novelraw Chapter 443: The entire court in uproar, stunned by this astonishing insider revelation.
Chapter 443: The entire court in uproar, stunned by this astonishing insider revelation.
Desmond Wood revealed a satisfied smile and said cheerfully, "My questioning is done. Thank you, Mr. Leclair, for appearing as a witness."
The baby-faced man’s gentle smile vanished abruptly, his demeanor sharpened like a blade, as he fixed his gaze on the plaintiff, Melody Cloud, and spoke quickly: "My client and Ignatius Leclair have been in a long-term romantic relationship. I ask—what possible motive and reason would my client have to harm you, to the point of tarnishing her own reputation by arranging for someone to assault you, leaving behind such obvious evidence? This is all a ploy, a trap—a disgraceful web designed by you to ruin my client’s name and reputation."
The plaintiff’s legal team accused Delphine Carter of being a home-wrecker fueled by jealousy, but now Ignatius Leclair’s presence here was an outright humiliation to their argument.
No one had anticipated that the Crown Prince of the Southern Seas would openly disclose his relationship with the defendant.
The dynamics in the courtroom shifted suddenly and decisively.
Melody Cloud’s face turned pale as snow, and she remained silent.
Yet Desmond Wood’s interrogation pressed relentlessly on.
"You were the one who first arranged to meet my client, forcing her to abandon her romantic partner. When my client refused, you devised a cruel plan, staged a scene to frame yourself as the victim of an assault, and even had someone inform Mr. Leclair—everything was an act, a deliberate deception. The hotel staff witness, the drunken man—they’re all your people! This entire setup was orchestrated meticulously by you, wasn’t it?"
"No, it wasn’t," Melody Cloud stammered, trembling, denying in a burst of panic.
"Objection! The defense lawyer’s statements are entirely unfounded and purely speculative," the plaintiff’s legal team protested urgently.
"Objection sustained. Defense counsel, present evidence to support your claims," the presiding panel declared.
Desmond Wood’s baby-faced smile deepened, creating a stark contrast to the stern expressions of the opposing legal team, and said, "I request for my second witness, Mr. Claude Cloud, to appear in court."
Claude Cloud, his arm encased in a cast, stepped onto the witness stand. The man, in his forties, carried an air of matured charm, donned in a worn robe.
"Mr. Cloud, can you clarify your relationship with Miss Delphine Carter?"
"We are father and daughter. She is my biological daughter who was lost and recently found," the man said, his gaze infused with the loving kindness of a father as he looked at the resolute and silent Delphine Carter seated in the defendant’s box.
The people in the courtroom suddenly realized that what had seemed to be a simple case of jealousy-fueled assault was now steering toward an unpredictable and shocking direction.
The plaintiff’s legal team erupted in chaos.
Every assumption they had made was predicated solely on the hotel incident, yet now the defense attorney was veering the case toward entirely unexpected dimensions—it was simply inconceivable.
"Objection! The defendant’s identity is irrelevant to this case at hand."
"Objection overruled."
Desmond Wood scoffed, then continued his relentless questioning of Melody Cloud: "You were aware that my client is your cousin. You resented her for rising from an orphan to become the second daughter of the prestigious Cloud Family. You envied her for taking the man you desired, and so you schemed to frame her—not only to ruin her reputation but also to expel her and her father from the Southern Seas and strip them of their rights to heirship. Isn’t that true?"
"You’re speaking nonsense! My uncle was already expelled from the Cloud Family, and Delphine Carter has no inheritance rights," Melody Cloud shouted in rage, her face darkening under Desmond Wood’s unrelenting interrogation.
"Lies! My client’s father, Claude Cloud, is the first-in-line heir of the Cloud Family according to the late Family Head’s will. Over the years, your parents concealed the contents of that will, exiled my client’s father, and even drove her mother to her death. And now you’re staging this elaborate setup to frame my client—isn’t that true?"
The courtroom erupted in an uproar, shaken by the staggering revelations.
Melody Cloud’s knees buckled, nearly causing her to collapse. Her face turned ghostly pale, and sweat poured down like rain.