Chapter 5

Larissa's POV

The hearing started a bit late due to the fact that we had to formally state it on record and also get the judge's approval of me changing my attorney, on the grounds that I didn't trust him. Luckily for me, the changes were accepted by the judge without a hassle.

Mr. Thomas was visibly furious, but I couldn't care less. He was working for Benjamin, and given the current development I'm sure as hell that he wasn't working in my favor.

“Case number 2847, State vs. Larissa Knowles,” the clerk’s voice boomed, as we all settled down.

The case started off with the prosecutor presenting evidence, the first which was a personal diary that supposedly belonged to Lara.

“Your Honour, this is the personal diary of Ms. Lara Sylvester, the victim in this case,” the prosecutor announced, handing it over to the bailiff, who in turn gave it to the judge. “In it, she expresses concerns about her safety due to Ms. Knowles' insecurities and erratic behavior.”

The judge flipped through the evidence, his face unreadable.

“I'd like to read out the specific contents for the court,” the prosecutor requested.

“Proceed,” the judge said and handed back the diary to the prosecutor.

“November 3rd, 2023,” the prosecutor began reading from a page of Lara's diary. “Today was the height of it, Ms. Larissa literally embarrassed me in front of my colleagues. She even threatened to deal with me, in her words ‘I don't know how to dress appropriately in a work environment…'

“That's a lie,” I blurted out, unable to control myself.

“Ms. Knowles, you need to be calm,” Edward leaned in and whispered to me. “Allow me to do my job.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes in irritation.

“...her insecurities are getting out of hand, and I'm scared she might do something to harm me since she's seeing me as a threat to her relationship with Mr. Patterson,” the prosecutor continued, making the people in the court gasp and shake their heads in what seems like disgust.

“This is ridiculous,” I whispered to Edward. “I told her once–once– to dress more appropriately because she was representing Benjamin. That's it!”

Edward nodded. “We'll address it,” he said calmly.

“To corroborate this claim, we have testimony from several of Benjamin's employees,” the prosecutor smirked triumphantly as he continued.

One by one, employees I recognized took the stand, each recounting exaggerated versions of a single incident.

“Ms. Larissa constantly nitpicked Lara's wardrobe,” one of them testified. “It was quite uncomfortable to watch.”

“That's not true!” I blurted out, unable to contain my anger. “I only mentioned her clothing once because it was too revealing for a professional setting. I was trying to protect Benjamin’s image!”

The prosecutor smirked. “Is that what you call ‘protecting’? Sounds more like possessiveness to me.”

I looked over at Mr. Carter, and he gave me a reassuring nod.

“Mr. Carter, do you have any objections or counterpoints?” The judge asked.

“Your Honour,” Mr. Carter began, a little too calmly for the situation at hand, but I chose to trust him because at this point he was my only hope of proving my innocence. “We'd like to object to the use of this diary as evidence until its authenticity can be verified,” he continued. “Also, these so-called testimonies are circumstantial at best, and don't directly prove that my client had an intention to kill Ms. Lara Sylvester.”

“Alright,” the judge said tersely, his expression unreadable. “However, the diary and testimonies will remain part of the record for now. You'll have your chance to refute them during the trial.”

“Sure, your Honor,” Mr. Carter responded. “I'd like to cross-examine the witnesses.”

The Judge nodded in approval, and Ms. Sanders, the first witness, stood on the witness stand.

“Ms. Sanders, correct?” Mr Carter began, and Ms. Sanders nodded in response. “You stated in the court that my client constantly nitpicked Ms. Sylvester's wardrobe choices, is that correct?”

“Yeah,” Ms. Sanders nodded in affirmation.

“And how often would you say this happened?”

“Uhmm,” Ms. Sanders looked over at the prosecutor, whose face was unreadable.” I can't remember exactly,” she answered. “But it was enough to make everyone uncomfortable,” she added.

“Make everyone uncomfortable?” Mr. Carter repeated with furrowed brows. “Did Ms. Knowles yell, scream or behave aggressively?”

“No, she did not. But her words–”

“Do you recall the exact words used?” Mr. Carter cut her off.

“Not exactly,” Ms. Sanders said hesitantly. “But her tone–”

“So, you didn't remember the exact words,” Mr. Carter cut her off again. “And you're willing to testify about tone?”

Ms. Sanders' face was etched in a frown. “It was the way she said it–”

“Let's stick to facts, Ms. Sanders,” Mr. Carter cut her off. “Because what we have here is your interpretation of a single conversation, that you can't even remember the words verbatim.”

“I–” Ms. Sanders looked over at Benjamin for a brief moment, and I could already tell he put her up to this.

“Your Honour, I'd like to point out that Ms. Sanders's testimony is based on hearsay and lacks any concrete evidence to support the claims of a threat,” Mr. Carter said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

The Judge scribbled something on his notes, and one after another Mr. Carter cross-examined the witnesses, with precise deliberate questions. By the time he was done, the prosecutor looked visibly rattled.

“Your Honour,” Mr. Carter said, returning to his seat. “The defense maintains that the prosecution has presented no substantial evidence tying my client to any intent to harm Ms. Sylvester. The testimonies are speculative at best, and the diary’s authenticity remains unverified.”

I kept my eyes on the judge like a hawk, trying to see if I could get even a clue of what was going on in his head, but the more I looked the less I saw, and my anxiety flew over the roof.

The Judge finally looked up, his gaze sweeping over the room before settling on me.

“Ms. Knowles,” After reviewing the evidence and the testimonies provided today…”