Chapter 579


    Chapter 579


    The courtroom was a stage, and every soul within its walls, save for the actors Frederic had arranged,


    red at Elspeth with eyes filled with loathing and condemnation.


    Even Glynnis looked upon Elspeth, the mother who had plotted her downfall with contempt and disgust.


    Elspeth hade prepared for this trial. She had requested a bathroom break before proceedings to


    ‘touch up‘ her makeup, ensuring she appeared as a pale and haggard woman tortured by life’s cruel


    hand. Her innocent facade was so convincing, it was as if she had been born for this role.


    Frederic, catching Elspeth’s pitiful, pleading gaze, was momentarily transported back to the days of


    their early acquaintance. His heart, once sealed in concrete, cracked open once more.


    “You witch. You will pay for Erica’s life with your own! I demand justice!” Erica’s grandmother could not


    contain her fury upon seeing Elspeth, her voice trembling with rage and sorrow, a sight that could


    soften the hardest of hearts.


    Elspeth, with tears brimming in her eyes, shook her head helplessly, looking every bit the innocent


    victim she pretended to be.


    This was a public trial, every moment captured on camera, the courtroom no less than a theater.


    And she, she was still the star of the show!


    Before the trial, Cedric had sworn to her that the charge of hiring a hitman would not stand. Her only


    task was to y her part in this carefully orchestrated drama.


    “Madam, please, calm down! Just breathe,” Jason urged, rushing to Erica’s grandmother’s side as she


    turned pale and began to convulse. Evadne stood up, calling for oxygen, “Someone get an oxygen tank


    quickly! She’s going into shock!”


    The officers scrambled to assist, and only after the elderly woman was given oxygen did she begin to


    stabilize.


    The judge, Ivan Dempsey, robed in ck, took his seat, his heart heavy at the sight of his siblings


    entangled in this public spectacle.


    “Oh no, the judge is a Dempsey!” Aviana shook Suri frantically, nearly making her sick, “Suri, will he


    throw Jason under the bus? Are there any good apples in the Dempsey family? I have my doubts!”


    Suri patted her hand reassuringly, “Ivan’s record is clean. He’s made it on his own merit, without much


    influence from his father. I believe he’ll be fair.”


    The momentous trial began.


    “Elmsworth Court of Justice is now in session for the case of the People versus Elspeth Ward, charged


    with the murder for hire. Will the prosecution please make its opening statement?”


    Erica’s grandmother, aged and frail, had exhausted her strength just by appearing in court. Jason,


    shedding his secretary persona, stood as a professionalwyer, moving everyone with a powerful


    narrative of the crime, demanding justice with simple words: “Kill the murderer!”


    A hush fell over the crowd, even Frederic’s paid supporters were visibly moved.


    Evadne, haunted by the brutal image of Erica’s death, clutched her ears and shut her eyes, as if


    trapped in a vacuum–sealed jar, her forehead slick with sweat, fighting for breath.


    “Evadne, don’t think of them. I’m here,” Thaddeus wrapped his arms around her, resting her head


    against his shoulder, his voice a soothing whisper.


    “Thaddeus. I still feel I’m a sinner,” Evadne sobbed.


    Thaddeus, feeling her tears, reassured her with a tender fierceness, “Don’t say that. You are no sinner.


    Those standing in the dock, they are the true criminals.”


    As Jason concluded, it was the defense’s turn.


    Elspeth, weeping profusely, recited the script Cedric had prepared for her, her brief stint as an actress


    serving her well in this desperate hour.


    “Your Honor, why would I kill a mere maid? What benefit would her death serve me? Perhaps this is all


    due to a personal vendetta between Ward and Erica, being of the same social circle at the Abernathy


    estate. Ward, unting his position as my assistant, has not been kind to the Abernathy help. No doubt


    Erica had her grievances, which led to his vile act!”


    “You’re spouting lies!” Ward, now a cooperating witness, immediately retorted, “Your Honor, Elspeth


    was ckmailed by Erica, so‘ she paid me to dispose of her! She’s the mastermind; I had no choice but


    toply, fearing the wrath of ady of the Abernathy estate. Even in custody, she sent people to


    silence me – I still bear the marks on my neck!”


    “You nderer! If I had known of your viiny abroad, I would never have employed you!” Elspeth


    bellowed, the courtroom witnessing a spectacle of betrayal and usation.


    Ward shot back, “When you gave the order, Glynnis was there with us. She knows exactly what you


    intended!”


    In an instant, the room erupted into chaos as all eyes turned to Glynnis, her face a mask of shock and


    pallor.


    Frederic watched his daughter Glynnis with a mix of shock and suspicion so palpable it might as well


    have been a physical force.


    “No, no, that’s not true! I don’t know anything!” Glynnis stammered, her voice trembling like a leaf in the


    wind, tears threatening to spill over hershes.


    In her heart, a cruel wish took root–she hoped Jason would win thiswsuit, would get Elspeth


    convicted quickly, to avoid any moreplications.


    After all, Elspeth was a hopeless addict, a person who seemed to have lost all humanity, and she


    wouldn’t hesitate to drag Glynnis down with her to save her own skin.


    “Order in the court!” Ivan snapped, rapping his gavel twice. “This is a ce ofw, not a circus. Keep it


    down!”


    Evadne and Thaddeus exchanged a look, their eyes filled with aplex mixture of feelings. They


    knew that Ward was desperate, throwing Glynnis under the bus, but they also knew that Glynnis wasn’t


    entirely innocent. However, without hard evidence, pinning anything on that vile woman was going to


    be difficult. Otherwise, it would be her and her mother standing in the defendants‘ dock today.


    But it didn’t matter. None of them could get away with it.


    Without Elspeth’s cunning, Glynnis was like a parasite without a host, just barely clinging to life.


    Elspeth, meanwhile, was locked in a disgraceful verbal brawl with Ward.


    Frederic felt a flush of shame so intense that he wished he could vanish then and there.


    After the intiff and defendant had made their statements, it was time for the crucial moment–the


    debate.


    Cedric stretched leisurely, a small smirk ying on his lips as he rose to speak. “I’d like to ask you, Mr.


    Ward. You im my client gave you money to deal with Erica, yet there’s no recorded evidence to


    support your statement. I have every reason to believe you are fabricating these lies to escape your


    own guilt.”


    “I’m not lying! Every word is the truth! I had no reason to harm her–I barely knew the maid!” Ward


    argued, his face a portrait of desperation.


    Jason watched Cedric, his gaze icy, his hands clenched tightly out of sight. He held a recording that


    Erica had made–a recording that had cost the poor girl her life. Cedric must be aware of it, too, but he


    boasted his ims because he knew that ndestine recordings couldn’t be admitted as evidence.


    Cedric pressed on. “You also said my client paid you a substantial fee. So, where’s this money now?”


    Ward was at a loss. He had demanded cash from Elspeth, which he had stashed in a cer back in his


    hometown–no bank records, no trace.


    But now, that money was likely in Elspeth’s hands, moved by hermand.


    “After the incident, my client did have a significant financial transaction, but it was to purchase a


    property,” Cedric said, handing over a document to the judge. “Here is the real estate transaction


    record, which matches the amount in question.”


    Judge Ivan reviewed the document and found the amounts matched exactly.


    Elspeth’s face was a mask of innocence, but inside, she sneered with contempt.


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    Cedric continued his assault. “The idea that my client instructed you to kill the victim is absurd. My


    client, the chairwoman of the Abernathy Group, is worth billions. The victim was merely a maid in the


    Abernathy household, having served there for five years. Before her service, she had no connection to


    my client or the Abernathy Group. What possible motive could my client have to want her dead?”


    Cedric stared down Ward. “On the other hand, Mr. Ward, before you worked as my client’s assistant,


    you were involved in some shady dealings back in your country–your criminal record, including multiple


    homicides, is well–documented with the police there and can be summoned at any time.”


    “I’ve told you! I never even spoke to Erica! If it wasn’t for Elspeth’s orders, why would I kill her?” Ward


    was close to a breakdown, amon thug no match for the slickwyer.


    “You im there was no rtionship, yet we can’t hear from the deceased. Even if you didn’t know her


    well, a man of your vile nature could have killed in a moment of passion. For someone like you, taking


    a life is as easy as having a meal”


    Cedric kept reinforcing the image of Ward as a murderous fiend–the worse the jury’s impression of him,


    the better for Elspeth.


    “Your Horor Jason interjected with a grave tone, Thave a significant concern regarding the defense’s


    arguments”