Chapter 560 Second Trial (3) The Truth Comes to Light
As Preston wrapped up his speech, he pulled out a USB drive.
Nobody in the courtroom dared to take it; everyone was waiting for Joe to make a move.
Joe was clearly eyeing Dominic, trying to figure out what to do next.
Gideon, acting like he didn't notice, said to Joe, "Have the clerk take the evidence."
Joe snapped back to reality.
With everyone watching, Preston presenting evidence left Joe no choice but to accept it.
And Dominic didn't dare to tell Joe otherwise at this moment.
Joe reluctantly instructed, "Please present the defendant's evidence."
The clerk stepped up, took the USB drive, plugged it into the computer, and projected it in the courtroom.
On the big screen, two shadowy figures appeared.
They were pushing several large boxes, walked right up to Alaric's front door, and went inside.
When they came out, the boxes were clearly empty, and they just took them away like it was no big deal.
As the video played, the courtroom buzzed with chatter.
Dominic's face turned pale.
How could there be surveillance footage?
He had made sure there was no surveillance beforehand.
Judging by the camera angle, Dominic couldn't keep his cool.
The footage was clearly from the house across the hall, meaning it was from a neighbor's place.
They had only searched Alaric's house thoroughly and never thought a camera from across the hall would catch this.
"Your Honor, may I present my witness?" Preston asked.
Hearing this, Joe got a bit flustered.
The case had taken a major turn, and he glanced at the audience.
Preston said, "Your Honor, you're the authority here, but I noticed you keep looking at the audience. Is there something interesting there? Or are you taking orders from someone in the crowd?"
"Outrageous!" Joe snapped, trying to keep his authority. "Mr. Collins, watch your language. One more outburst and I'll revoke your right to defend!"
"Understood." Preston appeared respectful and asked again, "Your Honor, may I present my witness?"
With everyone watching, Joe, having just been called out by Preston, didn't dare look around again.
"Proceed." He had no choice but to follow the proper procedure.
"Thank you, Your Honor." Preston bowed.
After a while, the two men in black from the video showed up in the courtroom.
Preston got straight to the point, "Please introduce yourselves briefly."
One guy said, "I'm Bobby Owens, 31, from Harborvale."
The other guy said, "I'm Robbie Ellis, 28, from Harborvale."
"Are you the two people in the video?" Preston asked.
They both answered, "Yes."
"What was in the boxes in the video?" Preston asked again.
Bobby replied, "Cash."
"How much?" Preston pressed.
"Not sure," Bobby answered, "Just a lot. Couldn't count it all at once."
Preston continued, "Why did you put the cash in there?"
"Someone hired us to do it, said they'd pay us $200,000 if we did it. So we agreed," Bobby answered. "We got $100,000 upfront and another $100,000 after we finished."
Preston asked, "Who hired you?"
Bobby and Robbie exchanged glances.
Robbie answered, "We don't know. We just got a call telling us to deliver the stuff to a specific place. They used a hidden number. The money was wrapped in newspaper and left next to a trash can on Willow Street in Harborvale."
"So you never saw the person who hired you?" Preston asked.
The two replied, "Never."
"Alright." Preston wrapped up his questioning and turned to Joe, "Based on the witnesses' testimonies, the cash found in Mr. Whitaker's house was clearly planted to frame him."
"Objection!" Felix jumped up, "This is all Mr. Collins' one-sided story. I strongly suspect Mr. Whitaker staged the video!"
"Objection sustained!" Joe almost automatically sided with the prosecution.
"I have evidence to prove the video wasn't fabricated by us," Preston said excitedly. "Please allow me to present my witness."
Joe hesitated but then said, "Proceed."
Peter, who lived across from Alaric, took the stand.
Cecilia really didn't want to involve him, but after much thought and anticipating the opposition's tactics, she decided to bring Peter in.
To her surprise, Peter agreed immediately.
When he heard he was to testify for Alaric, he was very enthusiastic.
Peter said a lot, firmly stating that Alaric would never embezzle.
Finally, Peter provided his surveillance footage, fast-forwarding through nearly a month's worth of video to prove that the footage Preston presented was not staged.
"Even so, what about the financial reports? The $50 million embezzlement matches the reports exactly. I have reason to believe Alaric anticipated being caught and staged this whole thing," Felix argued.
"Why don't you say the financial reports were fabricated?" Preston countered.
Felix was momentarily speechless.
Preston continued, "If they could plant money in Mr. Whitaker's house, fabricating reports would be even easier."
"The reports were taken from the State Office in Harborvale and confirmed by the staff. Are you suggesting the entire State Office is framing Alaric?" Felix said.
"Exactly," Preston agreed with Felix's point.
Felix's face changed as he immediately realized he had misspoken.
"Everyone is framing Mr. Whitaker. As for why..." Preston deliberately left it hanging. "We'll get to that later. For now, let's focus on the financial reports."
Felix gritted his teeth and said no more.
Preston loudly declared in the courtroom, "Mr. Whitaker's phone contains an original financial report. It's the only one not tampered with by the State Office. I request to retrieve Mr. Whitaker's phone to provide our evidence."
Before Joe could speak, Gideon took the phone from the seized items. "Is this the phone?" he asked.
"Yes," Preston quickly replied.
Gideon motioned for Preston to take it.
Preston thanked him, took the phone, and used the courtroom computer to copy the original financial report, which he projected on the big screen.
On the screen, Alaric's accounts were clear, with no extra $50 million, and every income and expense was itemized clearly.
Preston then also presented many witnesses to verify each item in the financial report.
The case, finally, was brought to light!
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