Chapter 160
“Is she in court today?” Judge Cook asked.
“Yes, right over there.“ Marie pointed at a young woman in a grey dress.
The prosecutor then argued, “My Lord, the prosecution did not receive prior notice of this evidence. I
urge the court to adjourn the trial for Ms Martin while we authenticate the document.”
Judge Cook calmly replied, “Authentication goes without saying, prosecutor. But I won’t grant an
adjournment. Since this document only questions the validity of the audits, the trial can move on to the
corruption charges against Martin on goverment projects.”
Mr rk argued, “Mr Lord, every eaming and expenditure made by my client will be reflected by the
audits. If that is put into question, shouldn’t the prosecution’s charges with regards to government
projects be put on hold as well?”
Judge Cook’s face was unperturbed when he replied, “No, Mr rk. You very well know the evidence for
the government project bribery is not just in the form of audits but also written testimonies from multiple
witnesses.”
“But those witnesses aren’t present in court today to be examined, my Lord.” Mr rk made onest
attempt to get his client off the stand.
“Looks like we only have your client to question on the matter for today, Mr rk.” Judge Cook decided.
Mr rk knew better than to argue further with the hard-headed and hot-tempered Judge Cook. He
didn’t want to anger the old man for fear of a detrimental oue for all his clients.
Marie was shocked that the judge wanted to skip right to the issue on government projects first. She did
not prepare for this! She thought, if she were lucky, the court would believe the sheet of paper she
handed t o him, and that it would be admitted as valid evidence. In this best case scenario, Belle Price
would be called to the stand to verify the audits they fabricated together in the past week.
Even if she got unlucky and the document had to be authenticated, Marie thought she’d get an
adjournment. But she was denied even this!
Marie tried her best to mask her shock and fear, the fear that was matched by her own son. And Mr rk
was scribbling furiously on his notepad while the prosecutor and her deputy flipped through the bundle of
documents in haste. The flutter of the tuming pages rivaled the tapping of a pen in Judge Cook’s hand as
everyone waited.
When the prosecutor found what she was looking for in the thick ring file, she extracted it and
approached Marie, apologizing to the judge for the dy before she cleared her throat and began her
questioning, “Ms Martin, fifteen years ago, the government issued a tender for a project to construct a
high -rise building in the east side of the Kingdom. The project was called ‘Skyline’. Are you familiar with
it?”
“Y-Yes.”
“Thepany who sessfully won the tender was Celestial Enterprise. Are you familiar with this
company?”
“I-I don’t recall the name of thepany that won the tender all those years ago but I know about the
project.”
“Do you recall a man by the name of Joseph Rig?”
This was exactly what she and herwyer were afraid of. “N-No.” Marie lied.
“Are you sure, Ms Martin?”
The prosecution had evidence, and neither Marie nor rk liked it. It was almost irrefutable. But Marie
still chose to deny the truth. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”
The prosecutor then asked, “Then why was he found going in and out of your home weeks before the
government decided on thepany which would be given the project?”
“Objection, my Lord! Personal life and rtionships of the used are not relevant to this trial.” Both
rk and Marie prayed that this reason would work.
Their prayers were denied when Judge Cook responded, “It would be relevant if those rtionships are
the cause of the charges against the used, Mr rk. Objection dismissed.”
Marie wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead before she said, “I used to get offers to…urge the
government to take on certainpanies over others. But I have never entertained them. This man you
mentioned was one of the more persistent ones, if I’m not mistaken. The pestering was constant.”
“So getting a restraining order against him has never crossed your mind, Ms Martin?”
“At that time, no. I’m afraid not.” At the same time, Marie chanted to herself, ‘Please, don’t pull out the
picture. Please, don’t pull out the picture. Please, don’t pull out the picture.’
The prosecutor went on, “Perhaps you never thought of getting a restraining order because you didn’t
want him gone, Ms Martin.” Marie knew where the prosecution was going, and she didn’t like it one bit.
She threw a pleading look at Mi rk to get her off the stand but he couldn’t find a good enough reason
to do that.
This whole mess started because Marie’s ‘new’ audits made Judge Cook order for the government
projects issue to be tried first. Mr rk could not hide his frustration at how stupid his client had been to
do that without consulting him. How was he going to save her now?!
The prosecutor gave the judge and Mr rk a copy of the document she was about to refer to, and she
asked Marie, “Ms Martin, we received written testimonies from your neighbors of two decades, and they
affirmed that Joseph Rig, who you imed to not remember, stayed overnight in your home for at least a
week. We’ve questioned Rig’s associates during the time of the Skyline project, and every one of them
confirmed that Rig used to boast about securing the project for Celestial Enterprise by sleeping with the
Finance Minister. Do you deny that’s what happened?”
“Holy sh*t.” Lucianne whispered, and her thumb stroking her mate’s hand paused at her shock.
Christian whispered her way, “Holy sh*t, indeed, my Queen. But I find ‘mother f*cker’ to be quite
appropriate in this situation as well.” Despite his steady voice, his onyx eyes and internal fury prompted
Annie to sit as closely to him as possible to calm him with their mate-bond.
Xandar’s grip on Lucianne’s shoulder tightened, and Lucianne was brought out of her shock when she
got the cue to start stroking his hand again. Xandar loosened his hold on her as soon as he realized
what he was doing without thinking. His animal groaned in guilt. After pecking a kiss on her temple,
Xandar linked, ‘I’m sorry, baby.”
She gave him an assuring smile and linked in response, ‘It’s alright, darling.’
“Ms Martin, did you or did you not have an intimate rtionship with Joseph Rig?” The prosecutor
pressed when silence ensued.
“I-I don’t remember.”
The prosecutor sighed in frustration and walked back to her deputy, who handed over a picture of
Joseph Rig. ‘Oh, Goddess, just kill me now’, Marie thought. The prosecutor returned to the witness stand
and asked, “You don’t know him, Ms Martin?”
“N-NO.”
The prosecutor then flipped the paper over to show another man before she asked, “And what about this
man?”
Marie was getting paler by the second. “N-No.”
“Ms Martin, you’re just making things worse for yourself if you choose to lie. Perjury does not carry a light
sentence. Isn’t this the man you had an affair with weeks before the government granted the
hydroelectric project to Techno Builders?” The shocked gasps and disgusted looks everyone in the
courtroom was throwing her way did nothing to ease her anxiety.
“I-I d-didn’t sleep with him.”
C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.
“Then why did his ex-wife allege that you did just that, using this in her divorce proceedings with her now
ex-husband? She even had this picture to prove her case before the court.”
The prosecutor took another picture from her deputy, and just as she handed it to the judge, Marie Martin
noticed her vision blurring before her head slumped on the stand with a loud thud that stunned the
courtroom.
If the minister knew that all she needed to do to force the court to grant an adjournment was to faint on
the stand, she would’ve done it much sooner. At least then she wouldn’t have to exin her past affairs
to her sons when she regained consciousness.