Chapter 302 It's Just a Hypothesis, Don't Take It So Seriously
Joseph said, "Oh, it's just vitamin pills. I thought you were having health issues."
Margaret's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't have time to speak.
Raymond's face changed slightly. He couldn't stand hearing anything about Margaret having health issues, so he shot a sharp look at Joseph in the plaintiff's seat. "Anyone can have health issues, but not her."
She had been pampered since childhood, the most cautious person, and now that she was pregnant, she never missed a prenatal checkup. How could Margaret have health issues?
So Raymond was very displeased with Joseph's comment.
Joseph gave an awkward smile, closed his mouth, and didn't speak again.
Sarah couldn't help but chime in, "Raymond, Mr. Miller was just speaking off the cuff, it was just a hypothetical. Don't take it so seriously."
"Even hypotheticals are not okay," Raymond turned his head, looking at Sarah with a hint of impatience.
Sarah, not wanting Margaret to see her make a fool of herself, bit her lip hard, her beautiful nails digging deeply into her flesh.
'He is actually defending that bitch Margaret so much. Why?' Thinking of this, Sarah took advantage of Raymond's inattention and glared at Margaret sitting in the plaintiff's seat.
'That bitch Margaret, her parents are dead, doesn't she have depression? Isn't she in the late stages of liver cancer? Why isn't she dead yet? Still making a fool of herself.' Sarah cursed in her head.
Margaret didn't even notice Sarah's jealous gaze.
Margaret gripped her thermos tightly. She even forgot to drink water.
The painkillers in her mouth slowly dissolved.
The intense bitterness made Margaret feel completely petrified and numb from her mouth to her entire body.
So this was what it felt like to be unloved.
Raymond could watch Margaret, confirmed to be in the late stages of cancer, suffer through the pain, and even feed her illegal drugs, causing the child in her womb to develop into a monster.
He trampled on her dignity and self-respect, enjoying her near-death, helpless, and pitiful state.
He pushed Marlon off the balcony and dared not admit it.
He denied her illness, and denied that she was taking painkillers.
Did self-deception make him sleep better at night?
Margaret felt extremely repressed inside.
Soon, it was time for the court session.
The judge arrived, and everything went smoothly at the beginning, according to the procedure.
Margaret thought she had a sure win, but unexpectedly, Raymond's side produced a video recording.
The video was played on the projector on the wall.
Margaret was completely stunned.
In the video, Marlon was walking towards the stairs with a cane.
Raymond tried to help Marlon, but Marlon pushed him away.
There were several such scenes.
Finally, Marlon went to the balcony, and Raymond told him not to cause trouble, as it was New Year's Eve.
Marlon hit Raymond's arm with his cane.
Raymond was very angry but didn't argue with Marlon!
Marlon suddenly hooked Raymond's neck with his cane, trying to drag Raymond towards the balcony, and then Marlon fell off the balcony.
Raymond grabbed Marlon's hand, telling him to hold on so he could pull him up.
Before she and Nancy came back, Marlon had already let go once. It was Raymond who grabbed his wrist!
Raymond said to him, "Marlon, what are you doing? It's New Year's Eve, are you trying to drag me down with you?"
"If you fall, aren't you hurting me? I didn't expect you to be a coward! Don't you know how precious life is? Margaret has done so much to help you wake up, don't you know? You are her only hope! Think about Nancy and Margaret, what kind of man talks about dying all the time?"
"Hold on to my hand, I'll pull you up!"
In the video, Margaret and Nancy appeared.
Margaret was holding desserts, which was Marlon's favorite.
"Raymond, what are you doing!" Margaret yelled at Raymond on the balcony.
In the video, Raymond looked at Margaret.
The camera clearly captured Marlon suddenly letting go of Raymond's wrist at that moment.
With a loud crash, Marlon fell from the balcony, heavily, right in front of Margaret and Nancy.
The desserts in Margaret's hand instantly fell.
Scalding blood splattered on Margaret's face and Nancy's white boots.
The video abruptly stopped.
The courtroom atmosphere was solemn, silent to the extreme.
Raymond glanced at Margaret in the plaintiff's seat, seeing that she was already stunned.
He looked at Margaret and said, "If the truth isn't clear enough, I can provide the rest of the video to prove my innocence. You should know what happened next, so it's probably not necessary."
"This video indeed proves the defendant's innocence. On the contrary, the victim seems to tend to frame the defendant. The victim repeatedly assaulted and verbally abused the defendant, as clearly shown in the video. The defendant tried to save the victim, but the victim let go himself," The judge said slowly, speaking plainly and objectively.
Margaret shook her head, seemingly unable to accept the result, and said, "No, it's not like that. This video is edited, it's fake. On New Year's Eve, all the surveillance cameras in our house were broken, this wasn't filmed by our cameras."
"Ms. Hughes, this video was indeed not filmed by the Hughes Villa's surveillance cameras. It was filmed by my client's phone's pinhole camera. My client found it suspicious that you suddenly invited him to the Hughes Villa for New Year's Eve dinner, given his strained relationship with your parents. So he installed a pinhole camera in his phone."
"We also have an audio recording that proves Mr. Hughes sent you and Mrs. Hughes away, leaving my client alone with Mr. Hughes."
The audio was played, with Marlon's muffled voice.
Then Margaret's voice appeared. "Dad, do you want Mom and me to buy you some desserts? Then you have to stay home and behave until we get back."
"Raymond, I'm warning you, don't make things difficult for my dad. Or else you'll have to deal with me."
The lawyer explained to Margaret in the plaintiff's seat, "If my client had a motive to kill, he would have invited Mr. Hughes to dinner and sent you and your mother away. On the contrary, we believe Mr. Hughes had long planned to commit suicide and frame my client, setting up everything."
"Order!"
The judge picked up the gavel, expressionless, and struck it, then concluded, "Plaintiff, the evidence provided by the defendant has been verified by our Silverbrook court and shows no signs of tampering. Your accusation of murder against the defendant is unfounded, and all your requests are dismissed. This court declares the defendant not guilty."
"Defendant, you have the right to sue the plaintiff for defamation. The plaintiff's actions have damaged the defendant's reputation, caused a drop in stock prices, and severely affected the defendant's personal interests. If the defendant pursues this, under Silverbrook law, the plaintiff could face three to ten years in prison for serious defamation."
Everyone present, including Margaret, knew that with such charges, Raymond wouldn't lose.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
