CHAPTER 144: CHAPTER 143: CASE CLOSED (4TH UPDATE)

Simon Forrester nodded, recalling her sharp presence in the courtroom earlier, and smiled, "You really know how to set traps for witnesses."

Sienna Thornton chuckled and said, "I just used a cross-examination rhythm to question Paige Pemberton. Girls her age usually find it hard to handle that."

Sitting silently in the passenger seat, Thomas Reed finally spoke in a light tone, "Sienna is really skilled at questioning witnesses. When she first graduated from Harvard, I took her to a few Massachusetts courtrooms, where she often handled cross-examinations as an assistant attorney."

His tone was filled with pride, as Sienna was truly his prized student.

But...

He sighed quietly, saying nothing more.

The car sped along the highway.

Returning home, Sienna Thornton suddenly felt deflated, losing all the sharpness she had in the courtroom.

Simon Forrester chatted with her for a while before going to cook dinner, leaving her alone on the couch, staring blankly at the sky outside the balcony.

She pondered why Paige Pemberton had lied.

She believed she had always treated her employees well, especially the well-behaved Paige, whom she treated with kindness. She couldn’t understand why Paige would do such a thing.

After thinking it over, she concluded there were only two possibilities: Paige had been bribed by the plaintiff, or Paige feared responsibility might ultimately fall on her, so she preemptively shifted the blame through false testimony.

Whatever the reason, she could only wait for Simon Forrester’s investigation.

Three days later, the ruling on the inn case was announced.

On this day, Maeve also came.

Since the incident, Sienna Thornton, out of guilt and not wanting to worry her, hadn’t shared too many details with Maeve, only saying she could handle it.

This was also Sienna’s main source of pressure.

Maeve understood Sienna’s intentions and naturally went along, turning a blind eye and letting her handle it. But on the day of the judgment, she had to be present.

During the judgment, the judge pointed out: the case has certain peculiarities, different from usual hotel suicide cases. Since the victim was a minor, regardless of whether the inn knew of the victim’s status when checking in, it bears some responsibility. Considering the severity of the case, its social impact, and the victim’s special status, South Bay Court issued a first-instance judgment, ordering the inn to compensate the victim’s family with ¥1.26 million for emotional damages.

Hearing the judgment, Sienna Thornton felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

No matter the result, the case had already exhausted her.

After leaving the courtroom, Thomas Reed said, "We’ll continue to appeal!"

Sienna Thornton, tired, shook her head, "No need, let’s just let it go."

Even if they appealed, nothing would change—only more effort would be wasted. Such a significant incident, with two children having died, and a compensation of ¥1.26 million was warranted.

Before getting in the car, she told Simon Forrester, "I want to go to the inn with Maeve; you should go home first."

Simon Forrester glanced at Maeve, who stood by the car, smoking and waiting, his gaze momentarily darkening, "It’s not safe there now. I can’t let you go alone."

Sienna didn’t argue with him on this matter and agreed to let him accompany them.

She was truly exhausted, lacking even the energy to speak, feeling completely drained.

She got into Maeve’s car, and the two drove in silence the entire way.

Leaving the highway and onto the national road, seeing the path turn from unfamiliar to familiar and back to unfamiliar, Sienna felt a deep sadness.

Ahead, the road widened, wildflowers in full bloom covered the mountains, and the blue natural lake shimmered like diamonds in the afternoon sun.

The pointed brown roof of the inn’s main building elegantly stood in the middle of eight pavilions, its cream-colored walls as fresh as ever. But as the car approached, they saw the walls covered with vulgar graffiti.

Tears streamed down Sienna Thornton’s face.

After two months, up close, the entire complex looked desolate and degraded.

On the glass doors of the lobby, a heavy padlock spanned the once-glossy metal handles, securely locking them.

With the case resolved, the seals were removed.

Maeve had come earlier to tidy up and tried reopening for a few days, but no guests returned.

They had discussed it and decided to dissolve the staff, locking the place up again.

Sienna stood outside the glass doors, peering inside. Everything was neat, as if nothing had happened.

"Come have a seat," Maeve said, patting the spot next to her on the wooden steps by the entrance.

Sienna sniffled and went over to sit beside her.

Maeve surveyed everything in front of her and said with a smile, "Let’s sell it! Pay what needs to be paid, repay the bank, and we can lighten the load a bit."

Sienna furrowed her brows, saying nothing.

Truly at a dead end.

If it were just the compensation of over a million, it’d be manageable; borrowing some and scraping together the rest, it could be settled.

The biggest problem was that nearly the entire nation knew about the case, leaving no one daring to stay there. No business meant tens of thousands of monthly loan payments couldn’t be met.

Sienna suddenly realized her crisis management skills were nearly failing. Without thorough preparation, or any contingency plans, she had recklessly established the inn, leaving her without the means to respond when the crisis struck.

"So this is what failure tastes like," she said, looking up into the void.

Maeve glanced at her and asked, "Is this your first experience with failure?"

"Yes, I was too arrogant. Failure is inevitable according to objective law."

"What do you plan to do?" Maeve asked.

Sienna gave a pale smile, "Like you said, sell this place and start afresh!"

Maeve said, "I’m relieved you’re thinking that way."

Sienna smiled outwardly but felt a pang of sadness inside. Turning around, she hugged Maeve, tears flowing.

She said, "Maeve, I’m sorry."

"It’s not your fault," Maeve said, also raising her hand to hold her, gently patting her back, "Cry, I know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. After crying, start anew. Even if we retire at sixty, we still have at least thirty more years to go."

No dramatic words, no grand declarations, just warm companionship and comfort.

They sat on the wooden steps for a long time, until sunset, before finally rising and heading toward the parking area.

Simon Forrester’s car was parked right across from the main building.

Seeing Sienna leaning on Maeve and crying at that moment, he felt a tightness in his chest.

If it were Zion Quincy, he’d probably have punched him twice, but it was Maeve, the person Sienna had relied on the most.

Even though he knew Maeve was deeply in the closet, how could he break this balance?

He couldn’t, Sienna was his concern.

Sienna walked straight towards them, and Simon Forrester noted her relaxed demeanor, arm in arm with Maeve. They seemed to be talking about something cheerful, at least Sienna’s brow was relaxed, her eyes slightly curved.

Simon Forrester observed carefully, and from her subtle expressions, he guessed that perhaps she had resolved something in her heart.