âAnd, coincidentally, everything Sophia said in this video sounds exactly the same as the recording Ms. Jones provided us, from every exact word to even the same tone. Your Honor, I would like to request that these two videos to be compared, is that alright?â Zachary asked.
Leahâs eyes widened in shock and all the blood in her face instantly drained. Her lashes trembled as her heart began to pound in her ears.
Ryleigh Adams...?!
The shock on Williamâs face was evident as well, but the shock quickly turned into doubt. He and Leah were only two years apart. He grew up watching her and he would never believe that she was capable of such deviousness!
However, what was the video in Ryleighâs Moments about? Was it possible that they had called Ryleigh in and fabricated false evidence?
The judges conferred for a short moment before deciding that the items should be handed to the professionals to run a cross-check examination, and called for a one-hour recess.
Although Leah barely managed to maintain the calmness on her face, she could not stop her body from shaking, her hand trembled as she reached out to keep them from shaking.
She opened WeChat and searched up Ryleighâs Moments, and when she saw the video that was mentioned in court, her brows furrowed and she paled even more.
âMs. Jones, is there something that youâre not telling me?â Leahâs lawyer had not expected a sudden move like this and was completely dumbfounded. âNow that we have a recess, tell me everything I need to know so I can help you win this case!â
Leah stiffened, but just as she was about to speak, William had already come over. âLeah, whatâs going on? Why does your recording sound exactly the same as the video mentioned?â
âWill... What do you mean?â Leah looked up at him as tears strayed the brim of her eyes.
âHey, donât overthink this.â Williamâs eyes flickered as his heart was instantly filled with guilt. âI was just asking.â
Another half an hour passed and they resumed court once again.
The judge announced that professionals have indeed confirmed that the voice in the recording matched the voice in the video. In fact, the audio recording seemed to be taken from the video.
There was an instant uproar in the courtroom.
âAside from that, Sophiaâs car was also switched. Iâm not entirely sure where her original car is, but one thing for sure is that the car with brake problems that was involved in the car accident that night does not belong to her,â Zachary added.
Although Leah forced herself to maintain her composure, she could not cover up the terrified look on her face.
âHow can you prove this?â The judge asked.
âAmong the evidence that I just submitted to you includes some transfer records and a bank savings statement, all belonging to Harvey Hastings, George Landon, and Hannah Gilmore. Harvey Hastings died of illness two years ago, but I discovered that he did receive a large sum of money and a hefty amount of cash right before his death.â
âHe passed the cash to his then-girlfriend, Hannah Gilmore. This can be confirmed with Hannahâs bank savings statement back then, and she is present in court today to prove this as well.â With that, Zachary turned around to Hannah behind him and gave her a look.
Hannah stood up and spoke, âHarvey only earned around three or four thousand every month, but one day out of nowhere, he suddenly gave me three hundred thousand in cash. I was worried about where the money came from so I didnât dare to accept it.â
âHe told me that a man by the name of George Landon approached him and asked him to switch out a car. He was also asked to exchange the carâs license plate too, and thatâs how he got the money. He asked me not to tell anyone.â
âIs George Landon related to Ms. Jones in any way?â The judge asked.
âGeorge is a migrant worker, he did all these just for the money Ms. Jones offered,â Zachary replied.
âBut there is no record of the two of their names in the transfer records so this doesnât back up what you just said,â the judge continued âBoth parties used cash transactions so naturally, there wonât be any record of it,â Zachary responded.
Right then, Leahâs expression eased up slightly.
However, Mr. Landon has watched plenty of spy thrillers that gave him the idea of protecting himself. He was worried that he was being asked to do something illegal and afraid that Ms. Jones would push the blame on him later on, he recorded the entire deal,â Zachary added.
Then, he took out a recording and played it in front of everyone.
âAs long as I transfer the money to the man and have him switch out the cars, youâll give me fifty thousand?â Georgeâs pronunciation was almost incoherent, his strong dialect heavily evident in his words.
âThatâs right.â It was Leahâs voice.
âYouâre not lying to me, are you? You can do this yourself too, so why donât you?â
âYour son works in the construction site like you too, right? He doesnât make much money in a year, but heâs getting married soon, no? If youâre not willing to do this, I can always find someone else.â
âWhy are you so impatient, little girl? Iâll do it, Iâll do it! I wonât have to go to jail for this, right? If my wife finds out that I did something illegal, she would surely chase after me with a hoe!â
Right then, Zachary paused the audio recording.
Leah kept quiet as beads of sweat broke out all over her pretty, little face.
William looked at her in disbelief as he stood up. He felt as if a bomb had just exploded in his mind and everything had gone blank.
How was this possible?
How did things turn out this way?
This whole incident... Had Leah been falsely accusing Sophia the entire time? How could she be willing to sacrifice her limbs and the rest of her life just to frame Sophia? This... How could this be possible?!
âIf Ms. Jones still doesnât want to confess, I have something else,â Zachary said, âGiven that itâs years ago, Ms. Jones bought the same car model under the same Sarah Danford. They still have the records over at 4S Car Dealership, and mind you, the store always holds transfer records.â
Then, he glanced at Leah and smiled. âIâm right, arenât I, Ms. Jones?â
Leahâs face instantly turned pale white.
âYou spent three whole years to plan this whole setup, and you even left the exact same scratch on your convertible just to make sure that nobody notices that the car was switched out. Itâs terrifying to think about how scheming and manipulative you actually are.â
âYour Honor, I would like to charge Ms. Jones for slander against my client!â Zachery raised his voice.
The trial continued through the entire morning. In the end, Sophia won the lawsuit whereas Leah was charged with a 2.45 million compensation for mental distress, and was detained for 15 days.
However, Leah had fainted the moment the jury announced her sentence so she was immediately rushed to the hospital, hence the detention was unable to be carried out right away.
Atrophy of Love: Mr. Harris, Stop Fooling Around!
ï¤Chapter 253 The Cat Is Out Of The Bag When everyone left the courtroom, everyone was still discussing the case.
âI really did not see this coming!â
âI thought Sophia was both a murderer and a mistress! Who wouldâve expected that Leah was the mistress, and to frame Sophia!â
âMr. Johnson was right when he said that her scheming and manipulation were terrifying. Leah was only eighteen years old two years ago, to think that she was capable of such scheming truly gives me goosebumps!â
âLucky for me, I donât know her. Otherwise, I think she would have a great time toying me around!â
âSuch a good brain, yet she wastes it on such evil deeds! She even went so far as to endanger her life to frame someone too, thatâs quite...
amazing?â
âI was cursing Sophia before this too, I just feel sorry for her now!â
Sophia let out a wry, sarcastic smile as she listened to what everyone was saying. The truth was out in the open now, yet she still felt as if her chest was stuffy. She could barely breathe and her chest was heavy.
Two million as compensation for mental distress... Ha!
How could this money ever compensate for what she lost?
She had gone to jail for two years for no reason at all! She had been on the verge of life and death several times and even fallen sick on multiple occasions, yet Leah only had to atone for all these for just two million and 15-day detention?