Chapter 160

“Is she in court today?” Judge Cook asked.

“Yes, right over there.“ Marie pointed at a young woman in a grey dress.

The prosecutor then argued, “My Lord, the prosecution did not receive prior notice of this evidence. I

urge the court to adjourn the trial for Ms Martin while we authenticate the document.”

Judge Cook calmly replied, “Authentication goes without saying, prosecutor. But I won’t grant an

adjournment. Since this document only questions the validity of the audits, the trial can move on to the

corruption charges against Martin on goverment projects.”

Mr Clark argued, “Mr Lord, every eaming and expenditure made by my client will be reflected by the

audits. If that is put into question, shouldn’t the prosecution’s charges with regards to government

projects be put on hold as well?”

Judge Cook’s face was unperturbed when he replied, “No, Mr Clark. You very well know the evidence for

the government project bribery is not just in the form of audits but also written testimonies from multiple

witnesses.”

“But those witnesses aren’t present in court today to be examined, my Lord.” Mr Clark made one last

attempt to get his client off the stand.

“Looks like we only have your client to question on the matter for today, Mr Clark.” Judge Cook decided.

Mr Clark knew better than to argue further with the hard-headed and hot-tempered Judge Cook. He

didn’t want to anger the old man for fear of a detrimental outcome for all his clients.

Marie was shocked that the judge wanted to skip right to the issue on government projects first. She did

not prepare for this! She thought, if she were lucky, the court would believe the sheet of paper she

handed t o him, and that it would be admitted as valid evidence. In this best case scenario, Belle Price

would be called to the stand to verify the audits they fabricated together in the past week.

Even if she got unlucky and the document had to be authenticated, Marie thought she’d get an

adjournment. But she was denied even this!

Marie tried her best to mask her shock and fear, the fear that was matched by her own son. And Mr Clark

was scribbling furiously on his notepad while the prosecutor and her deputy flipped through the bundle of

documents in haste. The flutter of the tuming pages rivaled the tapping of a pen in Judge Cook’s hand as

everyone waited.

When the prosecutor found what she was looking for in the thick ring file, she extracted it and

approached Marie, apologizing to the judge for the delay before she cleared her throat and began her

questioning, “Ms Martin, fifteen years ago, the government issued a tender for a project to construct a

high -rise building in the east side of the Kingdom. The project was called ‘Skyline’. Are you familiar with

it?”

“Y-Yes.”

“The company who successfully won the tender was Celestial Enterprise. Are you familiar with this

company?”

“I-I don’t recall the name of the company that won the tender all those years ago but I know about the

project.”

“Do you recall a man by the name of Joseph Rig?”

This was exactly what she and her lawyer were afraid of. “N-No.” Marie lied.

“Are you sure, Ms Martin?”

The prosecution had evidence, and neither Marie nor Clark liked it. It was almost irrefutable. But Marie

still chose to deny the truth. “I don’t know anyone by that name.”

The prosecutor then asked, “Then why was he found going in and out of your home weeks before the

government decided on the company which would be given the project?”

“Objection, my Lord! Personal life and relationships of the accused are not relevant to this trial.” Both

Clark and Marie prayed that this reason would work.

Their prayers were denied when Judge Cook responded, “It would be relevant if those relationships are

the cause of the charges against the accused, Mr Clark. Objection dismissed.”

Marie wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead before she said, “I used to get offers to…urge the

government to take on certain companies over others. But I have never entertained them. This man you

mentioned was one of the more persistent ones, if I’m not mistaken. The pestering was constant.”

“So getting a restraining order against him has never crossed your mind, Ms Martin?”

“At that time, no. I’m afraid not.” At the same time, Marie chanted to herself, ‘Please, don’t pull out the

picture. Please, don’t pull out the picture. Please, don’t pull out the picture.’

The prosecutor went on, “Perhaps you never thought of getting a restraining order because you didn’t

want him gone, Ms Martin.” Marie knew where the prosecution was going, and she didn’t like it one bit.

She threw a pleading look at Mi Clark to get her off the stand but he couldn’t find a good enough reason

to do that.

This whole mess started because Marie’s ‘new’ audits made Judge Cook order for the government

projects issue to be tried first. Mr Clark could not hide his frustration at how stupid his client had been to

do that without consulting him. How was he going to save her now?!

The prosecutor gave the judge and Mr Clark a copy of the document she was about to refer to, and she

asked Marie, “Ms Martin, we received written testimonies from your neighbors of two decades, and they

affirmed that Joseph Rig, who you claimed to not remember, stayed overnight in your home for at least a

week. We’ve questioned Rig’s associates during the time of the Skyline project, and every one of them

confirmed that Rig used to boast about securing the project for Celestial Enterprise by sleeping with the

Finance Minister. Do you deny that’s what happened?”

“Holy sh*t.” Lucianne whispered, and her thumb stroking her mate’s hand paused at her shock.

Christian whispered her way, “Holy sh*t, indeed, my Queen. But I find ‘mother f*cker’ to be quite

appropriate in this situation as well.” Despite his steady voice, his onyx eyes and internal fury prompted

Annie to sit as closely to him as possible to calm him with their mate-bond.

Xandar’s grip on Lucianne’s shoulder tightened, and Lucianne was brought out of her shock when she

got the cue to start stroking his hand again. Xandar loosened his hold on her as soon as he realized

what he was doing without thinking. His animal groaned in guilt. After pecking a kiss on her temple,

Xandar linked, ‘I’m sorry, baby.”

She gave him an assuring smile and linked in response, ‘It’s alright, darling.’

“Ms Martin, did you or did you not have an intimate relationship with Joseph Rig?” The prosecutor

pressed when silence ensued.

“I-I don’t remember.”

The prosecutor sighed in frustration and walked back to her deputy, who handed over a picture of

Joseph Rig. ‘Oh, Goddess, just kill me now’, Marie thought. The prosecutor returned to the witness stand

and asked, “You don’t know him, Ms Martin?”

“N-NO.”

The prosecutor then flipped the paper over to show another man before she asked, “And what about this

man?”

Marie was getting paler by the second. “N-No.”

“Ms Martin, you’re just making things worse for yourself if you choose to lie. Perjury does not carry a light

sentence. Isn’t this the man you had an affair with weeks before the government granted the

hydroelectric project to Techno Builders?” The shocked gasps and disgusted looks everyone in the

courtroom was throwing her way did nothing to ease her anxiety.

“I-I d-didn’t sleep with him.”

“Then why did his ex-wife allege that you did just that, using this in her divorce proceedings with her now

ex-husband? She even had this picture to prove her case before the court.”

The prosecutor took another picture from her deputy, and just as she handed it to the judge, Marie Martin

noticed her vision blurring before her head slumped on the stand with a loud thud that stunned the

courtroom.

If the minister knew that all she needed to do to force the court to grant an adjournment was to faint on

the stand, she would’ve done it much sooner. At least then she wouldn’t have to explain her past affairs

to her sons when she regained consciousness.