Chapter 5 - The Press Conference
At 2:00 PM that afternoon, Victoria Sterling and I walked out onto the steps of the Stamford Courthouse.
Over fifty journalists, television camera crews, and photographers were crammed behind the barricades. The air was electric with shouting reporters, their microphones thrusting forward like spears.
"Mrs. Montgomery! Is it true you suffered postpartum psychosis?!"
"Did you falsely accuse your husband to seize his assets?!"
"What do you say to the claims made by the Montgomery family?!"
Victoria stepped up to the podium, flanked by two armed security guards. She raised her hand, and the wall of noise collapsed into an expectant silence.
"Good afternoon," Victoria said, her voice echoing through the courtyard with absolute authority. "Earlier today, a cowardly, defamatory smear campaign was launched by associates of Daniel and Patricia Montgomery in an attempt to discredit my client, Claire Montgomery, and evade accountability for their heinous federal crimes."
Victoria paused, letting the silence build.
"We are not here to debate anonymous rumors. We are here to introduce a key federal witness."
Victoria stepped aside, and Chloe Bennett walked forward to the microphone.
The flashes from the cameras went off in an explosive, blinding frenzy. The press recognized her instantly.
Chloe took a trembling breath, looked directly into the lens of the primary news camera, and spoke with clear, unyielding clarity.
"My name is Chloe Bennett," she began. "For the past eighteen months, Daniel Montgomery defrauded me out of five point four million dollars under the false pretense of marriage, claiming his wife was dead or absent. When his criminal empire collapsed three days ago, his mother, Patricia Montgomery, contacted me from custody and attempted to suborn perjury, offering me stolen offshore funds if I fabricated allegations of child abuse and mental instability against Claire Montgomery."
The courtyard erupted into chaos. Journalists began shouting over one another, scribbling furiously on their notepads.
"Furthermore," Victoria announced, stepping back to the mic, "we have delivered the audio recordings of Patricia Montgomery’s extortion attempt, along with Daniel Montgomery’s hidden domestic ledgers, to the United States Department of Justice. As of twelve minutes ago, federal prosecutors have added witness tampering, interstate extortion, and wire fraud conspiracy charges against both defendants."
Victoria turned toward the cameras, pointing a manicured finger directly at the lens.
"To the media outlets that ran unverified, defamatory statements against a woman who was in the process of nursing her three-day-old child while uncovering a syndicate of fraud: you have twenty-four hours to issue a full retraction and an apology, or you will face defamation lawsuits totaling one hundred million dollars. Have a pleasant afternoon."
I didn't say a single word. I simply turned on my heel, flanked by Victoria and Chloe, and walked down the courthouse steps into my waiting black Suburban.
As the tinted windows rolled up, shutting out the roar of the media, my phone buzzed. It was an email notification from Daniel’s defense attorney, Arthur Pendelton.
*Subject: URGENT - Plea Discussion Request.*
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I showed the screen to Victoria. She glanced at it, smiled a cold, razor-thin smile, and said, "Let him sweat in that cell until his teeth rattle. We don't negotiate with predators."
***
