Chapter 107 Breaking Point

Chapter 107 Breaking Point
Charles Brennan stood slowly, taking his time approaching the witness stand. Helen watched him warily, her hands still trembling in her lap.

"Ms. Wade," Brennan began, his voice deceptively gentle. "You've had quite a journey, haven't you? From respected executive assistant to convicted murderer. That must be difficult to reconcile."

"Objection, argumentative," Lisa called.

"Sustained. Mr. Brennan, please ask actual questions."

"Of course, Your Honor." Brennan smiled slightly. "Ms. Wade, you pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in Sophia Wolfe's death. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And you admitted to helping Robert Hartley plan and execute Sophia's car accident?"

"Yes."

"So you're a murderer. You killed an innocent woman. Correct?"

Helen flinched. "Yes."

"And now you're testifying against my client in exchange for a reduced sentence. Instead of life in prison, you'll serve what twenty years? Possibility of parole after twelve?"

"That's the agreement, yes."

"So you have a significant incentive to tell the prosecution what they want to hear. To blame Patricia for everything, including the kidnapping. Because if you don't cooperate, that deal goes away. Correct?"

"I'm telling the truth."

"Are you? Or are you telling the story that saves you from spending the rest of your life in prison?" Brennan walked closer. "Ms. Wade, let's talk about your relationship with Adrian Wolfe. You worked for him for five years. Is that right?"

"Yes."

"And during that time, did you develop feelings for him?"

Helen's face flushed. "I admired him. Professionally."

"Just professionally? Ms. Wade, didn't you tell a coworker Jennifer Marsh that you were in love with Adrian Wolfe?"

Helen looked down. "I may have said something like that."

"You were in love with your boss. And when he married Sophia, how did that make you feel?"

"Objection, relevance," Lisa said.

"Your Honor, the witness's feelings toward Mr. Wolfe are relevant to understanding her motivations and potential bias," Brennan argued.

"I'll allow it. The witness may answer."

Helen took a shaky breath. "I was disappointed. But I accepted it. Adrian loved Sophia. I understood that."

"Did you? Because when Sophia died, didn't you hope that maybe, finally, Adrian would notice you?"

"No. That's not"

"But he didn't notice you, did he? He was too consumed with grief. And then, just when you might have thought you had a chance, he married Emma Carter. Another woman. Someone who looked exactly like Sophia. That must have hurt."

"Adrian was my boss. Nothing more."

"Really? Then why did you help kill his wife?"

The question hung in the air like a blade.

Helen's composure cracked. "Because I believed I believed he killed her first. I thought Sophia's death wasn't an accident. I thought Adrian arranged it."

"Based on what evidence?"

"Based on how they fought. How unhappy Sophia was. How Adrian was always working, never home. And then she dies in a convenient accident right when she was about to divorce him? It was too convenient."

"So you decided to play judge, jury, and executioner? You decided Adrian Wolfe was guilty and helped kill his wife as punishment?"

"I was wrong," Helen whispered. "The investigation showed it was really an accident. But by then, Sophia was dead. And I couldn't take it back."

Brennan let that admission sink in for the jury. Helen Wade unreliable, emotional, motivated by jealousy and delusion.

"Ms. Wade, let's talk about Patricia. When did she allegedly first contact you about harming Emma Wolfe?"

"August of last year. Late August."

"And you kept records of these conversations? Text messages? Emails?"

"We mostly talked on the phone."

"How convenient. So there's no record of what was actually said. Just your word."

"Patricia was careful. She knew not to leave evidence."

"Or perhaps there's no evidence because these conversations never happened the way you're describing them." Brennan pulled out a document. "Ms. Wade, phone records show you did speak with Patricia multiple times in August and September. But they also show you called her first. Repeatedly. Isn't that right?"

Helen hesitated. "I yes. Sometimes I called her."

"In fact, you initiated contact sixty percent of the time. Doesn't that suggest you were the one pursuing these conversations? Not Patricia?"

"She asked me to call her. She didn't want her phone records to show"

"Or perhaps you were the one obsessed with Emma Wolfe? The woman who'd taken the place you thought should be yours?" Brennan's voice sharpened. "Ms. Wade, isn't it true that you were jealous of Emma? That you resented her relationship with Adrian? That you wanted her gone?"

"No. I was following Patricia's orders."

"Were you? Or were you acting on your own obsession, and now you're blaming Patricia to save yourself?"

"That's not true!"

Helen's face went pale. "I that was for expenses. For planning."

"Planning that Patricia allegedly paid for? So why did you need to withdraw your own money?"

"There were costs she couldn't cover directly. Things that needed cash."

"Or perhaps you were funding this yourself. Perhaps Patricia knew nothing about your plan, and you used her name to intimidate Emma Wolfe. To make the kidnapping seem like it was ordered from above when really it was just you and Robert acting alone."

"No. Patricia paid Robert directly. Fifty thousand dollars."

"So you say. But Patricia's lawyer has provided bank records showing that the money Robert received came from an account that Patricia had no access to. An account controlled solely by Robert himself."