CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN – SETTLEMENTS

The trial of Julian Preston dominated every media outlet in its breathless coverage, spawning documentaries and tell-all books almost from the opening gavel. And like any drama staged for the consumption of the masses, it delivered...in spades. On one side, the towering pillars of Julian's defense team, Wheeler and Jameson, the most feared and revered attorneys to ever set foot in a New York City courtroom. On the other, the prosecution's rising star, a DA groomed for the national spotlight named Francesca Rubio. And at the eye of this legal superstorm, the key players themselves. The staid, patrician Prestons glowering across the aisle at their tormentors - Alexander Montgomery, self-assured smirk firmly affixed as his eyes glittered with wicked mirth, and Emma, poised and predatory at his side as always. Each day's proceedings took on an operatic quality, with grandstanding from both sides and shocks ricocheting through the court like thunderbolts. Allegations flew thick and fast