Chapter 5 - The Trial of the Century
The Supreme Court building was surrounded by hundreds of reporters, news vans, and crowds of citizens holding signs that read "JUSTICE FOR KHLOE" and "PROTECT MOTHERS."
Inside courtroom 402, the atmosphere was electrifying.
Isabella Rossi sat at the defense table. The arrogance that had defined her for years was entirely gone. Her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, her face pale, her hands trembling inside her handcuffs. Beside her sat a court-appointed public defender—her father no longer had the funds to afford a high-priced private defense team.
At the prosecution table, Arthur Vance stood before the jury box.
"Members of the jury," Arthur spoke, his voice resonating through the packed room. "The defense will try to tell you that this was an argument between two rivals. They will try to tell you that my client, Mrs. Khloe Thorne, provoked this attack."
Arthur walked over to the large screen in the center of the room.
"But video evidence does not lie," Arthur continued, pressing play on the surveillance footage. "Power does not give anyone the right to step on the vulnerable. Isabella Rossi did not just assault a woman. She targeted an unborn life out of pure malice, jealousy, and greed."
The defense attorney stood up weakly. "Your Honor, my client expresses deep remorse... she was under extreme emotional distress..."
"Remorse?" Arthur interrupted, turning to glare at Isabella. "When my client was bleeding on the marble floor, Miss Rossi did not call for help. She did not check if the baby was alive. She pointed her finger and lied to cover her own skin."
The jury watched the video in utter horror. Several jurors shook their heads in disgust, while others took detailed notes.
After four hours of intense deliberation—the shortest jury deliberation in the court’s history—the jury foreman stood up.
"In the matter of the State v. Isabella Rossi," the foreman announced, "on the charge of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, we find the defendant... GUILTY."
"On the charge of Aggravated Assault on a Pregnant Victim... GUILTY."
"On the charge of Destruction of Evidence... GUILTY."
Isabella slumped over the table, bursting into loud, hysterical tears as the verdict was read.
Judge Vance slammed his gavel down. "Isabella Rossi, for your heinous actions, your total lack of empathy, and the danger you posed to an innocent child, I sentence you to twenty-two years in the State Penitentiary, with no eligibility for parole for the first fifteen years."
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As the bailiffs dragged a screaming, sobbing Isabella out of the courtroom, Marcus turned to his family in the gallery. He shook Arthur’s hand, then pulled his phone from his pocket to send a single text message to his wife, who was watching the live broadcast from her hospital room:
It's over, my love. Justice is served.
