Chapter 8 - Twelve O’ClockThe courtroom was full before Evelyn arrived.
Curtis had invited reporters.
He wanted the accusation seen.
Elaine sat beside him with a white handkerchief in her lap. She appeared like a grieving mother forced to expose her troubled daughter.
When Evelyn entered in uniform, cameras turned toward her.
Curtis whispered something to his attorney.
The attorney smiled.
During opening arguments, Curtis’s legal team presented photographs, online articles and Elaine’s sworn statement. They emphasized the absence of public mission records.
“No commanding officer has appeared,” the attorney said. “No member of this alleged unit has spoken. No hospital record supports the dramatic story Captain Smith has allowed the public to imagine.”
Evelyn’s attorney objected.
The judge allowed the argument to continue.
Elaine testified next.
She described Evelyn as an imaginative child who wanted attention. She claimed her daughter had always resented Elaine’s role in the company.
“Did Captain Smith ever show you official documentation of the mission where she claims to have been injured?” Curtis’s attorney asked.
“No.”
“Did you witness her receive the medals she wears?”
“No.”
“Did she explain the cause of the scar?”
“She refused.”
Elaine looked toward Evelyn.
Her eyes were wet, but her voice remained controlled.
“I love my daughter. That is why this is painful. But love cannot require me to participate in a lie.”
Evelyn felt something inside her become quiet.
Until that moment, a small part of her had still hoped Elaine would stop.
Instead, her mother had perfected the performance.
Evelyn was called to the witness podium at 11:42.
The questions began immediately.
“Where did Operation Harbor Lantern occur?”
“Classified.”
“What date did it begin?”
“Classified.”
“Who were the civilians you supposedly rescued?”
“Protected identities.”
“Can you produce the official incident report?”
“Not until authorization is released.”
The attorney walked toward the jury.
“So the location is secret, the date is secret, the witnesses are secret and the report is secret.”
“Yes.”
“But you expect this court to accept your story.”
“I expect the court to wait for the records.”
“And when will these miraculous records appear?”
Evelyn looked at the clock.
11:58.
“At noon.”
Curtis exchanged a glance with Elaine.
The attorney laughed.
“Your Honor, this is another delay.”
The judge turned to Evelyn.
“Captain Smith, can you currently prove your service?”
Her throat tightened.
She looked at her mother.
Elaine met her gaze without blinking.
“She was never a soldier,” Elaine announced from behind the railing.
The courtroom erupted in whispers.
“The medals and scars are fake.”
The judge ordered silence.
Evelyn looked at the clock again.
11:59.
“Captain Smith?” the judge asked.
“My records were classified,” she answered. “Until twelve o’clock today.”
The minute hand moved.
The courtroom doors opened.
May you like
General Marcus Hale entered carrying the sealed folder.
Everything changed.
