Page 28 of Secrets of the Past
“And yet, her life ended.Not by accident, but by a man she trusted.”
Her voice caught on “trusted.”
“He was a local man from a good family.I’m going to prove he threatened her.Lied.Shot her.Abandoned the life growing inside her.The life together they created.Why?Because Bianca wasn’t in the same social sphere as Mr.Reddick.And his family disapproved.”
Her words tumbled with force, conviction, and pain.
“It wasn’t just her and the baby's lives stolen, it was her future.And the promise of justice depends on you.You will be asked to listen, to decide who killed Bianca.”
She finished, breath steady.No tears.It was the hardest opening she’d ever delivered, because she and the victim had so much in common.
This could’ve been me.
Bianca was her reflection in a mirror she never asked to look into, but didn’t want to look away from either.And she’d do everything she could to bring her killer to justice.
As she sat at the desk, she watched Tripp put his notes down, remembering that night they’d consummated their wedding vows.Her heart thudded in her chest, and she willed the pain away.This was no place for those memories.
Tripp stood, collected himself, and his voice filled the courtroom with stillness.
“Ladies and gentlemen, stories are powerful.They can guide us or mislead us.”
He paused.
“My client…loved Bianca.Not just like any man, but because he believed in her.His grief that night shattered him.”
He referenced her wounds, but not his thesis on the killer.
“I will show you gaps, inconsistencies… reason to doubt the narrative.This is a man wrongly accused of murdering the woman he loved.Of the child he was excited about.This story will not have the conclusion you expect.My client has lost so much, and I will exonerate him.”
She felt something unsheathe inside her, breaking.Because his words were persuasive, and they touched places only she thought were hers.
He sank down, and the judge looked at her.
Her pulse quickened.This was more than strategy; it was personal.Time to prove herself.Time to win.And time to make Tripp lose—no matter how much it hurt.
“The prosecution would like to call our first witness, Officer Reynolds,” she said.
The policeman walked up to the podium, and she glanced down at her notes one final time.
Officer Reynolds, the first to arrive at the murder scene.
After the bailiff swore him in, she walked up to the podium.At first, they talked about how long he’d been with the island’s police force.Once she’d established he was a seasoned veteran, she started to ask her questions.
“When did you receive the call?”
“It was about ten thirty at night, when Ms.Laurent’s neighbor called to say she’d heard a gunshot.The woman was frightened and said that she knew Miss Laurent and her boyfriend had been arguing a lot.She was afraid something had happened.”
“How long did it take you to arrive on scene?”
“About five minutes,” he said.
“What kind of call did dispatch say this was?”
“Possible domestic violence, with shots fired,” he said.
Nicole felt tears behind her eyelids.But she stayed poised.
“When you arrived, what did you find?”
