Chương 13
The rideshare driver was never identified.
That missing witness became a defense point. Perhaps Sofia had been injured after leaving the hotel. Perhaps an unknown driver had harmed her. The theory ignored timing, video, medical evidence, and the recording, but it did not need to be likely. It needed to occupy space.
The accountant testified about the Robles debt and the projected use of Sofia’s condo. Defense suggested he was retaliating after a pay dispute.
The real-estate broker admitted helping prepare the transfer document but claimed Carmen told him Sofia had agreed. He had not contacted Sofia to confirm.
“Is that normal?” the prosecutor asked.
“It was a draft.”
“Was the limited-liability company a draft?”
“No.”
“Was the financial projection a draft?”
“I don’t know.”
The trial lasted eight days before Sofia entered the courtroom as a witness.
She decided that morning.
At five thirty, she stood in my kitchen wearing a dark blue suit and eating dry cereal from a coffee mug because she could not tolerate milk.
“I’m going to testify,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Alexander sat at the table with his hands around an untouched cup of coffee.
Sofia looked at him.
“Don’t tell me I’m brave.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“What were you going to say?”
“That we can leave.”
She frowned.
“The prosecutor is expecting me.”
“She will adapt.”
“The jury will notice.”
“Probably.”
“You think I should run?”
“I think you should know I will leave with you if you choose to.”
She stared at him.
“You came back to fight.”
“I came back because you were hurt. I confused those things at first.”
The refrigerator clicked off. The apartment became quiet.
Sofia set down the mug.
“I’m testifying because I want Carmen to hear the story without controlling who tells it.”
Alexander nodded.
“That sounds like your reason.”
“It is.”
On the stand, Sofia did not look at Carmen during the first hour.
She described the wedding, the suite, the folder, and the locked door. She spoke clearly until the prosecutor asked what Javier had said from the hallway.
Her voice shook.
She stopped.
The courtroom waited.
Carmen turned slightly toward the jury, her expression composed.
Sofia looked at her.
“Javier said, ‘Just don’t hit her face too much. People will notice tomorrow.’”
The prosecutor played the recording.
Hearing it in the courtroom was different from hearing it in Maya’s office. The sound filled a public room. Carmen’s commands, the laughter, Sofia’s cries, Javier’s voice—all the things Carmen had called private became evidence that strangers were required to examine.
Several jurors looked down.
Carmen did not.
The prosecutor asked why Sofia refused to sign.
“Because the condo was mine.”
“Was its value the only reason?”
“No.”
“What did it represent to you?”
The defense objected. The judge allowed a limited answer.
Sofia looked toward Alexander.
“My father bought it after my parents divorced. We weren’t speaking much. He wanted me to have somewhere no husband could take from me.”
The prosecutor asked, “Did you understand that purpose at the time?”
“No.”
“And now?”
Sofia’s eyes moved back to Carmen.
“Yes.”
On cross-examination, the defense began gently.
Had Sofia been stressed before the wedding? Yes.
Had she argued with Javier about his mother? Yes.
Had she consumed alcohol? Yes.
Had she ever described the condo as a future home for both of them? Yes.
Had Alexander opposed the marriage? He had never met Javier.
“Because you excluded your father from the wedding.”
“Yes.”
“Your father disapproved from a distance.”
“He disapproved of most things from a distance.”
A few people in the courtroom reacted. The judge instructed them to remain quiet.
The attorney asked whether Alexander’s return had influenced Sofia’s interpretation of the night.
“No.”
“He immediately began preserving evidence.”
“Yes.”
“He contacted counsel.”
“Yes.”
“He has military and government connections.”
“He knows people. So does Carmen.”
The attorney changed direction.
“Isn’t it true your father taught you never to surrender property to a spouse?”
“No.”
“He purchased the condo specifically to keep it from a future husband.”
“He purchased it to keep me safe.”
“From marriage?”
“From dependence.”
“Your interpretation today.”
“His explanation four years ago.”
“Did that explanation create pressure to please him by retaining the condo?”
Sofia looked at Alexander.
“No. I barely spoke to him.”
“Yet he arrived within thirty minutes of your mother’s call.”
“Yes.”
“Like a rescuer.”
“No.”
The attorney paused.
“He did not rescue you?”
Sofia’s hands rested flat on the witness stand.
“I was already out of the hotel. My mother had opened the door. The hospital treated me. The detective investigated. My lawyer protected my choices. My father helped. Those are different things.”
The defense attorney walked closer.
“You want the jury to believe you remained fully independent while surrounded by people directing every step afterward?”
“No. I wasn’t fully independent. I had a concussion, a cracked rib, and I was terrified.”
“Then others influenced you.”
“They supported me.”
“That is a convenient distinction.”
“It took me most of a year to learn it.”
The attorney asked about inconsistencies. In her first statement, Sofia had said six women entered with Carmen. Hotel footage showed six women total, including Carmen.
“I counted wrong.”
“You exaggerated.”
“I was bleeding.”
“You described approximately forty slaps, yet the recording does not contain forty distinct impacts.”
“I stopped being able to count.”
“So the number is unreliable.”
“Yes.”
The admission surprised him.
“Then your memory is unreliable.”
“Parts of it.”
He waited for her to repair the answer.
She did not.
“Which parts should the jury believe?”
“The parts supported by evidence. The rest they decide.”
He turned toward the jury.
“You understand your testimony could send people to prison.”
“Yes.”
“Does that give you satisfaction?”
Sofia looked at Carmen.
“No.”
“Anger?”
“Yes.”
“Revenge?”
“Sometimes.”
The courtroom seemed to lean forward.
May you like
Maya’s face remained still.
Sofia continued, “Sometimes I want her to lose everything. Sometimes I want my wedding back. Sometimes I want to never hear any of their names again. None of those things changes what happened.”
