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Olivia pursed her lips. “Isn’t it true then that you objected to the policy change because you were directly benefiting from it?”
“I objected because it affected all the students.”
“But not the ones who didn’t need it,” Olivia retorted. “There are healthy students who never used their health plan, yet they were paying premiums to support your treatments. Isn’t that correct, Miss Evers?”
“I wouldn’t say they didn’t use it,” Nadine countered. “Emergencies happen all the time. Lydia Larson, for example, was a perfectly healthy student who was paralyzed in The Hearse Tragedy. She lost all financial support when her health plan was defunded.”
“Lydia is a young student,” Olivia stated. “She could easily be on her parents’ insurance.”
“Not everyone has their parents’ support,” Nadine replied. “Lydia’s parents were laid off. They had no insurance at the time of her injury.”
“It is true that not all students are supported by their parents,” Olivia agreed. “Which is why you objected to this policy change. Because your parents are dead, aren’t they, Nadine?”
My hands curled into fists. How dare they speak of Nadine’s parents like that!
Nadine shifted in her chair, and she visibly swallowed. “Yes, my parents are dead.”
“So you had selfish intentions when you objected to the Imperium Council’s rulings?” Olivia pressed. “You stated that you had the coven’s best interests at heart, but you only had your own. Isn’t that right, Nadine?”
“No,” Nadine stated firmly, but I could see Olivia was getting to her.
“And isn’t it right that you and Lucas Taylor murdered seven people who got in your way?” Olivia demanded.
“No!” Nadine’s voice cracked this time. Fuck, this wasn’t looking good.
“You were there that night four members of the coven were killed at Pinewood Manor. You were there the night Priestess Stella died. You were in possession of the Alchemy Wand the night two esteemed officers of the Miriamic Police Department were murdered in cold blood. You were at the school when Professor Zachary Perez was killed. You were riding in The Hearse the night it crashed. Your car was parked beside the front gate the morning Lena Hahn was hanged. You killed them all, and you should be charged with far more than seven murders!”
“I didn’t kill all those people!” Nadine cried.
Murmurs spread throughout the courtroom, and Judge Calloway smacked her gavel. “Attorney Sinclair, please stick to presenting the evidence regarding the current charges.”
The courtroom quieted, though the tension in the air was palpable.
Olivia straightened her blazer. “No further questions, your honor.”
Verla stood. “The defense calls Lucas Taylor to the witness stand.”
Nadine squeezed my hand as she sat back down, and Verla whispered to her, “You did great.”
I admired Nadine for the grace she showed on the stand, but I could tell she was shaken by it all. My knees quaked as I stood. I swore on Mother Miriam’s grimoire before taking the stand. I drew a deep breath and tried to relax as the examination began.
Verla approached the witness stand. “Lucas Taylor, you were present the night Pinewood Manor collapsed, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And what drew you to Pinewood Manor that night?”
“Nadine’s roommate woke to find Nadine missing, so she called me. Through her visions, we were able to find out that Nadine had been kidnapped and taken to Pinewood Manor.”
“Did you enter the building right away?” Verla asked.
“No. We weren’t sure where Nadine had been taken, so we searched the grounds first.”
“Did you find anything there?”
“Yes. We found the bodies of two dead boys.”
“Please bring up evidence file number three-one-one,” Verla said. Crime scene images appeared on the screen, showing the children’s bodies in shallow graves.
