"Thank you for your testimony, doctor," the judge said, dismissing the doctor."Congratulations, my dear. I told you I’d cure you," the doctor said as he approached Deborah, taking her hands and smiling warmly. She responded with a soft thank you and a grateful smile.With that, the elderly man found a seat among the spectators to listen to the rest of the trial."Attorney Roberts, it’s your turn," the judge stated."Let’s hope it is, and that I’m not interrupted again by Attorney Collins," Herman replied, still a bit irritated."…" Christian merely smirked, crossing his arms, relishing the feeling of outmaneuvering Herman."Maybe my clients were complete idiots for not taking you to a doctor," Herman said, approaching Deborah and ignoring his clients' protests, "but they believed they were doing the right thing because your mother named them as your legal guardians.""That’s a lie," Deborah snapped, glaring at the lawyer."Order.""Deborah, calm down…" Christian urged, gently
"That's right, it was in the news. She got drunk and crashed the car with her daughter inside.""I thought she did it out of spite when she found out Frederick had kids with someone else.""Poor woman."Vanessa scowled when she heard the gossip. She hated being labeled as the mistress, especially since it wasn't true."Order in the court," the judge demanded, silencing the murmurs from the audience."First, we investigated what we had at hand," Alistair continued, setting his folder aside. "Luckily, the vehicle and the evidence collected were still intact. When we reanalyzed the car, we found that its operating system had been damaged, and the brakes were completely non-functional.""Was that damage caused by the crash?" Roberts asked skeptically."No," Alistair replied, as photos of the wreck were projected onto the screen. "Based on the way the vehicle crashed, there was no way the brakes and control panel could have been damaged in that manner."Deborah felt a lump form in h
"That’s a lie—" Frederick began to protest, standing up in an attempt to keep up his act, despite being backed into a corner."It’s true!" someone shouted from the crowd, leaping to their feet. "Now I remember you! You’re the miserable bastard who took advantage of my uncle. I couldn't find you because you changed your name and dyed your hair!" The person pointed accusingly at Frederick as they tried to push through the crowd to reach him, intent on giving him a beating."Order! Officers!" the judge called out, signaling the police in the room to restrain the person disrupting the trial."I remember you now too!" a woman shouted, pointing at Vanessa. "You’re the filthy witch who tricked my grandfather, pretending to be a nurse so you could kill him, steal his pension, his savings, and everything of value in his house. And now I see where all that stolen money went," she spat, glaring at Vanessa with disgust and hatred."That scumbag played my aunt the same way. He pretended to be h
"Objection!" Frederick stood, fists clenched."Mr. Turner, be quiet! One more outburst, and I'll have you thrown back in prison. You’re not a lawyer, so you have no right to object," the judge reprimanded him sharply.Frederick felt cornered, and he loathed it. To make matters worse, the idiot they had for a lawyer wasn’t helping at all; he was just sitting there, silently listening to everything being said about them."Don’t worry, Frederick. Even if you wanted to object, your friend has already confessed his crimes and even provided us with some very interesting information that I’d like to share with everyone here," Alistair said, pulling a voice recorder from his coat and pressing play.“Welcome to your new home, Alan—or should I keep calling you Cameron?”“Bastard! What you’re doing to me is inhumane.”“Inhumane? I think you’re confused. We’re just giving you a little lesson. The real inhuman ones are you and your little group of friends, who harmed so many innocent people f
As the tape ended, the courtroom fell silent as everyone tried to process what they had just heard."It’s worth noting that Alan Miller was kind enough to provide us with the name of that doctor. He’s currently in police custody while we conduct the necessary investigations," Alistair said.Frederick and Vanessa were terrified. That idiot really had betrayed them by spilling everything to Alistair. They could feel their victory slipping through their fingers. All their so-called friends had betrayed them, and on top of that, they were stuck with a useless lawyer who was doing nothing to help."You… you were going to do what?!" Jayden's voice broke the silence, his shout reverberating through the courtroom as he stood, fists clenched, ready to attack the bastards who had planned to destroy his fiancée and steal his child."Jayden," Deborah called, standing up as well."Jayden, calm down, please. They’re not worth it," Caroline said, rising alongside Christian and the assistant to r
Deborah’s gaze landed on the policeman standing next to the judge, and she froze. Something about him was eerily familiar. It didn’t take long for her to recognize him—he wasn’t a policeman at all. He was the bodyguard who had been with Brandon the day she was kidnapped.Realizing this, she quickly turned to scan the audience. If that man was here, then maybe he was too.“Debbie, love, what’s wrong?” Jayden asked, noticing how she had suddenly turned to look at the crowd.“Well, since there are no further questions, I believe we’ve seen enough,” the judge began, drawing everyone’s attention. “It’s clear,” he said, glaring at the defendants, “that you two are guilty.”“What?!” Vanessa exclaimed.“This trial is rigged!” Frederick shouted, jumping to his feet. “You can’t just declare that outcome yourself; it’s the jury who decides!” He pointed an accusing finger at the judge, desperately clinging to their last backup plan.“Heh, now you’re suddenly an expert on the law?” Christian
Once the crowd had calmed down, the officers guided everyone out of the courtroom one by one, thoroughly checking each person to rule them out as suspects.“My love...” Jayden pulled Deborah into a tight embrace as she trembled in his arms.“They’ll go after James,” she whispered in a panic, her breathing growing increasingly erratic with fear.“Debbie... sweetheart, that won’t happen. You need to calm down. Do it for James,” Jayden urged, gently patting her back.“Jayden, Deborah,” Caroline called out as she approached with a few paramedics.“Come this way,” one of the medics instructed, guiding Deborah to a chair so they could check her blood pressure.“Breathe slowly. Try to relax.”“Jayden, it’s best if you take Deborah to a private room where they can finish examining her. I’ll also post some officers outside to keep watch,” Alastor said. “Don’t worry. We’ll catch them.”“Jayden, Deborah,” Nicholas arrived just then, looking flustered.“Dad...” she hugged him tightly, tea
“I don’t understand,” Deborah said, her confusion evident.“Deborah, I’ll just tell you this,” Brandon said firmly. “What happened today was meant to happen. It was all part of the plan. Right now, the three of us have a common enemy.”“A common enemy?” Deborah asked, her gaze shifting to Herman.“Do you remember what I asked that detective during the trial?” Herman asked.Deborah paused, her eyes widening as realization dawned. “Is it about the girl they killed?”“At that time, I was a troubled young man living on the edge, helping my family,” Herman explained. “Despite being only sixteen, I was about to become a father and was incredibly happy about it. But then I suddenly lost both my beloved and my baby girl. They kidnapped her because of her blood type, intending to steal my baby girl from her mother’s womb. And because they were careless in their procedure… they killed both of them. Out of fear of the consequences, they abandoned their bodies in a rundown motel.”“That’s ex