Tris' POV

It's been two weeks since Marcus attacked me and today my family is heading over to Candor for his trial. He, of course is insisting upon his innocence, but he doesn't know about the video footage I'd been collecting. Uriah had saved all the footage from my camera just in case the Candor leaders wanted proof that we didn't delete anything we didn't want them to see. Of course, that's exactly what they wanted to see. Someone had an arduous job of watching hours of footage of me walking to and from school, walking to the Distribution Center, or just walking around in general. Really riveting stuff.

After eating a simple breakfast of plain oatmeal and unbuttered toast, we walked to the bus stop. When we arrived, we realized there wouldn't be room on the bus, as almost all of Abnegation was already there. I guess even Abnegation can be curious when their leader has been accused of attempted rape. We walked past the crowd and walked to the Candor Headquarters. Most of the waiting Abnegation followed at a respectable distance.

Upon our arrival at Candor, the receptionist directed us to the elevators, and told us to go to the top floor and into the Hall of Truth. Of course, my father, the acting leader of Abnegation, went directly to the staircase. All the Abnegation followed him except for me, I joined a mixed group of Erudite and Candor in the elevator. Shockingly, they ignored me. Probably too interested in the trial.

When we got to the top floor, I just followed the group through a set of double doors. Jack Kang was already there and directed me to a seat at the front. I sat quietly and awaited my family. I was picking at my fingernails when someone squeezed my shoulder and sat next to me. I looked into his beautiful ocean blue eyes, and my smile split my face. Tobias. I hadn't seen him since the day after the attack when we couldn't keep our hands off each other. This will likely be the last time I get to see him until my Choosing Day. That is, if my memory isn't wiped... if I'm allowed to transfer to Dauntless... if I'm not made factionless.

I was consumed with those heavy thoughts when he kissed me quickly before the arrival of all the Abnegation, then he grinned and went to sit with the other Dauntless leaders, including my Uncle Max. Boy, I could kiss him for eternity! Please, whatever powers that be, don't let them erase my memory!

My family finally made it up all the flights of stairs and joined me. Mom and Caleb sitting to my right and dad to my left. We were all quiet, waiting for everyone to arrive and for the trial to start. It seems like everyone is here today and I'm even more grateful Jack let me have my Truth Serum interrogation in private. It was recorded, so everyone will watch that. First, Marcus will be given Truth Serum and go through his interrogation, then they'll play mine, and that will be followed by the video footage. Jack wants to give Marcus a chance to speak after my interrogation is shown. He wants to see if he'll change his story at all. He said there's a small chance some of the leaders will want me to go under truth serum again, so they can question me about the videos. Ugh, this could be a long day.

Jack stood on the stage and cleared his throat to quiet everyone. The Dauntless were still talking loudly amongst themselves.

"Quiet! Now! I will have those who are disruptive removed. There are rooms where you can watch the proceedings without interrupting the trial." Jack explained.

The talking ceased and Jack went over the order of the proceedings. When he was done, two guards escorted Marcus into the room. They led him onto the stage and had him sit in one of two chairs. There were microphones by each chair, so everyone could hear what was said. Marcus was cooperative and had a puzzled expression on his face, like he didn't know why he was being questioned. He gave me a look of concern. Only those of us could see his true face knew his expressions were all an act. Part of me wishes I'd killed him with my knife, though I'll never say it aloud.

Jack called for order again and another man came and sat in the other chair. Jack introduced him as Niles, and he would be conducting the interrogations today. I cringed at the plural form of interrogation. My head was pounding already.

Niles announced clearly, "Let's begin. Marcus, I'll be injecting you with Truth Serum. Have you any questions before I inject you?"
Marcus furrowed his eyebrows and did his best impression of innocence, saying, "I don't understand why this is necessary? I already explained I saved Beatrice from a factionless man, who ran away when I grabbed Beatrice. I didn't let him hurt her."

He smiled "affectionately" at me. I felt my stomach lurch.

Niles handed him an antiseptic wipe for his neck and stated, "If there are no questions, we'll begin."

After Marcus wiped his neck, Niles held a wastebin out for him to throw it away. Then Niles injected his neck with the Truth Serum and waited a moment for it to take effect. He then started the routine questions the Candor use while they're waiting for the serum to reach full potency.

"What is your full name?" asked Niles.

"Marcus Eaton." Marcus replied.

Niles then asked, "Are you married? If so, what is her name?"

Marcus hesitated a moment and said, "Yes. Her name is Evelyn Johnson Eaton."

With a raised brow, Niles asked, "Is she alive?"

Marcus again hesitated before answering, "Yes."

The Abnegation in the room collectively gasped. Many of them, if not all, had attended her funeral. Still, someone had to have helped Marcus with her fake funeral. I looked around to see if I could find anyone who wasn't shocked. There were a couple of council members who didn't look surprised, though their wives, sitting next to them, did. I guess there's no such thing as a government without corruption.

Jack Kang got up and signaled for everyone to quiet, so Niles could continue.

"What faction were you born into?" asked Niles.

Marcus immediately responded, "Abnegation."

I'm starting to see a pattern, even with my own Truth Serum experience. The easier an answer is, the quicker you're able to answer. There were times during my interrogation, when I knew I could give a different answer than the truth, but I hadn't done anything wrong, so I just answered truthfully.

"And you chose Abnegation?" Niles continued.

Marcus frowned and said, "Obviously."

Hmm, Abnegation's leader is being sarcastic under Truth Serum. Interesting development. Maybe the serum makes it more difficult for him to hold onto his fake persona.

"Do you have any children?" Niles prodded.

"One, a son." answered Marcus.

"And his name is?" Niles prompted.

"Tobias Eaton." Marcus growled.

Ooh, he must know the next question.

"And his faction of choice?" asked Niles.

"Dauntless!" Marcus growled with contempt.

Niles smirked, asking, "Why did he transfer?"

That question wasn't really relevant, and it took Marcus a moment to answer.

Glaring at Niles, Marcus grumbled, "Because he's an ungrateful traitor."

I wished I was sitting by Tobias, so I could hold his hand. This can't be easy for him.

"Moving on." pressed Jack Kang.

"What happened on December 28th, the evening of the attack on Beatrice Prior." questioned Niles.

Marcus took a deep breath. I noticed he was clinging to the arm rests on his seat, so hard his knuckles were white.

Then he answered, "I was just going to bed after having been up late, working on council matters. I heard a noise outside that sounded like a scream and a struggle. I went outside to see if anyone needed my help. There I saw Beatrice passed out, on the ground. A factionless man was standing over her, holding a pipe of some sort. I chased him away and went back and picked up Beatrice and carried her inside my house where it was warm."

Niles smirked again and asked, "You said earlier you grabbed Beatrice, and the factionless man ran away. Now you're saying you chased him away first. Which is it?"

"Obviously it's the one I said under Truth Serum since I can't lie." retorted Marcus.

"What happened next?" Niles continued.

"Beatrice came to and started struggling against me. The poor girl was in shock, I could tell. She didn't know who I was. She was scratching and hitting me, trying to get away. She didn't understand that I was helping her. Somehow, she had a knife and threw it at me. Fortunately, it didn't go too deep. I'm not angry with the girl. She wasn't herself when she threw the knife at me." Marcus lied.

He can lie under Truth Serum. That's odd. I knew it was possible when I was under the serum. It can't be a typical occurrence. I'm sure the average person can't do it. Intriguing.

"Niles then asked, "How did the knife not kill you, it was right above your heart, wasn't it?"

"Yes. It got caught on my thick, Abnegation jacket. Another few centimeters, and I would have been killed," Marcus answered.

"Why were you wearing your jacket? You just said you took Beatrice inside where it was warm, and you didn't plan on going outside. It was a moment's decision." asked Niles.

Marcus glared again and said, "It was warmer inside than out, but still cool enough for me to keep my jacket on."

"What happened with Beatrice after she threw the knife at you?" asked Niles.

Marcus tried to look thoughtful, saying, "I passed out for a while. When I came to, she was gone. I called Stephen Jacobs, from the council, for help. When he arrived, I told him what happened and asked him to call Andrew Prior. I didn't know what happened to Beatrice and was worried about her."

"Is there anything else you need to share about that night?" asked Niles.

Marcus shook his head no.

Niles continued, "What is your deepest regret, Marcus?"

"My deepest regret is that my son left me all alone. I was so lonely and needed help with the housework and meals, but Beatrice Prior wasn't willing to help in any way. I regret that her parents hadn't raised her to be selfless like a good Abnegation girl. Maybe none of this would have happened if Tobias hadn't abandoned me." Marcus spilled out.

Blech. Blaming Tobias and I and even my parents for his problems. Could this man be any more of a coward? I hope we take a break soon. I need to see Tobias.

After a chorus of, "Thank you for your Candor." Jack released us for an hour-long lunch break.

I promptly jumped up to go find Tobias. He was still with the other Dauntless leaders, and I couldn't just walk up to him as we're in different factions. He jerked his head to tell me to follow him, so I did. He walked through the double doors and down the hall, then into a single door. It led to a small, empty room. He turned around and grabbed me by my waist, once I'd closed the door. He pushed me up against the door and kissed me passionately, while I wrapped my legs around his waist. We continued kissing until we were both gasping for air.

"I love kissing you, Tobias, or Four, but we really should talk." I said as he leaned his forehead against mine.

He put me down gently and we sat against the wall, with our knees bent and our arms wrapped around them, leaning into each other.

"How do you feel about Marcus' testimony?" I asked.

He frowned and said, "Well, it's apparent my father is divergent."

It was my turn to frown as I asked, "What's divergent?"
"I forgot we didn't get to the point of administering your test that night. We'll have to meet up again. It's important. I'll explain divergence then." he answered nervously.

We talked for another twenty minutes then rushed down to the cafeteria for a quick meal. We had to sit apart and pretend we didn't know each other. That was hard. My mother grinned at me one of the times she caught us staring at each other.

When it was time to head back to the Hall of Truth, I felt my heart rate rising. I just knew I'd end up having to go under Truth Serum again and I wasn't looking forward to being in front of an audience.