StarNovel
Chapter 580
Chapter 580
The courtroom was electric with tension, a palpable force that seemed to thrum through
the very air. Jason had been quiet for the most part, his reticence a sharp contrast to
Cedric’s animated display, which appeared to have left Jason at a disadvantage.
In the 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 plaintiff’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 moral compass, unlike Cedric, who seemed to have sold his soul in
the relentless pursuit of wealth. Ivan and Jason, they played by the rules, 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 pillar 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 accruing against all
he had acquired–a price that would demand a harsh reckoning for his moral bankruptcy.
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Jason presented a document, his clear eyes flashing 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 blatant jab at Cedric, essentially accusing 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 discomfort.
Cedric glared at Jason, keenly aware of the game he was playing.
“Turn it off, turn it off now! Stop playing 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 playing on her lips. “If this
video were played at Elspeth’s funeral, it would be quite the spectacle. A fitting end to a
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtfilthy life.”
“Funeral?” Thaddeus, holding a delicate hand, his lips 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.”
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Glynnis had excused herself, fearing more than just eyestrain if she stayed any longer.
Frederic closed his eyes in anger, wishing he could leave without looking back. But his
departure would signal a retreat, and who would stay to witness the farce that would
unfold after?
Jason continued, his tone cold, “Tell me, how can someone with such a severe addiction,
who needs her fix at any time and place, be more stable than the defendant, Ward? I’ve
seen addicts in withdrawal commit desperate acts, sometimes not even aware of their
own actions. The likelihood that she harbored murderous intent is extremely high.”
Elspeth glared back at him, her face red as a boiled lobster.
“Your Honor, I object! The plaintiff’s counsel is speculating without evidence, and it’s
irrelevant to the case!” Cedric protested, standing abruptly.
Ivan paused, then looked to Jason. “Plaintiff’s counsel, please keep your questions relevant
to the case.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Jason regained his composure and looked meaningfully towards Evadne and Thaddeus,
who gave him a slight nod.
He turned his sharp gaze back to Elspeth. “Ms. Elspeth, you claim you’ve never killed
anyone. I ask you again, is this true? This is your last chance to come clean.”
Cedric scoffed at the simplicity of Jason’s question.
“No I can’t even kill a chicken, how could I kill a person?” Elspeth’s mind raced, recalling
how she’d always manipulated others to do her dirty work. With such stature, she would
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never soil her hands. “No matter how many times you ask, my answer is the same,
never!”
“Very well, Jason said, turning to face the judge. “Your Honor, I’d like to call a new witness
to testify on the murder–for–hire charge
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Chapter 580
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 clatter, Elspeth collapsed against the defendant’s rail, barely holding herself
upright.
It 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.
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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 flash, it all clicked for Elspeth. Thaddeus had been pulling the strings all along, flipping
the maid to his side, silently removing all the watchdogs she had planted.
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, 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, silently calming her. Slowly, her heartbeat steadied.
She was not one to lose her composure easily.
But this time, it involved the person she loved the most, the most crucial battle.
A vendetta of twenty years, a day of reckoning.
The maid sat uncomfortably in the witness stand, not daring to look down at the audience,
much less at Elspeth, her legs shaking like leaves under the desk.
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Ivan glanced over the witness’s file, his gaze narrowing before he asked routinely, “Your
name, witness?”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“Yolanda,” the 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!
Only then did he recall that this woman was indeed a maid of the Abernathy household,
and specifically Cynthia’s personal maid.
After Cynthia’s death, the maid had made an excuse to resign. He had long forgotten this
minor character, never expecting their next meeting to be in a courtroom, and as a
witness, no less!
When Frederic thought of Cynthia, a pang throbbed in his chest, making him
subconsciously clutch at his shirt.
Yolanda nodded, “Yes. Twenty years ago, I worked at the Abernathy family’s Windermere
Estate, as the maid of the late Mrs. Winter, Mr. Thaddeus’s mother, taking care of her daily
needs.”
That name, buried for twenty years, now unfamiliar to many.
Only Thaddeus’s eyes brimmed with tears, blurring his vengeful gaze.
Cedric scoffed coldly, thinking this was nothing but a desperate ploy, smoke and mirrors,
“Counsel for the plaintiff, what relevance does this witness have to the case?”
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All eyes turned to Jason, and Arnold watched with a mix of anticipation and anxiety for his
next move.
Ignoring Cedric, Jason approached Yolanda and declared with conviction, “Your Honor, this
witness may not seem directly related
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Chapter 580
to this case.”
Cedric could hardly hide his scorn upon hearing this.
But his smugness lasted 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 occurred 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 not commit suicide; it was murder! And the
person responsible for her death is none other than Elspeth!”
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