Chapter 9 The Court Case Ended in Farce
“Don’t mind who that guy is. What matters is that I can prove that my baby is Grayson’s child.” Unbothered, Olivia calmly pulled out a document.
Judith, who shot her a glare, did not seem too concerned. She proceeded to take the document from Olivia and handed it to the judicial assistant beside her.
The document clearly stated the relationship between Judith and Olivia’s unborn baby.
“Little bitch! What do you have to say now?”
I couldn’t help but burst out in laughter in court.
Stunned at my laughter, Judith sounded a little shaken and less confident. “What are you laughing at, you cunt?”
Over these few days, my lawyer had educated me on inheritance laws.
The judge nodded after he read the report from Judith. He said, “Sure. This is evidence of your relationship with that unborn child. And your point is?”
Judith’s and Olivia’s expressions shifted when they heard the nonchalant remark by the judge.
“That proves Olivia is pregnant with my grandson! Give us back our share of Grayson’s inheritance!” Judith sounded righteous.
Once again, I chortled at the anxiety in her voice.
Now, even O via was ruffled. “What are you laughing at?”
My biggest mistake was taking them too seriously.
“Looks like the both of you had not sought the advice of a lawyer before bringing on the lawsuit.” Patting the shoulder of that elite lawyer by my side, I flashed Judith and Olivia a smirk.
“Did your lawyer not tell you that proof of blood relations alone does not directly determine inheritance rights in court?”
I saw the shock in their eyes when they stared at each other. It appeared that they did not know. Anyone would have gone to court fully prepared, but they didn’t seem ready at all.
“Can the plaintiff show proof of blood relations?”
Judith and Olivia stammefed. Judith, especially, craned her neck and yelled at the judge unhappily, “Why can’t I submit proof to show I’m related to my unborn grandchild? You’re colluding to help that bitch out!”
Judith pointed at me and jumped in anger, but in the end, she didn’t get what she wanted.
Olivia refused to look at me. For some reason, she looked exceptionally pale. She pulled out a stack of documents from her bag and stopped Judith from throwing a tantrum.
Judith unhappily tried to swat Olivia’s hand away, angry that Olivia had interrupted her performance in court. “Why are you stopping me?”
Olivia requested, “Your Honor, we request to look into the company stock ownership!”
Her unexplained request caught everyone by surprise.
“We suspect Heidi Ross of privately transferring the company stocks after Grayson’s death! Isn’t that against the inheritance laws?” Olivia sounded so sure and firm, as though she knew for sure the documents in my possession would incriminate me.
The judge took the documents prepared by Olivia and flipped through them with a frown. The documents had been printed in the company headquarters and came with the official stamp to verify their authenticity.
The document showed that my stock ownership had increased from ten percent last year to 15 percent this year. The five percent increase was a stock transfer from Grayson.
“Grayson and that bitch had been out of love for a long time! He couldn’t have transferred his stocks to her! She must have transferred his stocks without anyone knowing!” Judith had no due why the discourse had shifted to stock ownership, but she unconditionally defended Olivia anyway.
“Language!” The judge shot Judith a warning look and hit the gavel to maintain order in court.
Olivia had submitted various types of company documents, from the annual stock dividend reports to end–of–year summary reports. Every document confirmed that my stock ownership had increased by five percent.
But how did Olivia get her hands on the company documents when I was in charge of the company?
The judge glanced at me after hearing Olivia’s remarks. “Ms. Ross, how are you going to explain that?“`
My lawyer was unprepared for that question because he never expected Olivia to bring up the topic of stock ownership. He cast me a worried look.
I fixed Judith with an intense gaze. “I’m sure you know very well the reason I received the five percent in company stocks.”
I refused to believe that Judith had no idea about Grayson shutting me up with five percent of the company after my miscarriage.
“What is that about? Do not try to blame it on me!” Judith grew distressed after hearing me. She jumped from her seat in anger and confronted me directly.
I clenched my jaw and tried my best to stay calm. Part of me couldn’t believe that Judith was so foolish as to publicly discuss this matter.
“Don’t you know the reason Grayson gave me the five percent stocks and the truth behind my miscarriage?”
My unborn child was a wound that would hurt forever.
1
The audience in the court started to murmur. They had come prepared for the drama, but they weren’t expecting to hear about all this gossip.
Judith became mute at the mention of my unborn child, as if someone had her in a chokehold. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
In the end, the judge decided to schedule the trial for a later date as our legal battle was way too complicated.
During that time, became a shut–in. Some memories I had cast aside suddenly resurfaced–the sudden change in Judith’s attitude and the locket gift that she snatched away from me.
I could sense the clues slowly coming together before me, yet I couldn’t piece the puzzle.
“As Ross, I found out the identity of the man who was with Olivia.“
During my break from the trail, Cliff updated me daily about his progress. His hard work had paid off –we had a new update.
“His name is Sean Lambert. He’s 19 years old this year and the CEO of Marvin Tech.”
I silently replayed his name in my mind just to confirm I truly did not know him. But then, Cliff’s next words sent a chill down my spine.
“Mr. Lambert seems to know you… very well,”
That made my hair stand. I immediately asked, “Why did you say so?”
Cliff hesitated for a while. Finally, he spoke unsurely, “I can’t say for sure now, but I see him around the café, the restaurants, and the park you often go to.”
1 was rendered speechless. The revelation made me feel unexplainably suffocated
Chapter 9 The Court Case Ended in Farce
I believed in coincidences, but this was too much to be a coincidence.
“I want his information in more detail. The fees aren’t a problem.”
I instantly transferred the payment to Cliff. He promised to look into it and told me not to worry before hanging up.
I pulled back the curtains. The fading light of dusk streamed in through the windows.
At the same time, my phone rang.
