Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Evelyn's POV
Evelyn felt it the moment she walked in, like the air itself had thickened overnight. The other sittings had been about formalities, motions, measured words, everyone posturing and staking ground. This one wasn’t polite, this one was sharp, it was the real deal.
She took her seat beside Reed, her fingers laced together in her lap, nails pressing into her own skin just to keep herself grounded. Carmen wasn’t inside — she was outside with Jayden, pacing, waiting, praying. That knowledge alone was enough to make Evelyn’s chest ache, but she kept her head high.
Across the aisle, Damian sat stiffly, jaw clenched, his expression unreadable. Vanessa sat two seats away from him, perfectly composed, dressed in soft elegance, not her usual, her posture calm, her face carefully neutral.
If Evelyn hadn’t lived with her, hadn’t watched her closely for months, she might have believed it. But she knew Vanessa now, she knew that stillness meant calculation.
The judge entered, everyone rose, and the court was called to order.
Reed leaned slightly toward Evelyn. “Stay calm,” he murmured. “No matter what happens, don’t react. Let them talk themselves into corners.”
She nodded once.
The first witness was called.
“Felicia Richardson— Nurse Felicia.”
A ripple went through the room.
Vanessa’s fingers twitched, just once, before stilling again.
Nurse Felicia stepped forward, shoulders tense, eyes darting briefly toward Vanessa before she caught herself. She was sworn in and took her seat, hands folded tightly on the stand.
Reed stood. “Good morning, Nurse Felicia,” he began, his voice calm, almost gentle. “You were present during the delivery of both infants involved in this case, correct?”
“Yes,” Felicia replied. “I was.”
“Dr. Allen was not in the country at the time?”
“Yes, he wasn't. I was acting in his stead.”
“And you oversaw the births of both Evelyn Carter’s child and Vanessa Hart’s child?”
“Yes.”
Reed nodded. “Let’s be very clear for the court. Prior to delivery, were any concerns raised about Evelyn Carter’s medical history?”
Felicia hesitated. “No.”
“No signs of prior pregnancy?”
“No.”
“No inconsistencies in her records?”
“No.”
Reed let the silence stretch.
“So at the time of delivery, based on all medical evaluations, Evelyn Carter was carrying a single, full-term pregnancy conceived during the agreed surrogate period?”
“Yes.”
Vanessa shifted slightly in her seat.
Reed continued, “Did you observe any behavior that suggested deception, manipulation, or prior knowledge of pregnancy on Evelyn Carter’s part?”
Felicia swallowed. “No.”
Damian’s jaw tightened.
Reed paced once, then stopped. “Now, Nurse Felicia, I want to ask you about the DNA test that sparked this case.”
Felicia blinked. “I… wasn’t involved in that.”
“Exactly,” Reed said smoothly. “That DNA test was not conducted at your hospital.”
“No.”
“You did not collect samples?”
“No.”
“You did not oversee chain of custody?”
“No.”
“You did not receive results?”
“No.”
Reed turned slightly toward the judge. “So to be clear, Nurse Felicia has no knowledge, authority, or involvement in the DNA testing process that claimed Evelyn Carter’s child was not biologically related to Mr. Blackwood.”
“Yes,” Felicia said quickly. “That’s correct.”
Reed nodded and took a step back.
“Thank you. No further questions.”
The opposing counsel stood briefly, asked a few procedural questions, but Felicia had nothing more to add. She was dismissed.
As she stepped down, her gaze flicked, just for a second, toward Vanessa again.
And this time, Evelyn saw it clearly, fear was visible on her face.
The next name echoed through the courtroom. “Dr. Halver.”
The lab technician from Jersey City.
The room shifted audibly now, chairs creaked, murmurs rose before being silenced. This was the center of the storm.
Dr. Halver approached the stand, tall, composed, glasses perched neatly on his nose. He looked confident.
Reed stood again.
“Dr. Halver, you are the supervising technician at the Jersey City facility where the disputed DNA test was conducted?”
“Yes.”
“You personally oversaw the testing?”
“Yes.”
“And you are confident in the accuracy of your facility’s results?”
“Absolutely.”
Reed smiled faintly. “Good. Then this should be straightforward.”
He turned a page in his folder.
“Can you describe, in detail, the chain of custody for the samples collected from Evelyn Carter’s child?”
Dr. Halver hesitated. “The samples were labeled and processed according to protocol.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Reed said calmly. “Who handed them to you?”
“I took the samples myself”. Dr. Halver paused.
“Reed nodded. “And the samples from Vanessa Hart’s child?”
“Same process.”
“You took the samples too?”
“Yes.”
Reed took a step closer. “Is it standard practice for the same technician to handle multiple infant samples simultaneously?”
Dr. Halver hesitated again. “It can happen.”
“It can happen,” Reed repeated. “But is it recommended?”
“No.”
A murmur rippled through the courtroom.
Reed didn’t stop. “Were the samples collected at the same time?”
“Yes.”
“In the same room?”
“Yes.”
“On the same surface?”
Dr. Halver swallowed. “Yes.”
Vanessa’s posture stiffened.
Reed flipped another page. “Dr. Halver, are you aware that this court has obtained surveillance footage from your lab’s intake room on the day in question?”
The courtroom went silent, Dr. Halver blinked. “I… wasn’t informed.”
Reed nodded. “In that footage, we observe a deviation from standard labeling procedure. Samples were placed temporarily on an unmarked tray.”
Damian sat forward slightly now.
“Is that correct?”
Dr. Halver’s mouth opened, then closed. “It… appears so.”
Reed’s voice remained calm, but it cut deep. “Would you agree that mislabeling or switching samples under those conditions is possible?”
“Possible,” Dr. Halver admitted reluctantly.
“Likely?” Reed pressed.
Dr. Halver hesitated too long.
The judge leaned forward. “Answer the question.”
“Yes,” he said finally. “It is possible.”
The room erupted into murmurs before the gavel struck.
Vanessa’s fingers curled into the fabric of her dress. Reed delivered the final blow quietly. “Dr. Halver, are you aware that an independent DNA test conducted weeks later confirmed Evelyn Carter’s child as 99.9% biologically related to Damian Blackwood?”
Dr. Halver froze. “No,” he whispered.
Reed nodded. “No further questions.”
The judge called for order again, her expression calm and unreadable.
Vanessa didn’t move, she looked terrified, like someone who had seen
a ghost. And Evelyn had a feeling that she knew what was wrong, because she was acting scared, and fear was visible on her face, even though she tried to mask it with a sly smile.