Chapter 137 Damage Control
CAITLYN'S POV
The next morning DA Walsh called and asked us to come to her office. She said she had a plan for damage control. Jason and I dropped Emma off with Sarah and drove to the courthouse.
Walsh's office was busy. Phones ringing. People rushing around. She looked stressed when we walked in.
"Thank you for coming," she said. "Sit down. We have a lot to discuss."
We sat down and Walsh pulled out a folder.
"I have been working on a response to Vanessa's claims," she said. "A detailed rebuttal that we can release to the media. But before we do that I need to ask you some hard questions."
"Okay," I said.
"Is there any truth to what she said?" Walsh asked. "Any truth at all? Even a small detail that she got right?"
"No," I said. "Everything she said is a lie. I never attended meetings. Never signed documents. Never made bank deposits. None of it is true."
"You are absolutely certain?" Walsh asked. "Because if there is even one thing she got right the defense will use it to destroy your credibility."
"I am certain," I said. "I swear on my daughter's life. None of it is true."
"Okay," Walsh said. "Then we move forward with the rebuttal. Here is what I have written."
She handed me a document. It was three pages long. Detailed. Methodical. It went through each of Vanessa's claims and explained why they were false. It included evidence. Alibis. Financial records. Everything we had gathered.
"This is good," I said. "Really good."
"It is thorough," Walsh said. "But I need you to understand something. Putting this out there is going to make Vanessa angrier. She might respond. Might make more claims. This could get uglier before it gets better."
"I do not care," I said. "I am tired of being quiet. Tired of letting people lie about me. I want to fight back."
"Then we fight back," Walsh said. "I am going to release this to the same outlets that ran Vanessa's story. I am also going to send it to every major news organization. Make sure they all have it."
"What about the upcoming trials?" Jason asked. "Will this help or hurt those cases?"
"It should help," Walsh said. "It establishes that Vanessa is not credible. That her claims are fabricated. The defense might still try to use her story but we will be ready for them."
"What if they call her as a witness?" I asked. "What if she testifies?"
"Let them," Walsh said. "We will tear her apart on cross-examination. We will show that she is lying. That she has a motive to lie. That nothing she says can be trusted."
"I wish it had not come to this," I said. "I wish she had just left me alone."
"Me too," Walsh said. "But we deal with the situation we have. Not the one we wish we had."
"When are you releasing the statement?" Jason asked.
"Today," Walsh said. "This afternoon. I want to get ahead of any more stories Vanessa might plant."
"Okay," I said. "Do it. Release it."
"Before I do I need you to prepare for backlash," Walsh said. "Vanessa's supporters are going to attack you. They are going to call you a liar. They are going to say terrible things. You need to be ready for that."
"I am ready," I said. Even though I was not sure I was.
"Also the media might want to interview you," Walsh said. "To get your side of the story. My advice is to decline. Let the statement speak for itself."
"What if declining makes me look guilty?" I asked. "Like I have something to hide?"
"It makes you look smart," Walsh said. "Anything you say in an interview can be taken out of context. Used against you. The statement is carefully worded. Legally sound. Stick with that."
"Okay," I said. "No interviews."
"Good," Walsh said. "Now let me ask you something else. Is there anyone from your past who might come forward with information about you? Anyone who might try to hurt you?"
"I do not think so," I said. "I did not have many friends when I was with Collin. He isolated me. And the friends I had before I lost touch with."
"What about family?" Walsh asked.
"I do not have family," I said. "I grew up in foster care. No relatives."
"Okay," Walsh said. "That actually helps. Means there is no one Vanessa can dig up to corroborate her story."
We left Walsh's office and drove home. I felt better having a plan. Having someone fighting for me. But I was still scared. Scared of what Vanessa might do next. Scared of how bad this could get.
"You okay?" Jason asked as we drove.
"Not really," I said. "I keep thinking about all the people who believe her. All the people who think I am a criminal."
"Those people do not matter," Jason said. "What matters is the truth. And the people who know the truth."
"But what if the truth does not matter?" I asked. "What if no one cares about the truth?"
"Then we make them care," Jason said. "We keep fighting. Keep proving she is lying. Keep showing the evidence."
"I am so tired," I said. "So tired of all of this."
"I know," Jason said. "But we are almost through the worst of it. Once Walsh releases that statement people will start to see the truth."
"I hope you are right," I said.
That afternoon Walsh released the statement. It went out to every major news outlet. Some of them picked it up immediately. Ran stories about the rebuttal. About the evidence showing Vanessa was lying.
But others ignored it. Kept running the original story. Kept painting me as a criminal. The comments online got worse. People are calling me names. Threatening me. Saying I should be in prison.
"Do not read the comments," Jason said. "Nothing good comes from reading the comments."
"I cannot help it," I said. "I need to know what people are saying."
"What people are saying does not matter," Jason said. "What matters is the truth. And the truth is on our side."
My phone rang. It was Detective Rourke.
"I found something," he said. "About Vanessa. Something you need to know."
"What is it?" I asked.
"She was paid," Rourke said. "The tabloid paid her fifty thousand dollars for the story."
"Fifty thousand?" I said. "That is a lot of money."
"It is," Rourke said. "And it establishes a financial motive for lying. We can use this."
"How?" I asked.
"We include it in our response," Rourke said. "We point out that she was paid to tell this story. That she has a financial interest in making you look bad. That she is not a credible witness."
"Will that help?" I asked.
"It should," Rourke said. "Money is a powerful motive. Juries understand that."
"Thank you," I said. "For finding this. For helping us."
"That is my job," Rourke said. "And I am not going to let this woman destroy you. Not after everything you have been through."
After I hung up I told Jason what Rourke said. He smiled.
"Fifty thousand dollars," he said. "That is huge. Now we can prove she is lying for money."
"I just want this to be over," I said. "I want Vanessa to go away. I want to stop defending myself."
"Soon," Jason said. "This will be over soon."