CH.28

The courtroom was gripped by a heavy, expectant silence, every eye riveted on Serena Bolting's devastatingly beautiful form. Despite the tumultuous incidents leading up to this moment, her otherworldly beauty remained utterly undiminished.

Her exquisite porcelain features betrayed the roiling mix of emotions she was fighting with every fiber of her being to conceal. Even amid her profound sorrow, her petite figure seemed to exude an aura of elegant defiance as she sat motionless in a random seat with her bearing regal and focused.

The doors opened again to announce Jenkins’s arrival. His measured footsteps echoed through the hushed chamber like a solemn symphony as he approached Serena. His eyes were brimming with an empathetic tenderness that bordered on reverence for the fragile young woman.

A weary sigh escaped his lips when he reached her side, expressing the staggering depth of suffering they had endured together during this whole ordeal.

"Ms. Bolting," he began softly and unable to hide the sadness in his voice. "Words cannot convey how truly sorry I am for your profound loss. Your father was a remarkable man whose belief in your innocence never once wavered, even for an instant. His indomitable spirit remains our guiding light through this arduous journey."

Serena felt her delicate throat constrict as she absorbed the weight of Jenkins' words that rouse a fleeting tremor coursing through her body.

For the briefest moment, her meticulously cultivated composure seemed on the verge of cracking before it solidified once more into an impenetrable facade.

Jenkins placed a supportive hand on the small of Serena's back though hesitantly. His thoughts were still having trouble processing the previous sixty minutes. What a close call death had been for him. And those people…

His steady presence acted as a shield as she moved toward the defendant's table, deflecting the countless curious eyes that followed her every movement with rapacious fascination.

The plush velvet cushion of her chair provided little comfort as Serena sank into it, feeling as though an immense, invisible weight were pressing down mercilessly on every fiber of her being.

Across the aisle, Kate slipped discreetly into an empty row among the onlookers, her concerned gaze never straying from Serena's pale, haunted face.

Serena could feel the warmth of her manager's silent, steadfast support enveloping her like a tether grounding her amid the turbulence.

The deafening murmurs of insults hurled at Serena was shattered by the judge's arrival. His gavel slammed down like a thunderclap in an unvoiced injunction demanding the court's absolute compliance.

"Order! I will have order in this court!" he bellowed, his stern visage sweeping across the rapt spectators with undisguised irritation. "Everyone, take your seats!"

Jenkins leaned in close, his words a hushed murmur that caressed Serena's ear. "You have to maintain your composure, no matter what happens. Can you do that for me, Serena?"

Serena's slender fingers curled into white-knuckled fists, her nails digging crescents into the soft flesh of her palms as she willed her thundering heart to stillness.

Her only response was the slightest of nods, fearing that giving voice to her emotions might unleash the torrent of anguish she could feel roiling just beneath the surface.

Jenkins studied her pale, impassive features intently, his sharp eyes cataloging every nuanced flicker of emotion that played across them. After a moment, he returned her nod with a solemn one of his own in a silent vow that he would not allow her to drown in this whirlpool of turmoil.

He sat up straight in his chair and put on a stern expression.

Serena steadied her resolve with each measured breath, slowly rebuilding the towering, unbreakable emotional walls that had for so long shielded her heart from hurt.

This was familiar territory - she had perfected the art of erecting impregnable defenses under the harsh, unforgiving glare of the cameras.

"Ms. Serena Bolting, please approach the witness stand," the judge's voice rang out, shattering the fragile silence.

Serena felt like she was walking on shattered glass, the sharp edges cutting into the bottoms of her shoes with every step she took toward the elevated platform.

Her lungs constricted painfully, every labored breath a Herculean struggle, while her slender legs trembled with the tenuous strength of a newborn fawn's.

The gossamer veils of fragility seemed to billow around her, insidiously seeking to envelop her in their frail embrace. She fought against the siren call of that seductive oblivion by fortifying her resolve.

Serena gently lowered herself in the stiff wooden chair and looked up at the aged judge's face. His eyes regarded her with stony, implacable scrutiny, their depths devoid of even the faintest glimmer of warmth or compassion.

An involuntary, mirthless smile twisted her full lips as she recognized the cold, calculating detachment in that pitiless stare - it was the very same look she herself had spent years meticulously perfecting under the glare of the cameras' unforgiving lights.

"Ms. Bolting," The judge began, his voice as hard as the deep lines cut into his wrinkled forehead. "You stand accused of the murder of Diana Delaney. How do you plead?"

The words seemed to reverberate through Serena's very being, each syllable searing itself into her skin like a brand. Her fingers twisted the fine material of her outfit convulsively as she struggled to give voice to the answer that could either condemn or vindicate her.

"Not guilty!" she finally managed in a strained whisper when she found her voice.

The judge's bushy eyebrows hiked upwards as he regarded her with undisguised skepticism. "You deny any culpability whatsoever in the death of the victim, Ms. Delaney?"

Serena felt her backbone stiffen almost involuntarily. However, her chin lifted with a defiant tilt as she met the judge's penetrating stare unflinchingly. "I am innocent, Your Honor. I did not kill Diana Delaney."

Drawing a steadying breath, she could feel her poise and self-assurance returning as she prepared to recount her version of the events surrounding that fateful night. "If it pleases the court, I will explain the full circumstances that led to Ms. Delaney's tragic death."

The judge gave a curt nod, gesturing for her to proceed.

Serena's eyes flickered over to the onlookers, observing the agitated whispers and curious, hungry looks.

"I had just returned early from an out-of-town film shoot that night." Her voice rang out clean and melodic as she began. "And I was eager to surprise my man, Alex Montgomery, at his apartment."

She paused, the rawness of the memory causing her throat to constrict painfully. "However, when I arrived...I was the one who received the shock. I found Alex...in flagrante delicto with Ms. Delaney. On his bed. They were...having sex."