Chapter 19 - Preparing SarahThe prosecutor warned Sarah not to memorize answers.
“Tell the truth in your own words.”
“I intend to.”
“Victoria’s attorney will try to upset you.”
“I know.”
“He may suggest you wanted her gone.”
“I did after I saw what she did.”
“Before that.”
Sarah thought carefully.
“I didn’t trust her.”
“Why?”
“Small things.”
“Be specific.”
Sarah described Victoria criticizing staff.
Her irritation when Leo preferred familiar caregivers.
The repeated attempts to isolate Ethan from employees who had worked for Margaret.
“But did you want Ethan and Victoria to break up before the incident?”
Sarah hesitated.
“I thought the marriage was too fast.”
“That is not the same question.”
“No.”
Sarah appreciated the prosecutor’s firmness.
“No. I did not try to break them up.”
“Did you love Ethan?”
Sarah blinked.
“As an employer?”
“As a person.”
“He is family to me in a complicated way.”
“Romantically?”
“No.”
“Have you ever had a romantic relationship with him?”
“No.”
“Wanted one?”
“No.”
The prosecutor nodded.
“Expect those questions.”
Sarah sighed.
“I hate this.”
“That’s why the defense may use it.”
The preparation continued.
Did she consider Leo like her own child?
Sarah answered carefully.
“I love him, but he is Ethan and Claire’s son.”
Would she die for him?
The prosecutor stopped her.
“Don’t give dramatic answers.”
Sarah smiled faintly.
“Fine.”
“Would you protect him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because adults are supposed to protect children.”
Simple.
True.
Ethan underwent separate preparation.
His lawyers warned him the defense might portray him as a powerful man using influence to punish a former fiancée.
Ethan insisted police handled everything independently.
Records supported him.
No donations to the department.
No political calls.
No private pressure.
Avery ensured every contact was documented.
Marcus complicated the case.
He entered negotiations with prosecutors.
Victoria’s attorney accused him of blaming his daughter to reduce his own consequences.
That was partly true.
But emails independently supported many of his statements.
The case would not depend on Marcus alone.
One evening, Ethan entered the kitchen while Sarah was preparing Leo’s bottles.
“You could resign.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Again?”
“I mean permanently.”
She stopped.
“Why are you saying that?”
“Because even after this trial, reporters may keep following you.”
“So?”
“You didn’t sign up for this.”
“No.”
Ethan leaned against the counter.
“I can give you enough money to never work again.”
Sarah looked sharply at him.
“Absolutely not.”
“It isn’t payment for testimony.”
“I know.”
“It’s gratitude.”
“No.”
“Sarah.”
“If you want to give me a raise, we can discuss that.”
He almost smiled.
“But I am not accepting millions of dollars from you while I’m a witness in your former fiancée’s criminal case.”
“That’s exactly what Avery said.”
“Avery is smart.”
“He’s also annoying.”
“Yes.”
They both laughed.
The normality felt good.
Sarah placed bottles in the refrigerator.
Then Ethan said:
“After the trial, I want you to run the household.”
“I already run the household.”
“Officially.”
Sarah turned.
“What does that mean?”
“Director of residential operations.”
“That sounds ridiculous.”
“It comes with an office.”
“I have an office.”
“You call the pantry desk an office.”
“It has a chair.”
Ethan smiled.
Sarah understood what he was really offering.
Respect.
Recognition.
Not charity.
“We’ll discuss it after the trial.”
“Fair.”
Leo began crying upstairs.
Both immediately looked toward the ceiling.
Then they laughed at themselves.
Ethan checked the monitor.
Leo had dropped his toy.
Nothing dangerous.
Nothing wrong.
Sarah watched him go upstairs.
The fear from the drawing-room incident remained.
Maybe it always would.
But fear no longer controlled the house.
Procedures had changed.
Cameras were secure.
Access was limited.
Staff training improved.
Visitors signed in.
Ethan had learned that security was not paranoia when a child depended on him.
Sarah had learned something too.
Loyalty needed boundaries.
For years, she believed protecting the Cole family meant quietly fixing problems.
Now she understood silence could protect the wrong people.
Margaret had hidden documents to guard against Marcus.
Robert had hidden scandal to protect the company.
Claire had hidden her fear because she worried she might be overreacting.
Every secret had consequences.
The trial would finally place those secrets in public.
The night before jury selection, Sarah went to the drawing room.
Leo’s crib had been moved permanently upstairs weeks earlier.
The room looked normal again.
Sarah stood beneath the fireplace camera.
The green light remained.
Tiny.
Steady.
She remembered Victoria looking up and realizing it had recorded her.
Truth had not arrived dramatically.
It had been sitting quietly above them the entire time.
Sarah touched the edge of the mantel.
Tomorrow, she would walk into court.
Victoria would look at her.
Lawyers would question her.
Strangers would judge her.
But for once Sarah was not afraid of whether Ethan believed her.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
The evidence had already answered that.
The only thing left was to tell the truth clearly enough that nobody could turn it into something else.
Related Stories
