Clouds Cover the Sun Because they like the warmth

A Vile Truth

Trigger Warning: Mentions of assault.

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By now it was time for them to dive into the lawsuit. The reason they were all here. Even with Wilbur's testimony not helping his case it wasn't the end of the long testimonies. First up was Manuel. Once again adding to the story of hearing of Wilbur's assaults. Though during a recess Manon couldn't help but notice Norman seemed nervous. Manon had never seen him like that. She knew he hadn't eaten this morning. She sat next to him on a bench outside of the court house. Letting the birds chirp and crowds of people walking by fill the silence between them. "Norman is everything alright?" Manon asked as she reached her hand out to his. He flinched a bit before looking back at her. "Yeah I'm fine." Manon could see it in his eyes that he was lying. "Norman, I know you're lying." Manon said as Norman looked away. "Please, what's going on?" Norman opened his mouth to speak but the door opened. "Hey Marianne, the trial is about to continue." Daniella said as she approached the two. Manon nodded as the two stood up. Walking back inside. Manon would probably find out during the testimony if not they were having a talk about this. The prosecutor stood up. 

"We call forth Norman Stryker." Norman stood making his way to the stand and sitting down. "So Mr.Stryker how long have you been the C.E.O of Stryker Financial?" "Eight years." "And how long did Wilbur Denis work for you?" "Six years." "Were you aware of the assaults, or at least heard rumors about it?" Norman nodded. "Yes. Manuel had told me after Lucy had talked to him after Ashely Parker was assaulted." Manon recognized the name as one of the final women on the stand. Her story was absolutely horrifying. Instead of getting raped in the office building Wilbur had forced her into an alleyway. "When did you decide to get security cameras installed?" "As soon as Manuel requested it that day of Ashley Parker's assault." "What finally caused you to fire Wilbur Denis?" Norman looked over at her. Manon knew it was because of her. Yet it was only because Norman was there to catch the end of the act. "After he was caught assaulting Marianne Vacher. I was there after Lucy had intervened and knew then it was time for him to go." "Was Wilbur a good employee?" Norman shrugged. 

"He was decent. He managed to get the job done, but some days he left things uncleaned. Either leaving stains behind or things to gather dust because he saw no point in it. We had a few issues with mice because of it." Manon heard a faint chuckle causing her to look over at Peter and Bryce. Bryce seemed to be ending some kind of shudder as Peter gave a funny smile. Manon would ask about it later. It would be rude to interrupt. "No more questions." The prosecution said as the defense stood up. "Mr.Styker, has Mr.Denis ever faced abuse at your company?" "No. We have no tolerance for it, but I think he was confusing our company for a high school based on his description." Manon had to agree. People disliked him just because, talking shit about him and teasing him. If you didn't have any other context one would think he was talking about a school experience. The defense seemed offended. 

"Well Mr.Stryker that wouldn't seem to be your policy if you allowed so many women to get assaulted." The defense seemed smug. "We didn't have proof. We didn't have people coming forward outside of Lucy. No matter how much we wanted to believe her we couldn't go off of her words alone. Not to mention she only had accounts from no more than a fourth of the women who have testified." Norman explained for what felt like the hundredth time. His eyes now a lighter gray. The defense attorney was clearly annoyed but then a smug smirk emerged on the edges of his lips. Something was brewing in the back of his mind, and Manon didn't like it. "Mr.Stryker, was there any particular reason you finally fired Wilbur after Marianne Vacher's assault?" Norman raised a brow and so did Manon. The attorney's voice sounded off, and Manon began to feel her heartbeat accelerate. He was on to them. "Because he was finally caught. We had him in Manuel's office ready to call the police the moment Marianne calmed down enough for us to call the cops, yet she didn't feel confident enough to do it at the time." Norman explained. "I wouldn't keep him around anymore after I had seen it with my own eyes." "Well then can you explain why you forced Wilbur to work for you two weeks after his termination for no payment?"