By Zephyria Yu-jin couldn’t fall asleep for quite a while. He was dead tired, but his mind was wide awake, and he couldn’t easily close his eyes.
It couldn’t be helped, Angie had made a bombshell announcement.
He sighed softly and turned over again, this time Winston came to mind. He kept feeling uneasy, as if something was stuck in a corner of his heart. Why? Why?
That was what bothered him. Wasn’t it suspicious in the first place that he was waiting for Yu-jin to say things like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘thank you’? It was unnatural and suspicious enough.
Isn’t it natural to say such things?
On the one hand, he thought so too. With each passing day, their day of parting was approaching. If he thought he was leaving a memory for the last time, it made sense.
But…….
His mind leaned in another direction. For hours now, thoughts had been going back and forth like this. He couldn’t sleep, and his worries only grew.
“Why am I even worrying about this?”
Yu-jin burst out in frustration. What did it matter what he meant by those words? What was more important was the relationship between Angela and Winston.
He thought he should tell Winston in advance, but he soon shook his head. He couldn’t break his promise with Angela. He had already disappointed the child once. How hurt must she have been that he hadn’t told her the truth sooner? And if he broke his promise again, it might be irreversible.
He had to wait until Angela was ready.
He thought the child might not want to reveal it. In any case, it was clear that she needed time. He decided to put aside his immediate worries and forced himself to sleep.
* * *
Two days before Gordon’s trial, Charlotte was discharged from the hospital. Along with saying that she would be staying with her parents for the time being, she added that she would testify at the trial. Mrs. Campbell was finally able to dispel her doubts when she heard the message.
“Tone down your temper, why do you have an accident at a time like this?”
Gordon casually replied, “Yes, yes,” to his mother, who sternly scolded him again in the courtroom. Mrs. Campbell was very annoyed by her eldest son’s insolent attitude, but now was not the time to point it out. She quietly closed her mouth and sat in the audience seat, and soon the judge entered and the trial began. The lawyer first put Gordon on the witness stand and asked him about Sarah’s testimony. Gordon sat in an arrogant posture and answered as planned.
“When I told her I wanted to break up, Sarah changed completely. She even hit me, and I had to go to the emergency room at the time.”
“Here are the evidence photos.”
The lawyer quickly displayed the photos on the screen. The lawyer, who took his eyes off the photos showing scratches all over his face and body at the time, asked again.
“Was it because you fell in love with your sister, Charlotte, that you told her you wanted to break up? Sarah Watts must have harbored resentment because of that.”
“That’s right. Until she appeared at the last trial, I didn’t even know if she was dead or alive. Charlotte didn’t either.”
“I understand.”
The story was plausible. In short, a man who was dating one of the sisters changed his mind and declared that he would marry another sibling, so the previous partner harbored resentment and gave false testimony. The jurors also seemed to be somewhat convinced. Now it was time to drive a wedge into it. The lawyer sent Gordon down and applied for the next witness. As planned, Charlotte came out, sat in the witness stand, and took an oath.
“Now, witness. Please introduce yourself first.”
At the lawyer’s request, Charlotte stammered and replied.
“I, I am, Gordon Campbell’s wife, Charlotte Campbell.”
Her voice was more trembling and subdued than usual, but Mrs. Campbell thought it was probably because she was nervous.
She really is a dimwit.
She clicked her tongue inwardly and waited for the next words, and the lawyer asked again.
“What is your relationship with Sarah Watts, who appeared as a witness for the prosecution in the last trial?”
“She is, my sister. My surname was Watts before I got married.”
“Yes, I see.”
The lawyer continued with the next question according to the content he had conveyed to her in advance.
“Then you must know about that incident that Sarah Watts mentioned. What happened at the time? Can you explain?”
At the confident question, Charlotte let out a trembling breath. She seemed to have trouble speaking easily, took a deep breath, and then answered.
“Uh, my sister was dating Gordon. Gordon always came to our house to pick up my sister… so I knew Gordon too.”
“What kind of person was Gordon?”
“He was rich, good-looking, and kind to me.”
“Good.”
The lawyer smiled as if satisfied with the predetermined answer.
“Your sister must have thought her meeting with Gordon was very lucky.”
“Yes…….”
Charlotte seemed to vaguely trail off, and then added in an unwilling tone.
“I thought so.”
Mrs. Campbell frowned at the not-so-satisfactory afterthought. Why would she say that, she’s so stupid. The lawyer’s voice was heard in her ear as she clicked her tongue inwardly.
“According to Gordon Campbell’s testimony, he broke up with your sister, Sarah Watts, because he fell in love with you, is that true?”
At the lawyer’s question, Charlotte’s gaze turned to the side. Her eyes, which were facing Gordon for the first time, were shaking wildly with fear and tension. The answer was set. All she had to do was say it. But for some reason, she kept hesitating.
What is she doing, that dull thing.
It was when Mrs. Campbell raised her eyebrows irritably. Charlotte tilted her head towards the microphone. With her gaze still fixed on Gordon, she opened her mouth.
“No.”
Mrs. Campbell paused at the sudden answer. Charlotte’s trembling voice echoed in the silence.
“The reason Gordon decided to marry me is because he raped and almost killed my sister. He proposed to me in order to be held accountable for his crime. I, I wanted to marry into the Campbell family, so I agreed to it… Sister, I’m sorry.”
Charlotte burst into tears. The lawyer was embarrassed by her sobbing figure, and the courtroom also began to stir. The most angry, of course, was Gordon.
“You bitch, what are you talking about!”
The police quickly stopped him from rushing in with curses. Because he was being held from all sides and his body was restrained, Gordon could only scream without being able to move.
“I’ll kill you! You crazy bitch, how dare you betray me? I should have broken your neck along with your sister! I’m going to kill you both! I’m going to tear your father and mother to pieces too…!”
“Be quiet, the defendant will be immediately detained for disturbing the peace in the courtroom!”
“You son of a bitch, I’ll never let you get away with this! I’m going to pluck out your eyeballs and throw them to the dogs, just you wait…!”
After the endless stream of curses and curses faded away and disappeared, the courtroom was barely quiet, but the atmosphere was a mess. The judge, who scanned the people who were standing up and looking around or whispering here and there, after the chairs had fallen over and the desks had been pushed away, cleared his throat to attract attention. People hurriedly sat down, and the guards urgently cleaned up the fallen objects, and then the judge spoke.
“Lawyer, is the witness examination over?”
“Yes? Ah, yes…….”
The embarrassed lawyer had no choice but to say that. Suddenly, the prosecutor stood up behind him as he turned around powerlessly.
“I would like to cross-examine. Please allow me.”The judge nodded, and the prosecutor, seizing the opportunity, turned to Charlotte. Terrified and trembling, Charlotte was pale and hunched over. The prosecutor offered a few perfunctory words of comfort before launching into questions.
“Could you tell us more about what happened at the time?”
Mrs. Campbell was glaring at her intently. But Charlotte tried to ignore it, fixing her gaze downward as she replied.
“During their relationship, my sister was constantly beaten, and that day she almost lost her life. I don’t know the exact reason, but I think my sister said she wanted to break up. Anyway, it’s all true that my sister almost died. Instead of marrying Gordon, I perjured myself by saying my sister’s words were all lies. My parents cared a lot about what others thought, so they tried to hide the fact that their daughter had been raped and almost killed. The victim was my sister.”
Tears welled up again, and Charlotte hastily wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. After answering a few more questions about what had happened at the time, she stepped down from the witness stand. There were no further witnesses, and the judge concluded by saying that the next trial would be the last.
“Thank you for your hard work. I appreciate it.”
The prosecutor, whom she met outside the courtroom, thanked Charlotte. She shook her head and replied in a small voice.
“It’s something I should have done a long time ago…”
Nevertheless, the thought that she might have betrayed her sister again if Winston hadn’t made the offer pained her heart. This was a chance to restore Sarah’s honor and also a chance for her to make a new start. In exchange for this testimony, Winston had offered to help Charlotte divorce Gordon, and the victims, including Sarah, would now be able to obtain substantial settlements from Gordon. The prosecutor had said that Gordon would probably receive a sentence of 20 to 30 years. With that, all the victims would be able to live in peace.
This time, I must meet my sister and apologize.
Sarah had been out of contact all this time. She had always lived with guilt and longing, but there had been no opportunity to meet and apologize. She was grateful to God and Winston for giving her this opportunity.
“Could you please give Sarah my contact information…?”
Mrs. Campbell watched Charlotte ask the prosecutor with a face mixed with hope and anxiety from a distance. She was filled with the urge to slap her daughter-in-law across the face, but she couldn’t lose her composure even at this moment.
It’s okay, I still have the other children.
She thought as she turned and walked down the hallway. Catherine wasn’t as good as Gordon, but she was still useful, so she would have to use her for the time being.
Mrs. Campbell comforted herself in that way, but there was still something she didn’t know. The very next day, Lady Catherine’s husband was indicted on charges of tax evasion.