Chapter 109 Chapter 109
Liana's POV
Today is the hearing and I woke up with a physical weight on my chest. I hardly slept, neither did mum.The house was quiet, almost somber, as if it also knew what was impending. I paced the hallway, back and forth, my bare feet gliding across the cool tiles as the sky outside slowly lightened with that dull, grey hue of dawn.
I was half-way through brushing my hair when I heard a sharp knock on the door. For some reason, I was tensed. I wasn't expecting anyone today and who even visits a person on a Monday morning?
I opened the door and was shocked by the sight of Stanley, panting like he had run all the way here. He didn't even wait for me to ask him in before he walked in, phone in one hand and a black USB in the other.
"You're not going to believe this," he said, his voice half disbelief, half grim determination. "I got something for you. A real ushakeable surprise.”
“What is it?” I asked, interested but not exactly excited. I was feeling too many emotions at the moment.
“Evidence."
My heart skipped a bit and he got one hundered percent of my attention. "What do you mean? What kind of evidence?"
He pulled me into the living room, already unlocking his phone. He sat down on the couch, and handed me the phone.
"Play this," he said.
I hit play and Dominic's voice filled the room. My blood ran cold.
"Even if I did hurt her, Liana… What do you have to prove it? Nothing. You've got nothing. And your word against mine means nothing in court, Liana."
It was our phone call after I had confronted him about Serena's caseheI was feeling crusged, helpless snd angry after thst call but here it was, recorded. His arrogance… his self-incrimination. His doom.
"Where… where did you get this?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Stanley didn't answer immediately. Instead, he got out his laptop, inserted the USB, and played another file.vThe screen sprang to life. It was security footage. Of me in Dominic's house. My heart sank.
There I was, sitting on a velvet couch, eyes red, hands shaking. Dominic towered over me, pacing, his voice loud and nasty. "You think you're special? That I needed your ideas? Oh, please. You are nothing but a decoration, a placeholder. Every idea you think you had, I polished them. I made them work."
The camera shook a bit when he punched the wall beside my head. I flinched in the video, leaning back, but I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I just sat there. He continued to mock me, making fun of my intelligence, my voice and my presence. And the camera captured it all.
My hands were trembling by the time the recording ended. "Stanley… where did you get this?" I asked again, my voice more demanding now as a tear strayed down my cheeks.
He looked at me and said, "Don't worry about that right now. Just focus on what we're going to do. We need to get to court. We're going to use this."
I couldn't even start to comprehend how he managed it. Or what kind of risk he must have taken. All I knew was that this changed everything.
"Let me finish getting ready," I said, already moving.
We arrived at the courthouse 45 minutes early. The air around the courtroom was already heavy with suppressed anticipation. There were lawyers rushing by, clients pacing in the corridors, and whispers of reporters trying to get early tidbits.
Stanley gripped the USB as if it would vanish. And I… I tried to breathe normally. Serena would have been here but with everything that had happened, I had become her voice… her representative and I had to win this for us.
Barrister Walker arrived a quarter of an hour before the hearing. He looked more tired than usual, but his eyes sparkled with brightness when he saw us.
"You're early," he said, adjusting his tie.
"Walker," Stanley said insistently, pulling his remark aside, "We've got something. You need to see this."
In a quiet corner of the hall, Stanley pulled out his laptop again and played the audio and video files. Walker's face did not alter, but his knuckles whitened where they rested on his briefcase.
When the video ended, he looked up slowly. "Are you sure this is real? Not staged?"
"It's real," Stanley said. "I'd stake my life on it."
Walker whistled low and exhaled. "This… this is impromptu but powerful. It changes our trajectory but it also means they'll unleash on us harder."
We nodded. He glanced at his watch. "We need to present this properly and it is almost time. Let's head in.".
…………
The courtroom was cold. There were wooden benches behind and in front of us and a tall judge's bench in front of us. Dominic was already seated, poised in a sharp gray suit, flanked by two lawyers in dark blue. He turned as we entered, eyes locking onto mine.
His smirk was subtle but I caught it. The judge entered moments later. The trial began.
Walker stood. He moved with deliberate calm, opening his file and presenting our points one by one. When the time was appropriate, he produced the new evidence.
"Your Honor, we have received a voice recording and video images directly involving Mr. Dominic Smith in admissions of psychological manipulation and coercion, and depicting the abusive environment outlined by my client."
He handed the USB to the court clerk and It was played aloud. I saw the shock in Dominic and his lawyers face the moment we brought out the evidence.
Dominic's voice echoed through the courtroom. The same smug smile. The same incriminating statements. I glanced at him when the video began.
His jaw tightened. Yet when his lawyer rose to his feet, he didn't deny it. Rather, he attacked.
"Your Honor," the man began, "in this age of artificial intelligence and digital manipulation, we must be cautious. Audio and video can be generated or manipulated to duplicate voices and create entirely fabricated situations."
He looked at the judge. "We ask that this evidence be accepted with utmost caution. Unless the defense can authenticate its source, we object to its admissibility."
My stomach flipped.
The judge inclined forward, her head nodding slowly. "Point taken. But the court will review and determine its admissibility. Proceed."
Walker didn't flinch. He nodded and went on. But I knew that was a strike. Small, but still.
The remainder of the session was a haze. Dominic's lawyers poked holes wherever they could. They questioned timelines, statements, even Serena's competence to testify.
They were thorough. Relentless.
When the gavel finally came down, the judge leaned back in his chair.
"Given the nature of the new evidence presented and the need to verify its legitimacy, this court will be in recess for further analysis. A new date will be set within seven days. Court adjourned."
Bang.
And just like that… it was over.
Temporarily.