'One day,' Noel thought to herself.One day, she would rise to the top, and trample everyone beneath their feet!"Mr. Levine! What's the reason you've come personally to witness Cordy Sachs' trial?""You're a really busy man, and you've only met Ms. Sachs on occasion. What brings you here?""I was the one who asked Johnny to come with me," Jessica said, butting in amid the journalists' endless questions."Ah, so Mr. Levine is just accompanying his fiancee. Well, Ms. Stuart, what brings you here to Ms. Sachs' trial?" the journalists asked eagerly."I admire Cordy, and my family has been eager to work with Cordy since our business already has a foothold here. It's therefore a pity that this would happen to her, and I've come today to see what becomes of this trial."Jessica's response was very formal, but it did not impede her public persona as a decent, understanding person—which won many points in her favor."Are you saying your family would expand the family business into Nort
A while later, the entire courtroom turned silent as the defendant's party and the prosecutors filed inside.Cordy and Quinn both moved to their designated seats in court.John clearly gulped when he saw Cordy.Jessica was right beside him, and her eyes flashed coldly when she saw his reaction. She was aware that John had been helping Cordy prepare her defense, but the news she received was that he did not make much progress. In fact, Jessica herself doubted he was that good he could turn things around in under two weeks.And once Cordy was sentenced, the Levines would do all they could to prevent a relationship between John and Cordy—even if it killed them.Moreover, once Cordy was thrown into prison, Jessica had a million different 'accidents' prepared for Cordy's inevitable demise.While Jessica hatched her little schemes in her head, the court reporter announced the rules and regulations in the courtroom. "All rise." The judicial assistant announced, as Judge Faden—the ju
After that, Helen Zalenski, the accountant working in Starstream Group under Cordy, was brought to the witness stand."Did the defendant order you to wire 700,000 through multiple transactions to this account?" Victor asked. "Yes," Helen replied, keeping her head lowered, afraid to even look Cordy's way. "And did the defendant order you to withhold the untampered tax revenue report?""Yes.""This is redundant, but do you swear you're telling the truth and nothing but the truth?" "Yes," Helen said determinedly."Thank you."Having gotten all the responses he needed, Victor turned back toward Judge Faden. "Your Honor, this concludes the prosecution's witness statements.""Very well. You may return to your seat." "Thank you, Your Honor."Judge Faden then turned toward Quinn. "What does the defendant plead?"Quinn looked up at him then. She had kept her eyes glued to the materials she had, seemingly unaffected despite the solid evidence against Cordy while the prosecution
"Firstly, Xander Lannings is just an employee in the tax bureau. I agree it might be possible that he could tell that there was something wrong with Starstream Group's tax return submission. But how did he manage to find out the deputy commissioner's personal account?""Secondly, Helen Zalenski claimed that my client made her transfer funds to Henry Lane through the account. The evidence presented showed a movement in the balance of 700,000 in one of my client's bank accounts. Yet, the bank was unable to provide video evidence of the opening of the bank account. I do not think it is a mere coincidence that the camera suddenly stopped working.""Thirdly, Helen Zalenski said that my client was the one who instructed her to submit the tax return accordingly. But from what I know, the secretary is the one who assists with Starstream Group's electronic stamp, and signatures documented on paper do not suffice as evidence. After all, talented people abound in this vast universe. Copying ano
It suddenly felt like the tables had turned in this case. Noel, who originally looked smug about how things were progressing, became slightly nervous.Jessica looked unmoved, but her fingers subconsciously clenched into a fist.Cordy was indeed smarter than Jessica thought she was.When Jessica planned this out, she never expected Cordy to be able to provide evidence that she did not go to the bank that day."Your Honor, please allow me to show the evidence of my client not being at the bank on that day," Quinn requested."Approved."Quinn retrieved a USB flash drive, connected it to a computer, and played a video.She explained, "The account was opened at City West Bank on 15 September at ten in the morning. During that time, my client was at Starstream Group's office building, attending meetings throughout the morning. This is a video recording of what my client did that morning. I sped it up four times to avoid wasting everyone's time."Everyone watched the video in all se
"No, no…" Helen shook her head profusely."Then tell me, where did all the money in your account appear from?" Quinn asked aggressively."I, I…" Helen was unable to give an explanation. Quinn did not waste too much time on her. She turned around and said to Judge Faden, "Your Honor, I have a witness who wants to come to court.""Approved."A man of about 60 years of age came to court. He looked slightly overwhelmed by the commanding aura of the court and had a look of unease on his face.Helen lost her cool the moment she saw the man, and her entire face paled.Quinn walked to the man and said, "We are in court, there's no need to fear. All you need to do is to answer my questions honestly.""Okay." The man nodded profusely."What is your name?""Timothy Chancy.""What do you do for a living?""I am a reproduction artist.""What do you mainly reproduce?""Ancient paintings, famous artwork, and so on." Timothy added, "I reproduce handwriting too.""Could you do a demonst
"She asked me to duplicate Cordy Sachs' signature on a huge pile of documents.""When was that?""Around a month ago.""Do you have evidence that it happened?""Yes. I have records of our conversation." Timothy pulled out his phone.Quinn took it and projected it in the court, displaying to everyone the conversation between Timothy and Helen.It was written clearly that Helen had made Timothy help her sign documents, and there were even pictures of the signed documents and records of the funds transfer.It was clearly a significant piece of evidence.Commotion arose in court, and Noel's face was ashen with horror.She did not expect Helen to be so foolish as to leave behind so much evidence for others to pick up on!She even left behind conversation history, fund transfer screenshots, and pictures of signed documents! Noel had reminded Helen umpteen times to be careful in all things and not to leave any trace behind. Did all her words fall on deaf ears?!Jessica's entire b
In the solemn and stately court, Judge Faden announced, "In accordance with the decision of the collegial panel and through courtroom investigations and debate, there is insufficient evidence to convict Cordy Sachs of bribery of 1 million dollars and tax evasion of over 7 million. She is to be immediately released."The moment the announcement was made, cheers sounded across the court.Not everyone wanted to see Cordy captured. Most wanted the court to seek justice. What's more, the case was filled with twists and turns which explained the enthusiastic response toward the announcement.Noel was horror-stricken.She looked at the joyful faces around her and almost yelled out loud.She had thought that it was a foregone conclusion that Cordy would be thrown into jail. Yet…yet…everything was screwed up!Why in the world was Cordy so capable that she could escape unscathed time and time again?Was even Jessica and the Stuarts no match for her? Noel gritted her teeth with anger.