3 months later

"Eli Destler," The judge said looking down to his paper and then up at the handsome young man before him. "How do you plead?"

How strange! The boy seemed as if he were but a child, his eyes wide and innocent as animals. He was well dressed, his Mother and sisters looking rather pretty in the row behind him.  

"I'd like to plead guilty your honor." 

A mummer rose up in a great wave amongst the crowd. 

The judge stared at the young man, stupified. "Pardon?" 

"Guilty your honor," Eli said firmly, his eyes fixed forward. 

The judge frowned, "You know what this means young man? What you are admitting to?" 

"Eli!" Clara shouted from behind him, "No!" 

Eli yearned to turn back and see his Mother, to kiss her, to hold and comfort her, but this had to be done. 

Fred made his way up the main aisle past the hundreds of people crowding around the stand. 

"Excuse me," He shouted pushing through, "He pleas self-defense, I'm acting as his lawyer."

"Fred," Eli scolded. 

"No," Fred said seizing Elis' hand, "I won't let you do this to yourself or your family."

"Fred-"

"No."

The judge nodded compassionately, "Let the first witness approach the stand." 

Fred looked to Clara who tried quickly to stop crying. She gathered her skirt and made her way to the stand, trembling at the knees and unable to face Eli in the eyes. 

"Your name?"

"Chloe Clariece." 

"That is your full name."

Clara's eyes went to a darkly masked man in the top of the upper balcony. Silently she prayed, prayed for Eli, prayed for herself. 

In brilliant defiance, she raised her eyes to the man, staring into his very soul and all the evilness that lay there. 

Eli looked down and shook his head.

"Clarice Vicomte Dechangy, Daughter of Chloe Clariece Dechangy and her husband Sir Matthews," Clara stated proudly. 

She closed her eyes as the masked man snarled his lip and disappeared from her sight. 

"Now from the previous appeal I have gathered the basic facts." the judge wisely stated, "May you continue from where we left off before the recess before the young man wished to change his verdict." 

Clara took a deep breath. 

"It began on the third of July. Me and Monsuire Destler had been awaiting the return of a man who had already made an attempt on my life the previous month."

"And your involvement with Mr. Destler?"

Clara darted her eyes to Eli then back to the judge, "Just an old friend sir." 

The judge raised an eyebrow, "May I remind you, young lady, you have already stated you do not know Mr. Destler well at all. You are under oath."

Clara bit her lip, "He was the only man I trusted with my life."

"That's odd," The judge commented, "That you would trust a man you barely knew with your life."

Clara flashed red with indignation as whispers rose amongst the crowd. 

"He's a good man sir. Faultless. Which is more than I can say for many here." 

The judge nodded for her to continue.

Eli stared at his shoes, trying to block out his small sister's little cries from behind him. 

"My Mother had stipulated in her will, that her money was to be inherited by her living child. Due to circumstances already explained, she was not aware I had survived birth, that secret died with my Father and Uncle Raoul.

My little sister, after extensive research, we discovered had gone to live with my father's brother. Her name is Belle."

"And where is Belle now?"

Clara glanced to Fred who shook his head.

"I'm afraid she's in frail condition, sir. And for her safety, I would not wish to disclose that information." 

"Objection!" one man called from the audience. 

"Silence, her wish is sustained." The judge ordered, he gestured for her to continue.

She nodded with gratitude, "The emergence of my younger sister made my circumstances clear. As the eldest of us two, I was to inherit. My living was no problem as long as I did not reveal my identity. However, I made the mistake of seeking out my Father. I began identifying myself as the lost heir to the fortune. 

I was stopped on the side of the road on the way to my lodgings one night by a man in a black mask. He took me by the wrist and told me that if I continued identifying myself as the daughter of Clara Dechangy I would pay."

"Did you report the incident to the police?"

Clara looked away shamefully, "No sir I did not."

"But you did enlist the help of young Eli Destler."

"Yes, sir."

"And who is he? That he would offer more assistance than a task force."

"There's darkness within him," Chloe wanted to shout, "He's powerful in every gesture every word, terrifying, music bends to him as do the laws of life, and he's wonderful. And I lo-"

"Miss Dechangy?" The judge asked snapping her from her trance. 

"Would the police truly believe that a ghost took me aside in the street and threatened me because of my Mother?" 

Silence. 

Clara shifted uncomfortably and stared at Fred for help. 

"Were those events before or after the incident the Opera Populaire."

"After. Someone Eli cherished was injured in the fire, and because it was on account of his protecting me. The man had been expecting us to meet in the box room at our normal time, but I was detained in town and Eli fell Ill."

"Then you believe it was a direct attempt on your lives?"

"Yes."

"Can anyone confirm the whereabouts of Eli during this time period?"

No one answered.

The judge made a small note in his notebook. 

"What next?"

"I saw it my responsibility to put an end to the business once and for all." 

"And how did you resolve to do that?" 

Clara took a shaky breath and the Judge's eyes pleaded for her to continue that he might offer some assurance. 

"I decided that the best thing I could do was to leave. I reasoned that where I went, the man must follow. So I went to the bank and asked to withdraw money from the bank account of Clara Dechangy as the heir stipulated in her secret will. Of course, only as her daughter could I know what name my Mother had written as her first child. It was strange, but I sense she never thought me truly as gone as my Father had told her."

Clara looked desperately to Christine for forgiveness, "That was my mistake. I should have been more careful. I should have listened to the man's threat. I just hadn't thought that claiming a few dollars would count as publically identifying myself. 

As the woman went to check the box, a man came from behind me, put a gun to my back and asked me to walk slowly out the door and into his coach."

"And was this man Eli Destler?" Fred asked gesturing to his client. 

Clara looked at Eli desperately, "No. I can say resolutely it was not." 

"Excuse me," A man said rising in the crowd, "May I cross-examine the witness?" 

The judge nodded.

The man made his way to the front of the room, placing a pair of black coarse gloves in his back pocket. 

"Would you say Ms. Dechnagy, that Eli Destler is of a secure financial standing in the world?"

Clara gave a scoff, "How would I know?"

"Would you say that he could use more than his current income in order to continue his advancement in the world."

Clara gave a shrug, "Sure. Why not. Don't we all?"

"Would you say Eli was one of the few people outside of your family aware of your relation to the Dechnagys."

"Yes of course, after all I'd been through I wasn't ready to go shouting it," Clara snarled at the man. 

"In fact, Eli was the only person out of your own family who knew truly all the details of your identity and inheritance. Isn't that right?" 

"Yes." Clara said reluctantly, her gaze to Eli something slightly diffrent this time.

"So your honor," The man said gesturing to the boy, "He had motive and opportunity." 

"We're not here to judge his economic status, your honor," Fred stated indignantly, "We are here on account of a diffrent crime."

"Indeed." The judge stated. 

The judge turned his eyes to Clara and asked the dreaded question. 

"Did Eli Destler-"

Christine covered her ears and Ilios cowered back in her seat, feeling like throwing up. 

Winnie burrowed deeper into her mother's skirt, wishing dreadfully her Father was there.

Eli put his head down on the table, humming himself into a lull as the man with the black gloves in his pocket smiled darkly. 

Clara let tears cascade down her cheeks. 

"Yes."

"Once more, in full for the record," The judge said slowly. 

"Yes, Eli Destler killed the man you know as Thomas Smith."