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Mackenzie

I smooth the front of my navy blazer, trying to calm the nervous feeling in my stomach. The collar of my white shirt feels a little tight. I take a slow breath to help myself feel calm.

You can do this.

It’s been almost two months since I came back to EnergiFusion as COO, but I’ve kept things professional only with Theo. It seemed best not to jump into too many new things at once. I’ve wanted clarity from him, but I realize I also needed clarity for myself. What do I want? What’s right for me and for Levi?

And I think I’ve begun to find it. I want both Theo and I to make decisions that are right, not influenced by the pressures and emotional upheaval elsewhere in our lives. I’m looking forward to the day this ongoing struggle about Justin is behind us. I’ve worked too hard to be anyone’s distraction, and I still don’t know where we’ll end up.

But coming back to the company was a good decision. I know that for sure. Every day reminds me why I love my new job—the thinking, the planning, the feeling that I’m in control.

Today, though, I’m not going to the office.

Today, I’ll be standing in a courtroom. I’m getting ready to testify at Justin’s murder trial. On the outside, I look calm and professional. But inside, I’m a wreck. I’m doing my best to hold it together in this courthouse bathroom.

Yet I remain focused on justice for Justin, and on getting past this obstacle in my life. Sharing what I know about all of this mess, and about Crystal, will set me free, I hope, leaving me more mental space to consider other aspects of my life.

In the meantime, Crystal is still not even in the country. She chose carefully when she selected a destination, and though Romania seemed an odd choice at first when Jim told us where he’d pinpointed her, they don’t have an extradition agreement with the United States, so thus far, our laws can’t touch her. She doesn’t have to deal with the damage she’s caused. She took so much from us. Sometimes, it still takes my breath away.

The state isn’t asking for the death penalty, though, so regardless of what’s decided, she’ll still get to live. Justin didn’t get that chance.

The news has been calling her a master manipulator, someone who built her whole life on lies.

They’re right. I’ve seen the proof. I know the truth.

But she still maintains that she didn’t do anything. She says we’re making it all up. Setting her up to take the fall.

I take another breath and smooth my blazer again. I’m ready.

I can’t go in until I’ve been called as a witness, though, so I step back out into the hallway, sit on a bench, and wait.

A few minutes later, the door to the courtroom opens and Theo walks out. He was the witness before me. So it’s almost my time.

He looks so serious in his sharp Armani suit, but when he sees me, something in his face changes.

He walks right up to me. “Hey.” When I stand, he wraps his arms around me in a hug. It’s warm and strong. I let myself stay there a little longer than I should. “It wasn’t too bad,” he tells me. “Honestly, it helps that she’s not here.”

“Thank you. That’s good to know.” I breathe in his scent of cedarwood and lemongrass—safe and familiar.

“You’ve got this.” He steps back enough to see my face. “Crystal’s lawyer is tough, but we have the truth on our side. And that’s strong.”

I nod. His belief in me helps. “I still wish she was here,” I say quietly. “To see what she’s done.”

Theo’s face tightens. “She’ll face it. Even if she’s hiding across the world. She can run, but the truth is louder than her lawyer ever will be.”

The courtroom door opens again. A bailiff steps out and calls my name.

Theo gives my arm one last squeeze.

I draw in a breath, lift my chin, and step forward. The doors close behind me with a soft finality, sealing me into this room where facts matter—and where my words have power.

The room is packed with mostly press, and every head turns and watches me walk to the front. I say a silent prayer that I don’t trip and fall. I smooth my skirt and move with purpose toward the witness stand.

The bailiff stands up front with a worn Bible in hand. I place my hand on the leather, the weight of truth and duty pressing into my palm as I take the oath.

Once sworn in, I settle into the chair.

The district attorney, Daisy Chow, approaches the witness stand. “Thank you for giving up your morning for this.” She smiles, and it puts me at ease. This is the easy part. “Please state your full name for the record and your address.”

“Mackenzie Sophia Davis,” I begin, then clearly articulate my address.

“And your current position at EnergiFusion?”

“Chief Operating Officer.” I sit a little straighter.

Daisy nods, walking slowly in front of the jury. She turns back toward me, and her eyes meet mine. “Can you briefly describe your work since you’ve been with EnergiFusion?”

“After completing my MBA, I joined EnergiFusion’s marketing team. As the company expanded, I transitioned into the role of executive administrator for the CEO—first for Justin Capriotti, then for Austin Sands, then Rhys Smalls, and most recently for Theo Reed. From there, I moved into my current position as COO.”

Daisy nods. “So, you worked closely with Mr. Capriotti?”

“Yes,” I say. “Justin was more than just my boss. He was a mentor. We had a mutual respect. He was a visionary, and I ensured that those visions became reality. We worked well together.”

“Why did you accept a position that, by all appearances, was a step down from your previous role in marketing?”

A flicker of irritation rises in my chest, but I keep it in check. I hold her gaze with quiet confidence.

“The executive administrator position wasn’t a demotion,” I explain. “In many ways, it’s one of the most powerful roles in any company.”

Daisy tilts her head. “Powerful? Can you explain that?”

I look out at the people sitting in the gallery and spot a few familiar faces.

“As executive administrator,” I say, “I helped with all the big decisions. I worked with different teams across the company, planned important meetings, and made sure everything got done the way my boss wanted it. I kept things running smoothly for the executive team. No one can get to the CEO without going through me first. It was a job that came with a lot of trust and responsibility.”

Daisy watches me for a second, then gives a small nod and moves on. “Ms. Davis,” she says, “can you tell us about the relationship between the founders of EnergiFusion?”

I take a deep breath and think back to the early days. “Austin, Rhys, Theo, and Justin were really close.” I glance at the jury. They’re listening carefully. “They weren’t just coworkers. They were friends. They started the company as a school project in college and turned it into something life changing.”

“And where did Crystal Capriotti fit in?” Daisy asks.

I pause for just a moment before answering. “Crystal was kind of on the outside,” I say, picking my words with care. “The founders had a strong connection. They never really let anyone into their close group.”

“Did that bother you? Or her?”

“Me?” I shift a little in my chair. Everyone’s watching. “I didn’t expect to be in that circle. But Crystal…she didn’t hide the way she felt. One time, she called them ‘a perfect example of a boys’ club.’”

I still remember how she said it, cold and sharp, like every word was meant to cut.

“How was Crystal after she thought Justin had left her?”

My throat feels tight. The memory hits me fast, and I don’t want it, but it’s there anyway. “She was devastated. She cried a lot. She seemed heartbroken and often told me she didn’t know why he would leave.”

The whole courtroom goes quiet.

“Was she coming in to work at EnergiFusion?” Daisy asks.

“She wasn’t employed by the company at the time. But Austin Sands was CEO, and he begged her to come work for them, so she would have something to do, rather than being alone. EnergiFusion was having some issues.”

“What kind of issues?”

“Someone counterfeited our electric vehicle batteries, and they were catching fire while being operated.”

“That must have been very scary,” Daisy says.

I nod. “Our CEO had disappeared, a little over a billion dollars went missing, and the company was all over the news because of the battery fires.”

“Going back to Crystal. Was she a good employee?”

I hate this question because my opinion sounds so petty. “She knew the marketing side of the business, but she seemed to stir the pot with the other founders more than she helped.”

“Give us some examples.”

“From what I could tell, Crystal would meet with the founders individually and tell them things that would then sow distrust, like that Justin only trusted that person. She also would talk badly about EnergiFusion’s leadership to the employees, and she liked to promise that when she ran the company, she would make it better. She also told some of the employees we couldn’t make payroll, which resulted in several key players being poached.”

“Was anything she said true?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“We now know that Justin Capriotti is dead, but initially, your belief was that he had gone into hiding or left for some reason, correct?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“What made you think that? What was going on with Justin at that point?”

“The founders and Crystal were getting messages from him—voicemails and emails. He kept saying he’d disappeared to protect us.”

“What was he protecting you from?”

I shake my head. “It was never clear.”

“What happened then?”

“Clear Security upped the founders’ security because we couldn’t identify the risk, and then Crystal had a break-in at her home while her bodyguards were with her inside.”

“That must have been scary for her.”

“She seemed terrified. And Clear Security worried that she was in danger, along with possibly the others.”

“What kind of danger?”

“We didn’t know. Because we didn’t have details about what had happened to Justin, we couldn’t accurately assess the threat. So our security advised us to be cautious, and the founders and Crystal decided to scatter to separate locations. During that time I often worked from home to help coordinate their schedules and meetings. When it was determined they could come back to San Francisco, we discovered that Crystal had slipped away several weeks before. We haven’t seen her since.”

“What did she tell you when she vanished?”

“For a while she tried to cover up the fact that she was gone. It took a lot of cajoling to get her to talk to us and finally she did, but we never really knew where she was. She wouldn’t disclose her location.”

“What did you say to her that started communications again?”

“I’m not sure we know. She just finally responded. But we then learned that, before she disappeared, she’d returned to San Francisco and met with EnergiFusion’s board members. She attempted to start a mutiny.”

“A mutiny? What do you mean?”

“She spoke with several of the board members—specifically Gil Collins and Wade Williams—and told them she wasn’t being invited to board meetings and that Justin had left because he was worried his business partners were going to do something to him.”

“Objection,” Nicole White stands up. “Hearsay.”

The judge turns to me. “Please only relay conversations that you heard.”

I look at the judge. “Your honor, in my role as the executive administrator I attended all board meetings and witnessed Wade Williams and Gil Collins telling the board what she had said to them.”

“Okay, thank you.” He looks at Nicole. “Your objection is overruled. Ms. Chow, you can continue.”

“Ms. Davis,” she says, “how was Crystal Capriotti notified that Justin Capriotti’s body had been found?”

“The police were having trouble reaching her, and we didn’t want her to hear it from the press. We reached out and begged her to call us back, but then Theo Reed told her in a voicemail.”

“How did she react when she found out?”

“She disconnected her cell phone, the only way we had left to reach her, and she started a TubeIt channel, where she’s been posting periodic videos.”

Daisy rolls tape of a distraught Crystal crying about her husband’s body being found and demanding justice.

“Is that one of the videos?”

I nod. “Yes.”

“What did you think about Crystal when you saw this?”

“We all felt bad for her,” I say, twisting my hands in my lap. “Everyone did. But we didn’t understand why she was taking this approach. When she wouldn’t come back for the funeral… That’s when we really began to question things.”

Daisy doesn’t say anything right away. She gives me time.

“She became even more paranoid, and the sadness in her videos started to feel weird. It was very over the top and full of strange conspiracies, like maybe she was falling apart.”

Daisy scribbles something on her notepad, then looks back up. “Let’s talk about Justin Capriotti’s health. I understand he often drank green smoothies?”

I feel a smile tug at the corner of my mouth, a quick, light moment in a serious day. “Justin and I had a good working relationship,” I explain. “Professional, but friendly. He started bringing these green smoothies to work.” I shake my head. “Honestly, they looked gross, dark green and thick, and they smelled like freshly mowed lawn. After a while I had to ask what was suddenly making him so healthy.”

“And?” Daisy prompts.

“He laughed and said Crystal was making them for him every morning, so he’d eat less junk food.”

“Did it work?”

I pause a moment. She didn’t prep me for that question. “I think it was a good start to the day, but he still tended to prefer a fast-food-type lunch.”

Daisy nods again. “And what about Teddy Pattison?” she asks. “When did she first contact you?”

I feel my shoulders tense. I remember that moment. “She called asking for Justin after he’d already gone missing,” I tell the court. “She asked me to have him call her back.” I take a deep breath. “I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

Daisy tilts her head. “When did you find out what her job was?”

“When she called a third time, I looked her up. I thought maybe we owed her money. There were other bills I was still trying to figure out. The police had recommended that we cancel Justin’s credit cards right after he disappeared.” My heart beats faster. “I looked her up and found out she was a divorce lawyer.”

That moment still hurts. It was the first of many things that have since indicated something going on that none of us was aware of.

“I thought it was strange,” I say, “but I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.” I pause again. “But then a few months later, she called back, and this time she told me there was a bill that hadn’t been paid.”

A quiet whisper moves through the courtroom.

“Did you think Justin was having marital problems?”

I shrug. “I didn’t live with them, so I didn’t know.”

“But what did you observe about his relationship with Crystal?” Daisy asks.

“They seemed to get along well, but when Crystal wasn’t able to reach him on his personal line, she’d call me and be short tempered that he wasn’t immediately available. She’d always been demanding in that way.”

“Thank you, Ms. Davis,” Daisy says. She walks back to her seat. “I’m done for right now, your honor.”

I lean back in the chair, my heart pounding. The truth isn’t a secret anymore. It’s out there now, clear, written down by all the reporters and ready to be carried off to Crystal’s fans.

Across the room, Crystal’s lawyer stands up.

Nicole White looks calm and confident. Her suit is perfect, not a single wrinkle. It stands out, like she wants everyone to notice her. In a place where most people try to stay quiet and safe, she does the opposite.

I watch as she approaches. A white suit is a whole new level of control. It says, I know I’m not going to dribble coffee down my front. Or rest my elbow on a pen and get ink all over my sleeve . It says, nothing sticks to me, so don’t even try .

Likely that’s intentional.

“Ms. Davis,” she says, “I have a few follow-up questions. While you worked at EnergiFusion, did you ever see Mrs. Capriotti upset with her husband?”

I sit up a little straighter. “After the company started doing really well, she wasn’t around much,” I say. “But yes, there were a few times. Quick arguments. Tense words. But never a big fight, at least not in front of other people.”

Nicole nods slowly, like she’s thinking. “And do you believe Mrs. Capriotti could have done what people say she did?”

The question hangs in the air, heavy and loaded.

“Her sadness about Justin felt real at first,” I say. “But she seemed to move on quickly. She started spending time with Turner Bishop from Velvet Anomaly.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Nicole says quickly. “That’s just guessing. No one knows that for sure.”

“You can ask how she knows that,” the judge says firmly.

Nicole clears her throat. “What makes you think Crystal and Turner Bishop were involved?”

“I saw them cuddled up together in the bar at a fundraiser, and then sitting together at our company table.”

“But weren’t Mr. Bishop and the Capriottis friends?”

“Yes.”

A soft wave of whispers moves through the room. This time, Nicole doesn’t say anything.

“Thank you, Ms. Davis,” she finally says. “No more questions.”

I breathe out slowly. What I said is out there now. It can’t be undone. It’s not just a guess anymore. It’s part of the case.

I start to get up, but then Daisy stands again.

“One last question, Ms. Davis.”

I sit back down.

“When was the last time you communicated with Crystal?” she asks.

I think of the messages she ignored. The calls she didn’t answer. “I think it was on June first. Crystal emailed to say she wouldn’t be coming back because she felt the police were focused on her, and she attached a video for me to watch.”

“Is this the email and your response?” Daisy holds up an exhibit.

“Yes.”

Daisy reads the email and puts a lot of emphasis on me telling Crystal I believed her and begging her to come home. It’s then admitted into the record.

Daisy nods. “Thank you. That’s all for now.”

The judge tells everyone court is adjourned for the day, and the room starts to shift—papers moving, people whispering, footsteps echoing on the shiny floor.

Every step feels a little lighter as I head toward the exit.

The press files out of the room, and I spot Austin, Theo, and Rhys in the back corner.

“You did great,” Austin says.

“You nailed it,” Rhys adds, giving my shoulder a friendly pat.

Theo doesn’t speak right away, but he nods as well. “You were great. Well done.”

“Thanks, guys,” I say. “I’m glad it’s done…for now.”

Theo walks out with me, and I turn to him as we reach the parking lot. It’s time to start moving forward. “Any interest in having dinner with me tonight? Levi is spending the night with his friend Geoff before they return to school next week.”

“Yes,” Theo says immediately, his eyes going wide. “Of course. Do you have a place in mind?”

“Yes. I have a reservation at six thirty.” I made plans for us at his favorite restaurant. It’s time we talk.

He nods. “I’ll pick you up about six?”

“Great. See you then.”

I practically skip to the car and take a moment to ground myself once I’m settled inside. I’m so grateful to have today behind me.

My phone buzzes with a notification. There’s a new video message on Crystal’s channel. My thumb hovers over the screen. I don’t want to press play. But I also can’t resist. With a quick tap, her face fills my phone screen.

Her voice is sweet, but like someone pretending to be nice while saying something mean. “Hello, everyone,” she says. “I’m sure you’ve seen the news. This trial? It’s such a farce.”

With that, I shut the video off. I don’t care about her lies anymore. I have no control over her, but I’m not going to give her any more space in my head. I have more important things to consider.