I choked; the private detective’s investigation results had yet to arrive.
At that moment, I truly had no evidence.
Yet in everyone’s eyes, my silence became proof of guilt.
The defendant’s bench erupted with scorn.
“Oh my god, he looks so refined, but I didn’t expect him to be so shameless!”
“Exactly! His wife treats him so well, and he still fools around outside, disgusting! And he still won’t admit it. He won’t cry until he sees the coffin!”
“No wonder his wife is suing him to leave with nothing, serves him right! A man unfaithful to marriage should be hit by a car the moment he steps outside!”
Someone hurled a drink at me, the cold liquid splashing across my clothes.
I was about to lose my composure when a voice I knew all too well cut through the air from the courtroom doorway.
“I have evidence!”
Bella entered quickly, her school uniform slightly rumpled, her face a mix of urgency and anxiety.
A schoolbag was slung over her back, and in her grip was a brown envelope.
Her gaze swept past her enraged maternal grandfather in the gallery, then her stone-faced paternal grandfather, before fixing on me.
“I am the daughter of the plaintiff, Kinsley, and the defendant, Austin, Bella Mitchell!”
“I accuse my mother, Kinsley, of betraying our family and having an affair with her male assistant at work! If they divorce, she should leave with nothing!”
I let out a long sigh; it had arrived, just as I knew it would.
To an outsider, she might have seemed like she was on my side.
But only I understood the truth behind her appearance.
The courtroom fell into a tense silence before bursting back to life with murmurs and gasps.
“Wow, the daughter is accusing her own mother? Putting justice above family loyalty!”
“My goodness, what a twist! Is she here to clear her father’s name from the cheating scandal? That takes guts!”
“I knew there’d be a reversal, look at the plaintiff’s face; it’s drained of color!”
Sure enough, Kinsley’s expression shifted dramatically. Moments ago, she had been confident of victory, but now she stood, trembling with fury.
“Bella, what lies are you spreading? Get out of here this instant!”
Unshaken, Bella swiftly pulled several photos from her file, the very ones she had shown me before.
“I’m not making this up. I have proof.”
“My mother, Kinsley, has been involved in an improper relationship with her male assistant for a long time. This is evidence of her betraying my father.”
Her voice steady, she turned to me with eyes full of fierce determination.
“Dad, a woman like Mom, who betrays her marriage, isn’t worth your loyalty. I stand with you, divorce her and make her leave with nothing!”
“She doesn’t deserve a single cent of this family’s wealth!”
The courtroom erupted into chaos, the tide of hostility turning sharply against Kinsley, whose face drained of color.
“What a loyal daughter! Standing for her father, choosing justice over blood, that’s truly Daddy’s little shield!”
“Exactly, a mother like that doesn’t deserve a second chance, support the daughter!”
“Cheaters should walk away empty-handed!”
Kinsley shook with rage, pointing at Bella and me, her curses raw and fierce.
“Nonsense! You two must have plotted to frame me!”
“Austin, you despicable man, did you twist our daughter’s mind against me?”
“I’ll make you both pay!”
Her eyes were bloodshot as she suddenly lunged across the table, closing the distance to the defendant’s bench in a few hurried steps, her hand rising to strike my face.
The bailiffs reacted instantly, rushing forward to hold her back.
In that chaotic moment, someone shoved me hard, too hard, and my briefcase slipped from my grasp.
The paternity test report I had tucked away carelessly slipped out, landing squarely before everyone’s eyes.
I cursed silently and scrambled to retrieve it, but the damage was done.
The courtroom erupted into an uproar.
