CHAPTER 248: CHAPTER 248 CALLING OUT THE WTNESS

"Objection, my lord! What do you mean? We were told there was a murder weapon—don’t tell me my client is in cuffs simply because her prints were found on the victim’s hair which everyone knows is the most common place people touch?" Jane blurted out, shooting to her feet in disbelief.

First, she was taken aback by the prosecutor whom she didn’t recognize him.

She knew most prosecutors, but this one didn’t ring a bell at all.

Charlotte Hastings’ family were also yet to find out Kelsie was the suspect behind their daughter’s demise, so they couldn’t have hired him.

Did that mean the state brought someone in from the outside?

As she pondered this, the judge nodded to her objection.

"Objection sustained. What do you have to say to that, prosecutor?"

The prosecutor’s cheek stretched into a sly smile, his chin lifting slightly as he turned to peer at Kelsie and Jane.

"The defendant had a misunderstanding with the late Ms. Hastings over an issue involving her daughter."

"Understandably, a woman whose daughter was accused of stealing wouldn’t suddenly become best friends with the said teacher the next day, would she?"

Jane placed a hand on her waist and frowned. "My client is not a witness, neither is she on the stand. Don’t throw aimless questions around and answer my question instead."

"Prosecutor, refrain from treating the defendant as a witness and answer the question." Following her words, the judge also warned the prosecutor.

Instead of responding to Jane, the man turned forward again, lowering his gaze slightly in apology to the judge.

"My apologies, Your Honor. But I don’t think I can divulge any more until the witness arrives. I plead that you allow this."

If the witness was on his way from prison and just slightly delayed, there was no reason to pressure the prosecutor to speak when everything would be revealed in due time.

Hence, the judge didn’t probe further and shifted his gaze to Jane.

"Defense, do you have anything to say while we wait for his witness to arrive?"

Jane checked the time on her wristwatch, massaging it slightly as she looked around the courtroom.

The man from yesterday had said it would take a few hours for his device to be ready. Jett trusted him, so naturally, she did too.

If they weren’t here yet, then something must’ve happened, so she had to keep the court occupied until...

The doors to the courtroom flew open at that moment, putting an abrupt end to her plan.

Guarded by two officers, dressed in clean clothes and now clean-shaven, was Jerry Sutton.

Kelsie’s head dipped—not out of surprise that he was here to testify against her, but because he was out of prison.

She hadn’t checked with the Sutton family after the ruckus Lydia caused at her practice, but she knew whatever money they had left wasn’t enough to cover Jerry’s bail.

And by now, the bank would’ve already seized from them to repay what was left to repay any outstanding loans owed them.

Giving Deborah and Laura’s spending habit, she knew it was probably a lot.

The clerk got up, picked the Holy Book Jerry pointed to and walked to meet him at the witness stand.

"Do you swear to say the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth?"

Jerry placed his hand on it, nodding seriously, "I, Jeremiah Sutton, swear to say nothing but the whole truth about what I saw that night."

Jane glanced at the door again, her foot hitting the floor impatiently.

As Kelsie’s lawyer, she’d been briefed about the Sutton family’s current financial situation, so just like Kelsie, she knew they couldn’t possibly afford Jerry’s bail.

Car theft wasn’t a minor crime. With three stolen vehicles in their possession, his bail wouldn’t have come cheap.

Yet someone had forked out the money to get him out.

Either the person was a magnanimous soul with a big heart—or what Jerry was about to say would nail Kelsie’s coffin shut.

Just as the clerk returned to his seat, Jane quickly called out to the judge, both hands on the pile of paperwork before her.

"Your Honor! The prosecutor never submitted Mr. Sutton’s file as a witness!"

At this, the prosecutor pointed at the pile of paperwork with a straight face. "Of course I did. It’s the green envelope sticking out from under the books on your desk."

Jane hesitated for a few seconds before reaching for it.

"Do you have any other questions to delay the witness, or are you done?" The prosecutor scoffed lightly, his eyes twinkling with mockery.

Jane’s grip on the file tightened, realizing she had been seen through.

Realizing the prosecutor was right, the judge grew displeased.

"Defense, say all you have to say now. I will not allow you to interrupt the witness once he begins his narration."

She thinned her lips, eyes darting to the door again, then reluctantly shook her head and took her seat.

"Thank you, my lord, but I’ve said all I have in mind."

Kelsie, the center of attention in all of this, didn’t say a word until she noticed Jane glance behind her for the nth time.

Leaning back in her seat, she raised a questioning brow. "You keep looking at the door. Do you also have a witness coming?"

Jane hummed, nodding as she glanced at her wristwatch again. "What I have is better than a witness. Unfortunately, it’s running a few minutes late."

"It was during the day. I had gone to see my daughter to talk about her relationship with the Adler family." Jerry’s voice suddenly drew their attention back to the court.

"We were going to be in-laws, after all, and I wanted her to behave properly. Imagine my surprise when, after being made to wait in the living room for several minutes, I went looking for her only to find her dragging someone through the back of her house."

Kelsie didn’t know when she chuckled.

The prosecutor, who had been waiting for a reaction from her, immediately turned to look at her.

What neither Jane nor Kelsie knew was that he was an advocate for the less privileged—especially those wrongfully harmed by people in power.

He was a wealthy man driven by an insane sense of justice. So when he heard of the ’chicken-like’ death of a grade school teacher in Silicone Valley, he immediately hopped on a plane.

When he didn’t find Kelsie in the interrogation room yesterday, he was confused. Then, this morning, an anonymous tip about her was slipped under his door.

That’s when he found all he needed to know about her. How she had a wealthy man for a boyfriend. A man who was shielding her from the punishment she deserved for her crime.

To solidify that she was indeed being shielded by her wealthy boyfriend more shocking, even her own father came forward to testify against her.

Parents rarely testified against their children, yet this man was more than willing to.

Even coming all the way from prison—a prison he was in because his daughter refused to post bail for him.

And now she was sitting beside her loud-mouthed lawyer, watching the proceedings with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

Seeing Kelsie lean in to whisper something to Jane which made the latter smile, the prosecutor clenched his jaw and continued the witness examination.

"Just yesterday, you called me from prison, saying you heard about Charlotte Hastings and wanted to speak up—even if it meant damning your daughter."

"Can you tell the court exactly what happened between Charlotte Hastings and your daughter?"

Jerry glanced at Kelsie, feigning being conflicted for a few seconds before he sighed deeply and began, "As a father who wants nothing but the best for his child, it pains me to say that my daughter did this."

"However, I feel responsible too. Not only did I see her strangle Ms. Hastings to death that night, I also watched her load the body into her car."

"She asked me to stay silent about what happened, but then my cars were reported stolen a few days later, and I was thrown in prison without a chance to prove my innocence."

By the time he finished, the detectives from yesterday exchanged smug looks, already hearing the sentencing in their minds.

However, Jane stood up to submit a file to the judge, calling the prosecutor as she made her way to the judge.

"Your honor, I fear the witness has made too many contradictory statements. For example, he claims he visited my client, but he’s banned from the apartment building."

"Secondly, my client lives on the 49th floor. He couldn’t possibly have seen her dragging anything through the back of her house."

The prosecutor sneered. "Bans get lifted. In this case, they must’ve lifted it early given he’s her father. And why doubt my witness’s credibility when you’re the one making claims about your client’s home without proof?"

"Here are photos of my client’s building to back that up." Jane didn’t argue. She simply pushed the photos toward the judge.

Then turned to the prosecutor with a scoff. "Now, I’m not calling your witness a liar, but how exactly does someone see a woman on the 49th floor dragging a body through the back of a house she doesn’t even have?"