His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus) novel Chapter 579

Chapter 579 

The courtroom was a stage, and every soul within its walls, save for the actors Frederic had arranged, glared at Elspeth with eyes filled with loathing and condemnation. 

Even Glynnis looked upon Elspeth, the mother who had plotted her downfall with contempt and disgust. 

Elspeth had come prepared for this trial. She had requested a bathroom break before proceedings to ‘touch up‘ her makeup, ensuring she appeared as a pale and haggard woman tortured by life’s cruel hand. Her innocent facade was so convincing, it was as if she had been born for this role. 

Frederic, catching Elspeth’s pitiful, pleading gaze, was momentarily transported back to the days of their early acquaintance. His heart, once sealed in concrete, cracked open once more. 

“You witch. You will pay for Erica’s life with your own! I demand justice!” Erica’s grandmother could not contain her fury upon seeing Elspeth, her voice trembling with rage and sorrow, a sight that could soften the hardest of hearts. 

Elspeth, with tears brimming in her eyes, shook her head helplessly, looking every bit the innocent victim she pretended to be. 

This was a public trial, every moment captured on camera, the courtroom no less than a theater. 

And she, she was still the star of the show! 

Before the trial, Cedric had sworn to her that the charge of hiring a hitman would not stand. Her only task was to play her part in this carefully orchestrated drama. 

“Madam, please, calm down! Just breathe,” Jason urged, rushing to Erica’s grandmother’s side as she turned pale and began to convulse. Evadne stood up, calling for oxygen, “Someone get an oxygen tank quickly! She’s going into shock!” 

The officers scrambled to assist, and only after the elderly woman was given oxygen did she begin to stabilize. 

The judge, Ivan Dempsey, robed in black, took his seat, his heart heavy at the sight of his siblings entangled in this public spectacle. 

“Oh no, the judge is a Dempsey!” Aviana shook Suri frantically, nearly making her sick, “Suri, will he throw Jason under the bus? Are there any good apples in the Dempsey family? I have my doubts!” 

Suri patted her hand reassuringly, “Ivan’s record is clean. He’s made it on his own merit, without much influence from his father. I believe he’ll be fair.” 

The momentous trial began. 

“Elmsworth Court of Justice is now in session for the case of the People versus Elspeth Ward, charged with the murder for hire. Will the prosecution please make its opening statement?” 

Erica’s grandmother, aged and frail, had exhausted her strength just by appearing in court. Jason, shedding his secretary persona, stood as a professional lawyer, moving everyone with a powerful narrative of the crime, demanding justice with simple words: “Kill the murderer!” 

A hush fell over the crowd, even Frederic’s paid supporters were visibly moved. 

Evadne, haunted by the brutal image of Erica’s death, clutched her ears and shut her eyes, as if trapped in a vacuum–sealed jar, her forehead slick with sweat, fighting for breath. 

“Evadne, don’t think of them. I’m here,” Thaddeus wrapped his arms around her, resting her head against his shoulder, his voice a soothing whisper. 

“Thaddeus. I still feel I’m a sinner,” Evadne sobbed. 

Thaddeus, feeling her tears, reassured her with a tender fierceness, “Don’t say that. You are no sinner. Those standing in the dock, they are the true criminals.” 

As Jason concluded, it was the defense’s turn. 

Elspeth, weeping profusely, recited the script Cedric had prepared for her, her brief stint as an actress serving her well in this desperate hour. 

“Your Honor, why would I kill a mere maid? What benefit would her death serve me? Perhaps this is all due to a personal vendetta between Ward and Erica, being of the same social circle at the Abernathy estate. Ward, flaunting his position as my assistant, has not been kind to the Abernathy help. No doubt Erica had her grievances, which led to his vile act!” 

“You’re spouting lies!” Ward, now a cooperating witness, immediately retorted, “Your Honor, Elspeth was blackmailed by Erica, so‘ she paid me to dispose of her! She’s the mastermind; I had no choice but to comply, fearing the wrath of a lady of the Abernathy estate. Even in custody, she sent people to silence me – I still bear the marks on my neck!” 

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Chapter 579 

“You slanderer! If I had known of your villainy abroad, I would never have employed you!” Elspeth bellowed, the courtroom witnessing a spectacle of betrayal and accusation. 

Ward shot back, “When you gave the order, Glynnis was there with us. She knows exactly what you intended!” 

In an instant, the room erupted into chaos as all eyes turned to Glynnis, her face a mask of shock and pallor. 

Frederic watched his daughter Glynnis with a mix of shock and suspicion so palpable it might as well have been a physical force. 

“No, no, that’s not true! I don’t know anything!” Glynnis stammered, her voice trembling like a leaf in the wind, tears threatening to spill over her lashes. 

In her heart, a cruel wish took root–she hoped Jason would win this lawsuit, would get Elspeth convicted quickly, to avoid any more complications. 

After all, Elspeth was a hopeless addict, a person who seemed to have lost all humanity, and she wouldn’t hesitate to drag Glynnis down with her to save her own skin. 

“Order in the court!” Ivan snapped, rapping his gavel twice. “This is a place of law, not a circus. Keep it down!” 

Evadne and Thaddeus exchanged a look, their eyes filled with a complex mixture of feelings. They knew that Ward was desperate, throwing Glynnis under the bus, but they also knew that Glynnis wasn’t entirely innocent. However, without hard evidence, pinning anything on that vile woman was going to be difficult. Otherwise, it would be her and her mother standing in the defendants‘ dock today. 

But it didn’t matter. None of them could get away with it. 

Without Elspeth’s cunning, Glynnis was like a parasite without a host, just barely clinging to life. 

Elspeth, meanwhile, was locked in a disgraceful verbal brawl with Ward. 

Frederic felt a flush of shame so intense that he wished he could vanish then and there. 

After the plaintiff and defendant had made their statements, it was time for the crucial moment–the debate. 

Cedric stretched leisurely, a small smirk playing on his lips as he rose to speak. “I’d like to ask you, Mr. Ward. You claim my client gave you money to deal with Erica, yet there’s no recorded evidence to support your statement. I have every reason to believe you are fabricating these lies to escape your own guilt.” 

“I’m not lying! Every word is the truth! I had no reason to harm her–I barely knew the maid!” Ward argued, his face a portrait of desperation. 

Jason watched Cedric, his gaze icy, his hands clenched tightly out of sight. He held a recording that Erica had made–a recording that had cost the poor girl her life. Cedric must be aware of it, too, but he boasted his claims because he knew that clandestine recordings couldn’t be admitted as evidence.