Chapter <b>580 </b>
<b>Chapter </b><b>580 </b>
The courtroom was electric with tension, a palpable force that seemed to thrum through the very air. Jason had been quiet for <b>the </b><b>most </b>part<b>, </b>his reticence a sharp contrast to Cedric’s animated disy, which appeared to have left Jason at a disadvantage.
<b>In </b><b>the </b>gallery, Nydia’s heart was a frantic rabbit, hopping madly with anxiety. Her gaze, intense and unwavering, bore into Jason, and her eyes ached with the strain of her concern. She wished she could do more than just silently cheer him on from the sidelines.
“The intiff’s counsel, please proceed,” Ivan announced, his voice grave but his eyes briefly softening with a brotherly confidence as they met Jason’s.
The Dempsey siblings, though grown and less intertwined in each other’s lives, still maintained a certain moralpass, unlike Cedric, who seemed to have sold his soul in the relentless pursuit of wealth. Ivan and Jason, they yed by the rules<b>, </b>never crossing those ethical lines.
Cedric, on the other hand, held a condescending view of Jason and frequently chided Ivan for being “stuck in the past,” boasting about how he was the pir of the Dempsey family – the eldest son blessed with high expectations from their parents, and the one to uphold the family’s prestige once their father, a venerable judge, retired.
But Cedric was blissfully unaware of the steep price that was silently ruing against all he had acquired–a price that would demand a harsh reckoning for his moral bankruptcy.
Jason presented a document, his clear eyes shing dangerously. “As we all know, the defendant, Elspeth, is far from the innocent she’s been made out to be. She’s been summoned by the prosecution more than once before her arrest.”
His use of “as we all know” was a tant jab at Cedric, essentially using him of lying through his teeth.
“Her arrest was not just for suspicion of murder–for–hire, but also for drug possession and use in public.”
The screen in the courtroom flickered to life, showing footage of Elspeth in a drugged stupor at the racetrack’s lounge, her moans of pleasure making the audience and even the judges cringe in difort.
Cedric red at Jason, keenly aware of the game he was ying.
“Turn it off, turn it off now! Stop ying it!” Elspeth cried out, her face red with shame and anger.
Jason was intent on using the video as damning evidence, aiming to shame the defendant once more, and he did so mercilessly.
Evadne watched the screen with icy detachment, a sly smile ying on her l*ps. “If this video were yed at Elspeth’s funeral, <b>it </b>would be quite the spectacle. A fitting end to a filthy life.”
“Funeral?” Thaddeus, holding a delicate hand, his l*ps twisted in a cruel smirk, added, “After this trial, I doubt Frederic would afford her a dignified funeral, or even bother with a proper send–off.”
Glynnis had excused herself, fearing more than just eyestrain if she stayed any longer.
Frederic <b>closed </b>his eyes in anger, wishing he could leave without looking back. But his departure would signal <b>a </b>retreat, and who would <b>stay </b><b>to </b>witness the farce that would unfold after?
Jason <b>continued</b><b>, </b>his tone cold, “Tell me, how can someone with such a severe addiction, who needs her fix at <b>any </b>time and ce, be more stable <b>than </b>the defendant, Ward? I’ve seen addicts in withdrawalmit desperate acts<b>, </b>sometimes <b>not </b>even aware of <b>their </b>own actions<b>. </b>The likelihood that she harbored murderous intent is extremely high.”
Elspeth red <b>back </b><b>at </b><b>him</b><b>, </b><b>her </b><b>face </b>red as <b>a </b>boiled lobster.
<b>“</b>Your Honor, I object! The intiff’s counsel <b>is </b>specting without evidence, and it’s <b>irrelevant </b><b>to </b>the case!” Cedric protested, standing abruptly.
Ivan paused<b>, </b><b>then </b>looked <b>to </b><b>Jason</b>. <b>“</b><b>intiff’s </b>counsel, please keep your questions relevant <b>to </b><b>the </b>case<b>.</b><b>” </b>
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Jason regained hisposure and looked <b>meaningfully </b>towards Evadne <b>and </b>Thaddeus, who gave him <b>a </b>slight nod.
He turned his sharp gaze <b>back </b>to Elspeth. <b>“</b>Ms. Elspeth<b>, </b>you im you’ve <b>never </b>killed anyone. I ask you again, <b>is </b>this true? This <b>is </b>yourst chance toe <b>clean</b>.”
Cedric scoffed <b>at </b>the <b>simplicity </b><b>of </b>Jason’s question.
“No I can’t even kill a chicken, how could I kill <b>a </b>person?” <b>Elspeth’s </b>mind raced, recalling how she’d always manipted others to do her d*rty work. With such stature, <b>she </b>would never soil her hands. “No matter how <b>many </b>times <b>you </b>ask, my answer is the same, <b>never</b>!”
“Very well<b>, </b>Jason said<b>, </b>turning <b>to </b>face <b>the </b>judge. “<b>Your </b>Honor, I’d like to call a new witness <b>to </b>testify on the murder<b>–</b><b>for</b>–hire charge
<b>1/3 </b>
involving Elspeth.”
The courtroom buzzed with confusion as Ivan nodded his approval.
The heavy courtroom doors opened, and a haggard middle–aged woman stepped in, her hair peppered with gray and her clothes modest and worn. This unremarkable woman struck Elspeth like a thunderbolt, terror gripping her heart.
With a tter, Elspeth copsed against the defendant’s rail, barely holding herself upright.
<b>It </b>was the maid.
The maid in hiding, banished to the quaint R City, how on earth could she be here? She had people on her for years, eyes watching her every move. Even when she was detained, Glynnis was supposed to handle everything. How could she possibly get caught and be testifying in court?
It had to be a con. That woman must be an actress hired by Jason, right?
A sudden thought struck Elspeth, her bloodshot eyes fiercely piercing towards Thaddeus.
And, as fate would have it, at that very moment, Thaddeus met her gaze with his own inscrutable, icy stare, as if ready to violently sever her throat in an instant!
In a sh<b>, </b>it all clicked for Elspeth. Thaddeus had been pulling the strings all along, fl*pping the maid to his side, silently removing all the watchdogs she had nted.
Such decisive cruelty, such cunning, it was indeed a move Thaddeus was capable of!
Elspeth’s eyes darted frantically as she scrambled for a strategy.
With gritted teeth, she steeled herself<b>, </b>thinking that the incident had happened twenty years ago. Twenty years! What did it matter if the maid testified? She hadn’t seen anything firsthand, and any evidence had long since vanished.
With that thought, her expression softened slightly, and she slowly straightened up.
Frederic looked at the maid with a puzzled frown, unable to recall who she was.
Even though she had once served the woman he loved for years.
Evadne’s heart pounded with nerves, her breathing unsteady. Thankfully, Thaddeus was there, his arm around her waist<b>, </b>silently calming her. Slowly, her heartbeat steadied.
<b>She </b>was <b>not </b>one to lose herposure easily.
But this time, it involved the person she loved the most, the most crucial battle.
A vendetta of twenty years<b>, </b>a day of reckoning.
<b>The </b><b>maid </b><b>sat </b>ufortably in the witness stand, not daring to look down at the audience, much less at Elspeth, her legs shaking like <b>leaves </b>under the desk.
Ivan nced over the witness’s file, his gaze narrowing before he asked routinely, “Your name, witness?<b>” </b>
<b>“</b>Ynda,” <b>the </b>maid answered timidly.
“I’ve reviewed your file,” Ivan continued, “Twenty years ago, you worked as a maid for the Abernathy family.”
Frederic’s eyes widened in surprise!
<b>Only </b><b>then </b><b>did </b>he <b>recall </b><b>that </b><b>this </b>woman was indeed a maid <b>of </b>the Abernathy household, and specifically Cynthia’s personal maid.
After <b>Cynthia’s </b><b>death</b><b>, </b>the maid had made <b>an </b>excuse <b>to </b>resign. He had long <b>forgotten </b><b>this </b>minor character<b>, </b><b>never </b><b>expecting </b>their next meeting <b>to </b><b>be </b><b>in </b>a courtroom<b>, </b>and as a witness<b>, </b>no less!
When Frederic thought of Cynthia<b>, </b><b>a </b>pang throbbed in his chest, making him subconsciously clutch <b>at </b>his <b>shirt</b>.
Ynda nodded, “Yes. <b>Twenty </b>years ago, I worked <b>at </b><b>the </b>Abernathy family’s Windermere Estate, as the maid of thete Mrs. Winter, Mr. Thaddeus’s mother<b>, </b>taking care of her daily <b>needs</b><b>.” </b>
That name, buried for twenty years<b>, </b>now unfamiliar <b>to </b>many.
Only Thaddeus’s eyes brimmed with tears, blurring his vengeful gaze.
Cedric scoffed coldly<b>, </b>thinking this was nothing but a desperate ploy<b>, </b>smoke and mirrors, “Counsel for the intiff, what relevance does this witness have to the case<b>?</b><b>” </b>
All eyes turned to Jason, and Arnold watched with a mix of anticipation and anxiety for his next move.
Ignoring Cedric, Jason approached Ynda and dered with conviction, “Your Honor, this witness may not seem directly rted
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to this case.”
Cedric could hardly hide his scorn upon hearing this.
But his smugnesssted a mere three seconds, as Jason’s next statement left him and everyone else in the courtroom agape, “However, she can confirm that Elspeth is connected to a homicide that urred twenty years ago.”
The crowd murmured in shock.
“Twenty years ago, at the Abernathy family’s Windermere Estate, Mrs. Abernathy–Mrs. Winter–fell to her death. The police ruled it a suicide at the time, and the Abernathy family, eager to minimize the fallout, quickly closed the case. But now, I can assert with confidence to everyone here- Mrs. Winter did notmit suicide; it was murder! And the person responsible for her death is none other than Elspeth!”
<b>14:13 </b>