Chapter 6
1227 Words
Elena Blackwood stood there, calm as a river on a summer afternoon, but the words tumbling out of her mouth were as sharp as thorns. “I am accused of deliberate corporate sabotage that has led to the loss of an unborn child,” she declared, her voice slicing through the air of the tribunal room as if it were butter. “In the process, I have also put Vanessa Woods, a respected executive in this company, in serious danger.”
A chill crept down the back of my neck, much like a mischievous squirrel searching for a hidden nut.
I glanced around the room again, with a bit more urgency this time—my eyes darting across the sea of faces, some familiar and some as strange as a foreign currency. Board members, senior executives, legal eagles, and security guards all lounged about, but I was searching for just one face.
Sophie.
She wasn't there.
Panic tied my throat in a tight knot, as the seconds dragged on like a snail on a leisurely stroll. Each empty chair seemed to gloat, as if saying, “Look how empty I am!”
“Elena,” Blackwood continued, fixing his intense green eyes on mine like a hawk eyeing its prey. “Do you promise, under this tribunal and all the solemnness of corporate duty, that you will speak nothing but the truth today?”
Those eyes of his.
How once they had filled me with a sense of being chosen, as if I were the star of a grand play. Now they felt more like arrows, cool, precise, and utterly indifferent about whether I lived or breathed another day.
“I do,” I said, keeping my voice steady even as I felt my insides buckle under the pressure.
“And how do you plead?”
My heart thudded against my ribs like an eager child throwing a tantrum.
“Not guilty.”
A murmur washed over the crowd, like waves rustling through a field of sugarcane. Some were disapproving, others curious, and a few looked as though they were quietly pleased I hadn’t grovelled.
Blackwood raised a hand, and just like that, silence wrapped around us.
“Very well,” he said, “Let’s move on to witness testimonies and evidence. When we finish, the board and I will decide your fate.”
Fate.
The word settled heavily in my chest.
Just like that, my life had been handed over to a group of people whose judgments were as set in stone as ancient carvings.
The first witness was called “Dr. Andrews, Blackwood's personal physician, the company’s trusted medical consultant, a man I had barely crossed paths with since his appointment after my mother passed away.
“The substance we’re discussing today is a compound known as Mortwert,” Dr. Andrews began, his tone professional and clinical. “It’s an herbal derivative that can induce miscarriage if taken in large amounts.”
I clenched my fingers together, feeling my nails dig into my palms, as if to ground myself in the moment.
“Miss Woods was admitted in critical condition,” he continued. “She had ingested more than twice the safe dosage. Her blood pressure plummeted, and she faced serious respiratory distress. Tragically, the fetus was lost at twelve weeks.”
The word “lost” echoed in my ears.
“She was under medical observation for several days. During our investigation, we found materials from Mrs. Blackwood’s personal residence which confirmed the presence of the same compound found in Miss Woods’ system.”
Whispers filled the room, swirling like leaves in a gentle breeze.
I stared blankly at the floor.
So this was how it came to be, no shouting, no wild chaos. Just calm deliberations piling evidence until the air felt thick, stifling.
More witnesses followed.
Security officers, legal aides, people who were like passing clouds in my daily life. Then one of them,Jonathan,stood up to speak next.
“The compound was discovered tucked beneath Mrs. Blackwood’s bed,” he said, his voice steady. “Carefully concealed. Also, a handwritten letter was found, addressed to her father.”
My stomach churned like a pot of boiling milk.
A letter.
So personal, so private.
Blackwood turned towards me.
“Elena, is this your handwriting?”
I swallowed hard, feeling the shame cling to my throat.
“Yes.”
The word tasted bitter on my tongue.
Jonathan proceeded to read the letter aloud, each sentence feeling like a tiny flame licking at my skin, revealing my vulnerabilities and my love for a man I had sought to impress all my life,now dissected for all to see.
I kept my eyes down, unable to confront the truth.
Once he finished, Jonathan continued, “We also intercepted Mrs. Blackwood attempting to leave her residence that night. She had packed clothes, documents, and cash. Multiple witnesses can confirm she admitted to trying to flee.”
Escaping.
Proof of guilt, in their eyes.
Blackwood thanked him and called the next witness,Brayden.
Brayden, my husband’s loyal right-hand man.
“The morning Vanessa’s pregnancy was announced,” Brayden said, “there was a confrontation between her and Mrs. Blackwood. Mrs. Blackwood was aggressive, cruel even. Vanessa was so distraught, she nearly collapsed.”
I felt my mouth fall open.
I recalled that moment, the sting of humiliation, my world crumbling while everyone else looked on.
“I believe this distress was intentional,” Brayden continued, “driven by jealousy.”
Jealousy.
Oh, such a convenient word, wasn’t it?
They seemed unconcerned that I hadn’t yelled or touched her,that I simply existed amidst the turmoil while my life was paraded before me.
Blackwood nodded, “Thank you.”
He paused, drawing out the moment like a master storyteller.
“There is one final witness,” he said, and my breath caught.
“Sophie Forrester.”
The room tilted on its axis.
She was alive.
She was here.
Hope surged within me, almost painfully.
Sophie walked to the front, looking as pristine as ever, fresh and unscathed.
My heart flooded with relief.
Then I noticed her hands.
Clenched tightly.
Her eyes.
Avoiding mine like a squirrel avoiding a cat.
“I have been Elena Blackwood’s personal assistant for five years,” Sophie began, her voice wavering. “I cared for her and supported her. I believed her to be a kind woman who suffered greatly.”
I smiled weakly at her, but she wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“And because of that,” her voice trembled, “it pains me to testify today. But I am bound by an oath to speak the truth.”
My chest felt tight.
“An atrocity,” she said softly, “that Mrs. Blackwood ordered me to commit.”
My smile disappeared like mist in the sun.
The room fell silent.
“She instructed me to deliver herbal tea to Miss Vanessa Woods. A tea I believe caused the miscarriage.”
At that moment, the room erupted into noise, my ears roaring with the chaos around me.
I stood stunned, my heart tearing into pieces as I stared at Sophie, my heart shattering slowly, tragically.
And still, she wouldn’t look at me.
At that moment, it dawned on me.
They didn’t need to physically eliminate me.
They had already erased me in the most agonizing way.
- Writer
