MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 115: Guilty

After the nightmarish discovery at Carlos Jimenez's apartment, the three investigators - Paul, Greg, and Yolanda - were shaken to their core. How could a key witness, their best chance at exonerating Blake Shelton, have been reduced to a vegetative state overnight? It defied all logic and left them with more questions than answers.

They regrouped at Paul's downtown office, trying to make sense of the harrowing scene. Yolanda was the first to speak up, her voice still trembling slightly.

"I've worked cases with victims of severe trauma before, but I've never seen anything like that catatonic state Carlos was in. It's like his entire mind was just...erased."

Greg ran a hand over his bald head, sighing heavily. "You're right, it didn't seem like any normal mental breakdown or psychosis. More like his consciousness was literally stripped away, leaving an empty shell behind."

Paul leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk as he furrowed his brow thoughtfully. As the team leader, he knew they needed to re-focus and make a plan to move forward.

"Okay, we can't dwell on the 'how' for too long right now or it'll drive us crazy. What's crucial is that we find a way to strengthen our case for Blake without Carlos's testimony."

They spent the next few hours reviewing all their other evidence, witness statements, and investigation notes from the past weeks. But everything kept circling back to how critical Carlos's eyewitness verification would have been to solidify their arguments.

Finally, Paul called Blake's defense lawyer Gary Wilkins to update him on the disastrous situation. His usually calm demeanor couldn't mask his clear disappointment and concern when he heard the tragic news about Carlos.

"Dammit...I was really counting on his corroborating testimony," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Without that key piece of the puzzle, I'm very worried the prosecution is going to convincingly argue that Blake had clear motive and opportunity."

Paul tried to reassure him. "We're not giving up, Gary. We still have a solid amount of circumstantial evidence that raises a lot of reasonable doubt around the prosecution's accusations."

After discussing their revised legal strategy for a while longer, the call ended on an unsteady note. Gary was holding out hope, but even he couldn't deny that their case had become significantly more challenging without the star witness they'd been counting on.

As the days passed leading up to Blake's second court hearing, the investigators and Gary's team worked tirelessly. But they all felt that looming sense of dread, the fear that whatever dark forces were seemingly working against them would find another way to sabotage the proceedings.

The morning of the hearing, Gary arrived at the courthouse looking polished and confident as always in his crisp suit. But there were unmistakable circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep and stress.

Inside the courtroom, Blake sat stoically beside his lawyer, his expression unreadable. As more and more spectators filed in, the atmospherepulsed with energetic anticipation and salacious curiosity about the renowned celebrity at the center of such scandalous allegations.

When the session finally commenced, Prosecuting Attorney Richard Kessler wasted no time in painting Blake as a selfish, hot tempered man who had brutally attempted to silence an innocent woman in a fit of rage. His arguments were dramatic and played to the jurors' potential biases about domestic violence cases involving the wealthy and powerful.

"Blake Shelton had it all - good looks, money, a beautiful lady. But when he felt threatened by Becky's skyrocketing success and rumors of infidelity, he simply could not let her shine brighter than him. With one catastrophic second of unbridled toxic masculinity, he almost sniffed out her light forever."

Kessler then proceeded to systematically dismantle each piece of circumstantial evidence Gary tried presenting. His rhetoric was smooth and convincing.

Whenever Gary or his witnesses brought up alternate theories about Becky's profession, and how it's easy for her to have many enemies, Kessler seemed to easily poke holes in that line of reasoning.

"The defense is desperately grasping at straws with this ridiculous conspiracy about an obsessed fan. Where is their proof? Their one supposed eyewitness whose account could have supported this bogus claim is now conveniently incapacitated and unable to testify."

With those couple calculated sentences, Kessler deftly discredited Carlos Jimenez's importance while insinuating the investigators were behind his current condition in some way to protect their case.

As the hours dragged on, Gary grew increasingly flustered, unable to regain control of the narrative despite his typical courtroom prowess. Blake had begun sweating, his Adam's apple bobbing as he watched the proceedings take an unequivocally negative turn.

In the gallery, the investigators alternated between feelings of anger at Kessler's low blows and sinking dismay that their uphill battle had become nearly vertical. When the afternoon court session finally broke for a recess, the ashen expression on Gary's face spoke volumes - he knew they were losing ground rapidly.

During the break, Gary sat with Blake, the two of them going over some last-ditch efforts for the hearings.

As Blake took a sip of water, he froze suddenly, his eyes going wide as he inquired about Rose and was told she couldn't make it for the hearing.

He could only numbly shake his head, the color completely drained from his face as confusion, terror, and sick recognition warred behind his eyes.

"What could be so important than my court hearing?...I hope all is well" Blake whispered to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted as the bailiff announced the recess break was over.

As the prosecution's masterly dismantling of their defense continued over the final hours, neither Blake nor Gary could fully shake that ominous spectre hovering just out of focus, leaving them both shaken and paranoid that darker conspiratorial forces were unfolding behind the scenes.

Despite their valiant efforts, it became indisputably clear that the sly Kessler had decimated even the most generous reasonable doubt in the jurors' minds. As the decisive hearing adjourned for the day, not even Gary's practised optimism could salve the harsh truth...

...that in the court's eyes, Blake Shelton had been all but convicted as an attempted murderer. Damning optics and circumstances had overshadowed any concrete proof or logic.

As Blake was remanded back into custody amid chaotic media frenzied, a haunted resignation clouded his features, unable to even look Gary in the eye. He departed the courthouse looking as drained and crestfallen as Blake, uncharacteristically bereft of reassuring words.

The three investigators wordlessly watched them go, their months of effort culminating in this seemingly definitive defeat. Only one question clawed incessantly at the back of their minds...would this ruling truly be the end?