Chapter 24 - Jack Takes the Stand
Marcus Vale refused a plea agreement.
He insisted Jack had fabricated everything to reduce his own punishment.
That strategy forced prosecutors to make a difficult decision.
They needed Jack to testify.
Gerald warned Megan that the trial would reopen old wounds.
She attended anyway.
When Jack entered the courtroom in prison clothing, Marcus barely looked at him.
The prosecutor asked when the fraud began.
Jack answered without hesitation.
“Before I joined it.”
Then he described Marcus explaining the financial system.
He also described his own greed.
“I wasn’t tricked into stealing.”
Marcus’s attorney looked annoyed.
Jack continued.
“I knew the money wasn’t mine. I knew signatures were false. I knew families depended on those funds.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because I thought I could.”
There was no mention of stress.
No blame placed on Megan.
No accusation against Olivia.
Just the truth.
Marcus’s attorney attacked him relentlessly.
“You are a convicted liar.”
“Yes.”
“You cheated on your wife.”
“Yes.”
“You attempted to leave the country.”
“Yes.”
“So why should anyone believe you now?”
Jack looked toward the jury.
“They shouldn’t believe me because I’m a good person.”
He paused.
“They should believe the documents.”
Naomi authenticated the financial records.
Nora authenticated the files she saved years earlier.
Olivia authenticated Marcus’s voicemail.
Lauren authenticated her recording.
Digital experts authenticated the airport phone.
The case no longer depended upon Jack’s credibility.
His testimony simply connected the pieces.
During a recess Jack passed Megan.
He did not ask to speak.
May you like
Megan appreciated that more than any apology he had previously given.
For once, he understood that doing the right thing did not automatically earn access to the people he had harmed.
