Chapter 59
Adam leaned against the wall of the dimly lit room, arms crossed, eyes trained on the man seated across from him. The man hadn’t said a word in two days and it was beginning to get on Adam’s nerves.
But today, he got a call from his PI that the man was ready to talk.
“Talk,” Adam said, his tone firm but controlled. “Why is Brenda doing all this? What’s her endgame?”
The man hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “You don’t get it, do you? She’s desperate.”
Adam narrowed his eyes. “Desperate for what? Ruining my life? Framing me? What’s her motive?”
“She doesn’t care about you,” the man said, meeting Adam’s gaze for the first time. “All she wanted was your money. Enough to disappear and start fresh with me.”
Adam clenched his jaw, his suspicions confirmed. “You were in on this?”
The man shook his head quickly. “Not at first. I didn’t even know what she was planning until it was too late. She said she’d pin the baby on you, get as much money as she could, and then we’d leave the country together. I wasn’t on board, but Brenda… she’s not the type you say no to.”
Adam’s voice dropped dangerously low. “You’re telling me you were going to run away with her after she destroyed my life?”
The man looked down, guilt flickering across his face. “Look, I didn’t know she’d go this far. I thought it was just a scam, something small. I didn’t sign up for this level of crazy.”
Adam stepped closer, his voice sharp. “You’re going to testify against her. You’re going to tell the court everything you just told me.”
The man shook his head violently. “No way. Brenda will kill me if I betray her. She’s unhinged.”
Adam smirked coldly. “You think she’ll protect you after this? She’ll throw you under the bus the second it benefits her. But if you help me, I’ll make sure you’re protected. I can even pay you enough to start over, somewhere far from her.”
The man hesitated, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t,” Adam admitted. “But you’ve got no other option. Testify, and you get a clean slate. Refuse, and you go down with her.”
There was a long pause before the man let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll do it. But you’d better keep your end of the deal.”
Adam nodded. “You’ll have your money. Just make sure you tell the truth.”
****
The day of the court hearing arrived, and the atmosphere was electric. Reporters lined the courthouse steps, cameras flashing as Adam and Sophie entered hand in hand.
Inside, Brenda sat at the defendant’s table, her eyes red and swollen from crying.
The proceedings began, and the prosecution wasted no time laying out the case.
They presented evidence of Brenda’s attempts to frame Adam, her threats against Sophie, and the shocking revelation of her kidnapping and attempted murder plot.
But the turning point came when the man Brenda had planned to run away with was called to testify.
He walked to the stand nervously, avoiding Brenda’s furious glare. After being sworn in, he took a deep breath and began to speak.
“She told me everything,” he said, his voice shaky. “Brenda planned to pin the baby on Adam, get as much money as she could, and then disappear. I didn’t agree with her plan, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
The courtroom buzzed with murmurs. Brenda’s lawyer tried to object, but the judge silenced him with a sharp look.
“What else did she say?” the prosecutor asked.
“She said… if anyone got in her way, she’d make them pay,” the man admitted. “She was furious at Sophie for marrying Adam. She even joked about how easy it would be to get rid of her.”
Sophie’s grip on Adam’s hand tightened, and he leaned closer, whispering, “It’s almost over.”
The prosecutor nodded, satisfied. “Thank you for your testimony.”
When it was Brenda’s turn to speak, she broke down in tears. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far!” she cried. “I just… I wanted a better life. Is that so wrong?”
The judge’s expression was stern. “Lying, manipulating, and endangering lives to achieve your goals is not only wrong, it’s criminal.”
The prosecution presented their final piece of evidence: a voice recording of Brenda threatening Sophie, which had been authenticated through voice analysis.
Brenda’s face turned pale as the recording played in court, her own words sealing her fate.
When the verdict was read, the room fell silent.
“Brenda Hughes, you are hereby sentenced to one year of hard labor for fraud, kidnapping, and attempted murder.”
Brenda collapsed into sobs as the guards escorted her out of the courtroom.
