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CHAPTER 328 – Denied 1
"Being a smart lady, Ms. Peng had a camera installed in her office after the scandal that happened," Lawyer Chang explained briefly.
"She knew Ms. Zhang would pull a stunt to get away from this mess. And true to that, she did, framing Ms. Peng for the crimes of theft."
"What or where is this proof?" Judge Junjie requested. "Let it be brought before me."
"Yes, Your Honour."
Taking it from Andromeda, Lawyer Chang handed the flash to the clerk who helped place it in the laptop and opened the file before handing it to the judge.
"There is the clip of having someone place the flash drive in her drawer," Lawyer Chang further expressed.
At this point, Beatrice could no longer look up. She was ashamed that all of her ploys had been uncovered, leaving her as a big thief.
By the time the judge was done watching everything, he cast a long stare look at Beatrice Zhang, pressing his lips together.
"Continue," he gave Lawyer Chang his permission.
"So now I bring this question back to Miss Zhang." Lawyer Chang returned his strict stare to Beatrice who hesitantly met his gaze.
"Why did you do it? Stealing someone else's hard work and claiming glory that you didn't sweat for isn't commendable by law. I want to know, what are your reasons for doing it?" He fired incessantly at her.
"I mean, you could have done the work yourself without having to steal but you didn't, which I find strange. Were you trying to impress the public? Or a particular someone?"
He tried to sound as clueless as possible while keeping his act professional at all costs.
His brows knitted in an inquiring manner.
His gaze filled with visible curiosity and that was when Beatrice's head turned to the public who were seated, watching her with disgust and disbelief.
She had never felt this much embarrassment in her entire life.
Seeing as there was no place to run, she decided to let up.
"He made me do it."
She pointed her index finger towards the direction of Wu Bai who was sitting amongst the crowd, legs crossed and the look on his face turned morbid after seeing Beatrice point in his direction.
He turned to look back in case she was pointing at someone behind him. But deep down he knew there was no one else.
"And who is this person?" Lawyer Chang's voice broke out, bringing everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.
"Wu Bai made me do it, he made me take that step." She revealed with teary eyes.
Since he was not making an effort in fixing things for her, she planned not to suffer alone.
She just could not possibly face this embarrassment and humiliation all by herself. If she had to go down, she might as well drag Wu Bai along with her.
At the very least this way she was sure he would get his game up and find a solution if he did not want to be destroyed.
It was a gamble, but she was betting on him now.
More shocking gasps could be heard from the crowd and people whispering to themselves echoed in the courtroom.
"Order!" The bailiff announced, leading the crowd to fall silent at once.
Andromeda hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath.
Still, hearing Beatrice mention the name of the person she wanted to deal with most, made a relieved sigh slip from her lips as her eyes instinctively closed to recover from the earlier tension, she had been holding in.
A comforting hand placed on her shoulder made Andromeda look back to check who had done that only to see Liu Xueyi was the one.
He squeezed her shoulder affectionately to ease her of the strain while flashing her a reassuring smile.
Andromeda returned his smile with a grateful one as she felt her shoulders relax, feeling satisfied that Liu Xueyi was always around when she needed someone to loosen her burden.
Meanwhile, Wu Bai froze in his seat, looking like someone who had been struck by lightning, after hearing Beatrice mention his name without giving it a second thought.
All eyes were currently on him and he tried to keep himself composed regardless.
"Wu Bai, can you please get to your feet and stand before the podium?" Lawyer Chang frankly began and when Wu Bai opened his mouth to refuse, the judge intervened.
"If you have anything to say, please move to the podium."
'Dang it!' Wu Bai silently cursed in his head before rising to his feet.
He adjusted the tie of his suit before making his way to stand on the podium, clearing his throat and hiding his nervousness from the suspicious gazes of everyone.
The bailiff handed a Bible to Wu Bai and said, "repeat after me, I take an oath, that whatever I say here shall be the truth and nothing but the truth."
Wu Bai darted a quick glance at the Bible before locking his gaze with the bailiff.
If he acted reluctant, then surely, it'd only heighten their suspicions towards him, and it was the last thing he wanted.
Placing his right palm at the top of the Bible, he began, "I take an oath, that I say here shall be the truth…. and nothing but the truth."
After the taking of the oath was completed, Lawyer Chang proceeded to start his questioning.
"Mr Wu Bai, Ms. Zhang here has admitted to her faults," Lawyer Chang started, "and she claims you were the one who made her do it. How true is this?"
"I have no idea what she's talking about," Wu Bai sharply denied without even batting an eye, leaving Beatrice's mouth to fall agape at his reply.
"You mean to say she's lying against you?" Lawyer Chang pushed on.
"I'm just as shocked," he feigned innocence, with a look that made it seem like he was the victim in all of this.
"Why would I send my own girlfriend to steal someone's work? That's just outrageous and her reasons for putting the blame on me, still make no sense to me."
"Wu Bai!"
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