CHAPTER 229: WITNESS

Murmurs rippled across the courtroom.

The prosecutor’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing. "Objection, Your Honor—we have not been notified—"

"Your Honor," Ethan cut in smoothly, "this witness only made contact last night. Her testimony is firsthand, directly relevant, and could materially impact the outcome of this case."

The judge raised an eyebrow. "Name?"

Ethan turned to the rear doors.

"Call her in," he said quietly.

A court officer opened the double doors. The room held its breath.

In walked a tall, slender woman, mid-30s, with dark hair pulled into a tight bun and a noticeable limp in her right leg. She wore a plain blue dress and no makeup. Her eyes scanned the courtroom once, then found Maria.

Maria’s lips parted in silent shock.

"State your name for the court," the judge said.

The woman’s voice, though clear, was heavy with an accent. "Elena Araya. I was Daniel Lewis’s fiancée."

A gasp swept the room.

Even the prosecutor looked momentarily winded. Ethan’s face remained calm, but his fingers tapped once against the table.

Maria couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"You were engaged to the victim?" the judge confirmed.

"Yes, Your Honor," Elena said softly. "Until a month before he came to Los Vinania. I left him. Or... I escaped him."

Ethan nodded. "Your Honor, may I proceed?"

"Go ahead."

Ethan took a step closer to the witness stand.

"Elena, can you tell the court why you left Daniel Lewis?"

Elena nodded. Her voice dropped to a nearly broken whisper.

"He was kind... in public. And charming, at first. But when we were alone, he changed. Possessive. Violent. He believed women belonged to him, like furniture. I wasn’t allowed to leave the house without permission. If I ever argued, he would... punish me."

Maria’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Ethan continued gently. "Did you ever report the abuse?"

"I tried once. I ended up in the hospital with a fractured arm and a broken jaw. After that, I never tried again."

The room was deathly silent.

Ethan took a breath. "Did Daniel ever speak of Maria?"

Elena nodded slowly. "Yes. I know, he spent years obsessed with her. I thought he was just drunk ranting, but he used to say I will take my child from her. That he would find her. That she owed him her life and money."

She looked at Maria now, her eyes softening.

"I should have come forward sooner. I thought I was finally free. But when I saw the news about her arrest... I knew. He had found her."

The judge’s voice was low. "Do you have proof of this history?"

"I brought medical records," Elena said. "Photographs. A letter he wrote me—where he said if I ever talked, he’d do to me what he promised to do to ’the girl who ran.’"

The clerk stepped forward to receive the documents.

Maria sat in stunned silence. She looked at Elena like she was watching a ghost.

The jury... was transfixed.

This wasn’t just a new voice. It was confirmation. A pattern. A predator.

And a woman who had once been where Maria had stood. When Ethan returned to his table, he glanced at Maria—her eyes wide, lips trembling.

"You’re not alone anymore," he whispered.

—--

The door shut behind them with a soft click. Stefan pulled on gloves and took a breath. Not rushed. Just... steady.

"You can sit," he said, gesturing to the padded exam table.

She climbed up, slowly, settling in the sterile space that suddenly felt more exposed than ever.

"You don’t have to do this," Aveline said finally. "If it’s too awkward, I can—"

"It’s not awkward," Stefan interrupted. "It’s your body. Your health. I’m a doctor."

She looked at him, his eyes focused on the chart, flipping through previous test records and internal notes. Nothing in his voice sounded condescending. But there was something heavy beneath it. Like a thread stretched too tight.

"I get checked every week," Aveline said, more defensively than she meant. "It’s just routine."

"I know," he replied quietly. "I read your chart."

She went still.

"You don’t have any infections. Everything’s clean," he continued after a moment. "Your choices are your own. I’m not here to make you feel anything about that."

Aveline looked away. "You already saw more than you were supposed to."

There it was. The thing neither of them had said.

Stefan paused, then finally sat down across from her.

"I didn’t mean to see what I saw," he said. "But I did. And I’ve been trying to forget it, or understand it, or maybe just not judge it."

She looked at him now.

"And?"

He shrugged slightly. "Still working on that."

A silence fell between them. Not cold. Not hostile.

Just real.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked, voice still soft. "Do you even like it?"

She laughed bitterly. "Does that matter?"

"It does if you’re hurting yourself."

"I’m not hurting myself. I’m surviving."

His eyes met hers.

"That’s what I told myself for years," Stefan said. "Different story. Same excuse."

That startled her, because it wasn’t pity. It was an admission. Quiet and raw.

She swallowed. "You think I’m lost."

"I think you’re tired."

Another silence.

"You can get dressed," he said gently, standing and tossing his gloves in the bin. "I’ll upload your results. Everything’s clear."

She nodded, her throat tight.

As he turned to leave, she spoke up. "I don’t know how to be seen like this... and still be okay with it."

Stefan stopped at the door, hand on the handle.

"You don’t have to be okay yet," he said. "But maybe stop going where no one sees you at all."

Then he left, and the room felt colder somehow—but not in a painful way.

More like something old had finally been named.

Later That Afternoon – Courtroom

The atmosphere in the courtroom had shifted. Maria’s testimony and Elena’s shocking appearance had stirred empathy and doubt in the jury. Even the spectators sensed it. The quiet murmurs were no longer about the crime, but the woman accused of it.