Victor Slage shifted in the gallery. Ryan's lawyer seated beside Reigns at the prosecution table said, "Objection. Relevance." "Your honor," Emily said. The prosecution's case rests on the argument that only Marcus Walker accessed the restricted server room.
I am establishing that the physical evidence suggests a second individual was present, an individual whose weight does not match my client's recorded weight of 173 lbs. The question is directly relevant. Judge Watkins nodded. Overruled. Mr. Mitchell, please answer.
A pause. Around 215, Ryan said. Uh, 215 lb. The number landed in the room like a coin dropped on marble. Marcus heard someone in the jury box shift.
Thank you. Emily said, "Now, you testified yesterday that your prior relationship with Daniel Cho was professional in nature, that you had worked in overlapping professional context, and that was the basis for recommending him for the security supervisor position." That's correct. Are you familiar with a woman named Sandra Cho? A beat, just one beat.
But Ryan Mitchell was a man who had spent years controlling rooms and reading people and managing perception. And Marcus had worked beside him long enough to know what that one beat meant. He hadn't expected that name. I don't think so. Ryan said Sandra Cho is Daniel Cho's sister.
Emily said she maintains a personal blog called the Cho Chronicles. She has done so for approximately 6 years. Emily picked up a printed document, the blog post, the comment thread highlighted in yellow. On June 3rd, four years ago, she published a post celebrating her brother's new position at Vantage Secure. The post received 14 comments.
She placed the document on the stand. One of those comments was liked by a user whose profile is linked to a LinkedIn account registered to Ryan Mitchell, your email address, and your professional photo. The courtroom was absolutely silent. Ryan looked at the document. His expression did not collapse.
He was too controlled for that. But something behind his eyes underwent a rapid invisible process reassessment, recalculation, the specific quality of a man, realizing that a wall he believed was solid has just been revealed to have a door in it. I may have been active on social platforms at that time, he said carefully. I don't recall specific interactions from 4 years ago. Of course not, Emily said pleasantly.
But the record exists, which means your prior relationship with Daniel Cho, a man who personally handled the physical evidence in this case, whose name does not appear in any discovery document and who transported a fingerprint card in an unsealed container for 40 minutes is not the professional overlap you described yesterday. It's a personal relationship, one you were aware of and did not disclose. Reigns was on his feet. Objection, argumentative, counsel is testifying. Sustained.
Judge Watkins said Miss Carter asked questions. Of course, your honor, Emily turned back to Ryan. Mr. Mitchell, did you personally know Daniel Cho before recommending him for the security supervisor position at Meridian Technologies? A silence. Victor Slate in the gallery was very still.
Ryan Mitchell looked at Emily Carter for a long moment, and in that moment, Marcus saw it happen. The almost imperceptible decision of a man choosing between a story he can no longer fully sustain and an admission he isn't prepared to make. The choice between two kinds of exposure. I may have met him socially at some point, Ryan said carefully. My memory on the specifics is unclear.
It was not a confession, but it was not the story he had told yesterday either. Emily let it sit there. She let the jury look at Ryan Mitchell at his careful, suddenly imprecise language. And she let the silence do what silence does in a courtroom when the truth is pressing against the surface of things. Then she said, "No further questions."
She walked back to the defense table and sat down. Marcus leaned toward her. "Is that enough?" She didn't answer immediately. She looked at her legal pad.
She wrote something. "It's enough to make them doubt him," she said quietly. But I need one more thing. What? I need the prosecution to make a mistake, she said.
And I think Reigns is about to make one. She was right. Reigns conducted redirect with the controlled urgency of a man trying to patch a breach with his hands. And he made the precise error that experienced litigators sometimes make. When they are worried, he asked one question too many.
Mr. Mitchell Rain said, "Do you have any knowledge of how Marcus Walker's badge was used to access the server room on the night of March 14th? It was meant to be a cleanup question, a chance for Ryan to say no to reassert his ignorance to send the jury back to the simple story." Instead, Ryan Mitchell said, "I only know what the investigation determined." Reigns nodded. "And what did the investigation determine?"
"That Marcus Walker's credentials were used to access the restricted archive." Ryan said and that's consistent with what you personally observed of objection Emily said rising leading sustained reigns regrouped. Did you personally observe Marcus Walker behave in any way that suggested he might your honor Emily said still standing. The witness has just testified that he knows what the investigation determined. I'd like to revisit that answer.
Judge Watkins looked at her. This is redirect examination, Miss Carter. I understand, your honor. I'm requesting brief recross on the basis of new testimony elicited during redirect. A pause briefly, the judge said.
Emily stepped forward. Mr. Mitchell, as she said, you said you know what the investigation determined. How closely did you follow the investigation? I was interviewed as part of it, Ryan said, like all senior staff. Did you receive updates on the investigation's progress?