Chapter 5 - The Video Evidence
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The high-definition video lit up the courtroom, casting a bright, unforgiving glow across the judge’s face and the gallery.
The audio echoed loudly through the silent court. Every single person in the room could clearly hear Greg’s smooth, arrogant voice coming from the speakers:
"As a wedding present to my beautiful bride... my family’s investment firm has drafted a comprehensive land management trust. We are offering to take the burden of this eighty-acre farm off Eleanor's shoulders..."
The camera zoomed in on Greg’s face, catching the sharp, predatory grin as he slid the legal contract across the dinner table. Then came Victoria’s voice, sharp and condescending:
"A way to elevate this place to what it truly could be. You won't have to play farmer anymore..."
The gallery gasped. Several reporters in the back row began scribbling feverishly on their notebooks.
Judge Marcus leaned forward, his brows furrowed deeply as he watched the monitor.
The video continued. It showed me calmly snapping the pen in half. It showed Greg jumping up, his face contorted in rage, pointing his finger violently at my face while screaming:
"She’s a stubborn, ignorant old woman who’s sitting on a goldmine she doesn't know how to use! Samantha, tell her! Tell her to sign the damn papers or we are done!"
And finally, the video played the moment Ben and the workers walked into the light. Ben’s hands were behind his back, his voice completely polite as he asked the family to leave. In response, Greg’s father could be heard distinctly shouting, "Get your filthy hands off me, you uneducated hillbilly!" before Greg tried to shove Ben, only for Ben to easily dodge and firmly lead him away.
The video cut to black.
The courtroom was dead silent.
Victoria Belmont’s face had drained of all color. She sat frozen in her seat, her mouth slightly open. Beside her, Greg looked like he was about to vomit. His hands were shaking as he looked down at the defense table, completely unable to look at the judge or the media gallery.
Patricia Vance stepped forward, her voice ringing out with supreme authority.
"Your Honor," Patricia said, turning toward the judge. "What you have just witnessed is not a case of extortion by my client. It is a calculated, fraudulent conspiracy orchestrated by the Belmont family to extort eighty acres of prime California real estate worth over forty million dollars from a grieving widow and her daughter under the guise of a wedding."
"Forty million?" Judge Marcus interrupted, looking shocked. "I thought the statement of value was eight million?"
"The stone house alone is worth eight million, Your Honor," Patricia clarified smoothly. "The entire vineyard, along with its water rights, commercial branding, and soil quality, was officially appraised last month at forty-two million dollars. The Belmont family’s investment firm was on the verge of bankruptcy due to failed real estate ventures in Florida. They needed this land to leverage a massive bank loan to save their failing company."
A collective murmur erupted in the gallery.
I looked at Greg. He closed his eyes and buried his head in his hands. Samantha sat beside me, her back straight, looking at him not with anger anymore, but with profound, cold disgust.
"Furthermore," Patricia continued, pulling a heavy blue folder from her briefcase, "we have uncovered that the affidavits submitted by Mr. Montgomery on behalf of his clients contain outright perjury. Three of the guests who signed statements claiming they were assaulted were not even present at the dinner—they were verified to be at a hotel bar fifteen miles away at that exact time."
Judge Marcus’s face turned thunderous. He turned his gaze toward Montgomery, who was sweating profusely through his expensive designer suit.
"Mr. Montgomery," Judge Marcus said, his voice dripping with danger. "Do you have anything to say before I throw your emergency injunction into the trash, unfreeze Mrs. Vance’s accounts immediately, and refer your clients to the District Attorney for civil extortion and filing false police reports?"
Montgomery stammered, stammering over his words. "Y-Your Honor... my clients... we were not aware of the full context of the video recordings..."
"Sit down, Mr. Montgomery," Judge Marcus ordered sharply.
The judge struck his gavel down with a deafening CRACK.
"The plaintiff's motion for an emergency injunction is DENIED," Judge Marcus declared loudly. "The freeze on the defendant's assets is lifted effective immediately. Furthermore, I am ordering the Belmont family to pay all legal fees incurred by Mrs. Vance for this frivolous and fraudulent filing. Counsel, we are adjourned!"
CRACK!
The court erupted into chaos. Journalists scrambled out of their seats to sprint toward the doors, desperate to be the first to break the story.
As we stood up to leave, Victoria Belmont rushed toward our table, her composure entirely shattered. Her expensive makeup was smudged, and her eyes were wild with desperation.
"Eleanor! Wait!" she begged, trying to reach across the wooden partition. "Please! We can settle this! If that video gets out to the press, our investors will pull out! Our firm will be ruined!"
I stopped and turned to look at her. I didn't feel triumph. I didn't feel joy. I only felt the clean, pure satisfaction of justice.
"You told me on the phone that you would spend every dollar you owned to break me, Victoria," I said, my voice ice-cold. "It seems you won't have many dollars left to spend."
"Samantha, please!" Greg called out, pushing past his mother, looking pitiful and desperate. "I love you! I was under so much pressure from my father! You know I love you!"
Samantha paused. She looked at Greg, the man she had almost pledged her life to. She reached into her handbag, pulled out a small, velvet box containing the engagement ring she had retrieved from the dirt, and set it on the partition wall.
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"You didn't love me, Greg," Samantha said softly, her voice steady and clear. "You loved what you thought you could take from us. Don't ever speak to me again."
She turned her back on him, took my arm, and together, we walked out of the courtroom into the bright afternoon sun.
