Chapter 5 - The Tribunal of Seville
Three months later, the Provincial Court of Seville was packed to capacity. International media outlets crowded the stone corridors, flashing cameras capturing every detail of the high-profile financial corruption and attempted murder trial that had captivated the nation.
Sitting behind the defendant’s partition were Ruby and Adrián.
Months in federal custody had eroded their polished facades. Ruby wore a plain grey jumpsuit, her hair unstyled, her eyes hollow as she stared blankly at the polished oak floor. Adrián refused to even look in her direction, sitting slumped in his chair, burdened by the realization that his life of luxury had been permanently traded for a prison cell.
On the prosecution bench, I sat alongside Commander Vance and my legal team. I wore a tailored black-and-white wool suit, my posture upright, embodying the absolute authority of the Salvatierra name. The scar on my cheek from the broken plate had faded into a thin, silver line—a permanent reminder of the night I took my life back.
When the presiding judge, Magistrate Esteban Morales, entered the courtroom, the entire gallery rose in unison.
“Sit down,” Judge Morales commanded, adjusting his spectacles as he reviewed the final dossier.
The trial had been swift and merciless. The Gibraltar bank logs, the UCO audio transcripts, the forensic handwriting analysis of the forged corporate deeds, and the medical toxicology report confirming the neurotoxin in the wine bottle left zero room for doubt.
“In the case of the State versus Ruby Vance and Adrián Delgado,” Judge Morales read, his voice echoing off the stone walls with solemn gravity, “the tribunal finds both defendants guilty on all counts of grand larceny, corporate fraud, conspiracy, and premeditated attempted murder.”
The courtroom held its collective breath.
“Ruby Vance is hereby sentenced to eighteen years in federal penitentiary without the possibility of parole. Adrián Delgado is sentenced to fourteen years, with concurrent asset forfeiture of all illicitly acquired holdings.”
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The gavel fell with a sharp, definitive crack.
Ruby let out a ragged, choked sob, burying her face in her hands as the bailiffs stepped forward to escort them down the secure subterranean corridor toward holding. She didn't look back. There was no one left to perform for.
