decide his internal emotion.
It judged conduct, preparation, and consequence.
Isabella found relief in that boundary.
She had spent months being asked whether Logan truly meant harm.
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Intent mattered.
So did the choice to turn another person’s fear into content.
