Chapter 6 - Lily Takes the Stand
Four months later, Lily Walker walked into court.
Daniel stayed beside her until they reached the courtroom doors.
Her jaw had healed enough for her to speak.
A faint scar remained near her chin.
She touched it nervously.
“You don't have to do this,” Daniel said.
“Yes, I do.”
“They'll ask difficult questions.”
“I know.”
“They may try to blame you.”
Lily looked at him.
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Stop trying to scare me out of it.”
Daniel smiled.
“Wasn't working?”
“No.”
She hugged him.
Then whispered:
“You raised me stubborn.”
“That may have been a tactical mistake.”
She laughed.
Inside, Ethan Cole, Brandon Hale and Tyler Whitmore sat with their attorneys.
None looked like the laughing boys from the athletic club anymore.
Lily testified for nearly three hours.
She described discovering manipulated research data.
She described confronting them.
She described being followed outside.
Then the defense attorney stood.
“Miss Walker, isn't it possible you exaggerated what happened because you were angry?”
“No.”
“You disliked these young men?”
“I barely knew them.”
“You secretly recorded them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because powerful people kept telling me nothing was wrong.”
The courtroom became silent.
The attorney approached.
“Your father has an unusual background, doesn't he?”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
Lily looked toward him.
Then back at the attorney.
“My father owns an import business.”
“Is that all?”
Daniel expected Lily to look confused.
Instead, she said:
“No.”
His heart stopped.
The attorney smiled.
“What else is he?”
Lily looked directly at Daniel.
“He’s the man who sat beside my hospital bed every night.”
The attorney’s smile disappeared.
“He’s the man who made pancakes before my exams even though they're terrible.”
Several jurors smiled.
“He’s the man who taught me that being afraid doesn't mean you stop doing what's right.”
She faced the jury.
“So whatever you're trying to make him into, that's the man I know.”
Daniel looked down.
For perhaps the first time in his life, The Ghost had no defense against what he felt.
The evidence was overwhelming.
The security footage.
The cloud recording.
Jason’s testimony.
Professor Kim’s records.
Detective Harris’s confession regarding the attempted cover-up.
The jury returned its verdict.
Guilty.
All three defendants.
Lily closed her eyes.
Daniel took her hand.
Outside the courthouse, reporters crowded around.
“Mr. Walker!”
“Lily!”
“Do you believe justice was served?”
Daniel ignored them.
Lily stopped.
She looked at the cameras.
Then said:
“Justice shouldn't depend on who your father is.”
Daniel looked at her.
She continued.
“It shouldn't depend on how rich the person who hurt you is either.”
Then she took her father’s arm.
“Can we go home?”
Daniel smiled.
May you like
“Absolutely.”
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