Chapter 544 First Trial (4) Involves Dominic
Preston's words were dripping with sarcasm.
He said, "So, we're gonna say Alaric raped Juliana just because of one video? Isn't Mr. Murphy jumping the gun here? If Alaric really wanted a woman, would he need to go that far? All he has to do is show a little interest, and women would be all over him. And just so we're clear, Alaric specifically asked me to say he's only interested in his wife, Cecilia! He didn't rape anyone!"
After Preston finished his speech, he gave a deep bow to the court. "That's all I have to say."
Gavin nodded and turned to Felix, "Alright, let's hear your take on the defendant's not guilty plea."
"Sure thing." Felix stood up, looking calm and confident, "Mr. Collins' argument might sound reasonable, but it's full of holes."
Everyone's eyes were glued to him.
Felix continued, "First off, Mr. Collins said Alaric is loaded and doesn't care about the $50 million he supposedly embezzled, even showing that Alaric's usual spending could hit that amount. But here's the thing, Alaric isn't after the money; he loves the power his position gives him. We can imagine that when someone has a ton of money, they might not care about it, but if they get something new, like power, they get a real kick out of it. In this embezzlement case, Alaric was tempted by power; he loved the thrill it gave him!"
Cecilia's eyes narrowed. She knew they'd twist the facts, but hearing it still made her blood boil.
Seraphina next to her was visibly furious too. She muttered, "Lawyers are the worst; they can spin any story."
"Of course, I have evidence to back up my reasoning," Felix said seriously, "The evidence we provided of Alaric's crime is solid, with financial statements and cash to prove it. Compared to Mr. Collins' baseless speculation, we can see that Mr. Collins' defense doesn't hold water."
Cecilia was fuming.
But the other spectators seemed pretty satisfied, especially Dominic and his crew.
Dominic's smugness was hard to miss.
What could Alaric do now?
Going up against Dominic was like asking for trouble.
"Now, let's talk about the rape case involving Alaric," Felix went on. "Mr. Collins just pointed out that a lot of women like Alaric. I agree with Mr. Collins on Alaric's charm. After a thorough investigation, we found that Alaric had many women, all of whom were with him willingly, and no woman ever accused him. So, we can assume they were all willing. But this willingness had a condition: Alaric was single at the time, with no moral constraints. Mr. Collins conveniently left this out, clearly dodging the main issue."
The crowd cheered again.
They thought Felix made a lot of sense.
Felix kept going. "In the Yakurosean Empire, the moral lines before and after marriage are pretty strict. Stuff you can get away with when you're single becomes a big no-no once you're hitched. Our investigation shows Alaric didn't mess around with other women after he got married, which means those women who used to throw themselves at him started keeping their distance. So, if anyone was still hanging around Alaric, it had to be because he was forcing them."
"I object!" Preston shot up. "Mr. Murphy, your logic is total garbage. How can you say any interaction with Alaric was forced? Sure, marriage is a moral line, but aren't there plenty of women who chase after married men for their money? Alaric not seeing other women after marriage just shows he's loyal to his wife, which has nothing to do with other women!"
"My argument is based on evidence," Felix said, "The intimate scene between Alaric and Juliana doesn't exactly scream loyalty to his marriage."
"Nor does it show Juliana avoiding Alaric," Preston fired back.
Felix's face darkened. "Juliana only got close to Alaric because she wanted to take the drunk Alaric home."
Preston said, "By your logic, women would avoid the married Alaric, so why didn't Juliana call Cecilia to pick up Alaric instead of taking him home herself? Isn't that a bit contradictory?"
Felix said, "It was late, and Juliana might not have wanted Cecilia to go out at that hour."
"Knowing it was late and unsafe, why did Juliana still do it?" Preston pressed, not letting up.
"Juliana is deceased; shouldn't we ask Alaric for the specific reason?" Felix replied.
"Alaric told me that Juliana wanted to seduce him," Preston said.
"That's ridiculous!" Felix's face looked bad.
He was starting to struggle to come up with a counter.
Preston continued. "If Mr. Murphy doesn't believe Alaric, why even ask him?"
"Mr. Collins," Felix said, "Juliana was Cecilia's cousin. Seducing Alaric would be shameless, and Juliana always stuck to her morals; she wouldn't do such a thing!"
Preston said, "You're right; Juliana was Cecilia's cousin. If she had sex with Alaric, it would be shameless. Everyone knows this; doesn't Alaric know?"
Felix said, "Alaric was drunk! A drunk person can do a lot of things. Alaric already had low moral standards; he could have sex with any woman! But Juliana wouldn't; the autopsy report shows Juliana had her first sexual experience and was raped. Such a pure woman wouldn't do something so morally corrupt."
"That's just your speculation. Got any evidence?" Preston asked.
Felix said, "The evidence is that Juliana drowned herself because she couldn't handle being raped by Alaric and chose to commit suicide!"
Preston asked, "Does Juliana's suicide necessarily mean it was Alaric?"
Felix shouted, "Alaric was the last person to contact Juliana!"
"That's not true," Preston said, "That night was a State Office staff dinner, and besides Alaric, a lot of people from the State Office were there, including Dominic!"
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