Twilight Romance: Flash Marriage to Mature Tycoon – Episode 66
Ray’s attorneys challenged the subpoena immediately. Summer’s defense claimed Violet possessed direct knowledge of family communications and Jocelyn’s influence. The judge agreed to review questions privately before deciding whether testimony was necessary.
Violet wanted the subpoena destroyed, not merely narrowed. Jocelyn explained that courts required process even when a request felt cruel. They could protect her without promising the law would erase discomfort.
A child advocate met Violet away from both parents. She described the years of absence, gifts without visits, and recent attempts to use custody as business leverage. Her account remained precise despite tears.
The advocate recommended written testimony instead of a courtroom appearance. Summer’s attorneys objected, arguing they had a right to question her credibility. Prosecutors accused them of using confrontation as punishment.
The judge permitted a recorded interview with only the advocate and attorneys present. Ray and Jocelyn watched from another room, unable to answer or protect Violet from each question.
Summer’s lawyer suggested Jocelyn coached her. Violet replied that Jocelyn repeatedly encouraged her to make independent choices, including hearing Summer’s explanation at lunch. The answer undermined the alienation claim.
Asked whether she loved her biological mother, Violet paused. She said she loved the idea of the mother she needed and grieved the person Summer chose not to become. Love did not make continued access safe.
Ray lowered his face into his hands. Jocelyn held him while the recording continued. Their helplessness was necessary; this truth belonged to Violet.
The interview lasted less than an hour. Afterward, Violet emerged exhausted but relieved. She had answered once and would not be called into the public courtroom.
Summer watched the recording during trial preparation. Her attorney reported that she wept, then demanded the interview be excluded. The court denied the request because her own subpoena created it.
Faced with overwhelming documents and her daughter’s testimony, Summer reconsidered the plea. She requested one condition: no prison interview or public apology event. Prosecutors required a written factual admission but agreed not to stage humiliation.
Summer pleaded guilty to fraud, extortion, unlawful surveillance, and witness manipulation. Sentencing would consider cooperation in recovering hidden funds. The plea ended the need for a full trial.
Her written admission named Tony, Wendy, paid contractors, and the donor representative. It cleared the remaining false allegations against Jocelyn and Ray. It did not ask forgiveness.
Violet declined to read the admission. She asked that a copy be preserved in case she wanted it later. Healing did not require immediate consumption of every truth.
Ray suggested family counseling continue after the case. Violet agreed, surprising him. She wanted support for the quiet period after crisis, when everyone else expected relief to solve grief.
Jocelyn returned East after the plea hearing. The national program had expanded to two new cities during her absence. Work resumed without the shadow of daily legal alerts.
Ray visited the following weekend and attended counseling remotely with Violet. He no longer treated emotional maintenance as evidence of weakness. Jocelyn saw the change in ordinary consistency.
They celebrated Summer’s legal resolution with no party. Dinner, a walk, and an uninterrupted night felt more valuable. Their marriage had finally outlasted the antagonist who tried to define it.
The next morning, Ray received an offer from an overseas investor to stabilize Astor Group permanently. The investment would preserve jobs and restore credit, but negotiations required him to spend most of the coming year in Europe.
Jocelyn stared at the offer beside her own East Coast contract. They had learned to manage one distance. Now their careers threatened to place an ocean between them.