In court,
Elder Collins silently watched the session start. After the introduction, he heard Gianna's lawyers narrate that Gianna was a responsible citizen of Narnia and how great she was by serving the nation through education.
Elder Collins snickered silently. He wasn't new to the world where people don't mean it but do some services just for the sake of the name and publicity.
If one does a good deed, that doesn't have to be publicized to the whole world. Or else, it would be nothing but a showoff to draw attention.
Irritated by the lecture, a man in his fifties, Alvin's lawyer, Lawyer Abbot interjected and objected to the opposition and the case came to the track, instead of glorifying Gianna
"Your Honour, this case is nothing but an accusation to slander and harass my client. Which family doesn't have a dispute and disagreement with each other? However, Alvin Matthews and Anya Owen have taken this ahead to malign my client who is well-respected in society. Thus I would like to request the court to put an end to the trivial case."
'A family dispute?' If the case was so simple and had only a misunderstanding, it wouldn't have reached the court. Nevertheless, the justice turned to Alvin's legal team.
Lawyer Abbot glanced at opposition lawyer Wales, controlling himself from rolling his eyes. He had seen a lot of crimes so tackling the case didn't feel difficult as Alvin and Anya gave him all the proof they had. He just needs to use it in their favor in a more effective way.
"Trivial!?" Lawyer Abbot scoffed as he stood up. "Lawyer Wales, for your kind information, my clients aren't so free to waste time on trivial things."
He turned to justice and asked, "Your Honor, how could an attempt to kidnap a young boy be trivial? How is drugging a minor case? Has snooping on people in their private space been legalized in Narnia?"
He glanced at Gianna who was clenching her teeth and hearing his questions. He questioned sarcastically, "I have the information that Mrs. Gianna Sallow was dean of Imperial University. Did she become a cop?"
The justice internally sighed and hammered on the table, "Don't waste court time." He wasn't there to respond to their questions.
Lawyer Wales was still cool-headed as he requested, "Lawyer Abbot, why don't you prove the case isn't trivial but critical?"
He had assumed Anya would want the court case to end before National day. So he expected and hoped Abbot would put all the evidence out on the table. Then he could negate all the evidence without a loophole.
Lawyer Abbot could guess what was Wales's plan. Yet he pretended to be playing on Wales's terms. He submitted a set of papers as he spoke pointing at the row of people.
"To start with, these four were hired to kidnap the little boy of age five. We have their statements with the cops, and the money they received for the work."
Wales's brows quivered faintly. He didn't expect Abbot to just be brief without trying to prove by questioning. He was waiting to raise his objection and revoke Abbot's points.
Abbot continued without submitting more evidence. They don't have to end the case soon. He passed a paper as he added, "That isn't the end, your honor, Mrs. Gianna Sallow snooped on my client and his son in the Majestic Clubhouse and tried to poison them in the hotel."
Abbot pointed at the Clubhouse security and added, "We have witnesses vouch for the same." He didn't say that they had evidence.
Likewise, Abbot continued to list the other small cases on Gianna with one or two paper proofs and briefed every incident without wasting time on questioning.
When Wales would question and try to trick those men into proving Gianna has no connection with those men, Abbot would reveal one piece of evidence after the other to trap them.
When Abbot was done presenting fewer proofs he wanted to submit, he reluctantly added a few words that were useless according to him, "Thus I request the court to prioritize the case and send Mrs. Gianna Sallow for the further investigation process." He sat on his seat ready to watch the great show.
Lawyer Wales started to strongly consider whether Alvin and Anya had no evidence. So he stood up confidently and requested to question a man who was responsible for kidnap Zane. "When did you first see Mrs. Gianna Sallow?"
The man promptly responded, "Today."
"Please note the point, your honor. The person who was caught for attempting to kidnap never saw my client before." He glanced at Abbot but didn't get to see the reaction he expected.
Since the man had said that he tried to kidnap Zane, Wales asked the next question, "Then who asked you to kidnap Zane Owen?"
The man pointed at Gianna's secretary's husband in response to it, "Mr. Stephan gave us a picture of the boy, address, and money."
Wales asked the other three persons who were involved in the kidnapping. Their responses were the same as the first man's.
Next, Wales asked questions to Mr. Stephan. "How certain are you, Mr. Stephan that Mrs. Gianna Sallow was the one who called you and instructed you?"
Stephan wasn't ready to sacrifice his whole life for Gianna by taking the blame so he responded promptly, "Cent percent sure." But he had forgotten that even if Gianna is caught, he will also go down with her.
Wales nodded and pointed at the voice artist lady, "When you hired the voice artist to mimic Anya Owen's voice, How are you so sure it was Mrs. Gianna Sallow's call? Did you get a call from Mrs. Gianna Sallow's number? Or was it a video call?"
His first attempt was to push all the blames on the middle person while proving everything was a coincidence.
Mr. Stephan was panicked. He started rambling that it was a call from Gianna by an unknown number and she had sent him money through another person. But he didn't know who that person was.
As the questioning continued, Lawyer Abbot looked all calm and collected without a hint of nervousness. Wales was only asking the questions and earning the response that was in Gianna's favor.
When Abbot starts questioning, the hidden truth will be out. Thus, Abbot was sitting like he wasn't interested and neglecting to focus on the court session.
Lawyer Wales had a victorious smile in the end as Abbot didn't object even once to his words. With overconfidence, he was gleeful for invalidating all the statements by making use of the fact that Gianna met none of them personally.
Although he didn't feel it was necessary to hurt Alvin or Anya's image, he went with the plan. He called out for Mrs. Stephen, Gianna's secretary, and questioned after the introduction, "Where have you seen this lady?" He asked, pointing at a picture of Anya Owen.
"Some days ago at the dean's office."
"Please narrate to the court what you witnessed that day?"
The court heard how Anya had entered the dean's office with her identity card and Gianna hadn't stopped either. However, Gianna had red fingerprints on her cheek after Anya took leave.
Likewise, Wales called out for a hotel staff from Coastal city and the Sallow family maid. The duo narrated what they had witnessed in the hotel and the Sallow family villa.
Wales ended his long questioning session, "Concluding, your honor... As we heard, it was always Anya Owen and Alvin Matthews who badgered my client.
My client had no reason to hurt an innocent young boy.
Thus I would like to request a sanction of bail for my client and permit us to charge against Anya Owen and Alvin Matthews." He bowed and went back to his seat.
With a triumphant smirk on his lips. He dropped a message to Casper, [We have it under control.]
...
On the other end, Casper who alighted the car in front of his company was swarmed by the reporters. The reporters were demanding answers and asking him, 'Why didn't you attend the court session? Did your wife try to kidnap the little boy? Are you supporting your wife or son? We heard you don't have a good relationship with your son for a long time?...'
Casper was making his way inside, ignoring the reporters and their questions. A row of guards was escorting him when his mobile beeped.
A sly smile appeared on his face, misunderstanding that Gianna was getting bail. He just needs to deal with the main office and abort the raid. Then he could teach the couple a lesson, couldn't he?
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