Chapter 292  Defense

Another jury member questioned, “If what you said is true, why didn’t the police check this surveillance camera?”

“Because they thought it was obvious,” Courtney answered. “The innocent Rita was covered in all sorts of animal scratches and was cruelly torn apart. No one would think that it was a murder.”

The scene was silent for a while, and the murmuring of discussions began again.

I took the opportunity to tug on Michael’s sleeve and muttered to him, “You planned all this in secret, didn’t you?”

Michael glanced at me and didn’t say anything, but I knew that was a silent agreement.

There was no such coincidence in the world. Just as Joanna was about to be declared innocent, Courtney suddenly found evidence of her killing someone many years ago.

I remembered what Samuel had told me before. Were these two the same girl? However, how did Michael know about this? When did he reach such an agreement with Samuel?

However, the answers to these questions weren’t that important. Joanna’s pale face was enough to satisfy me. This crime was unforgivable. She could spend a long time in prison with her fake Uncle Lexus.

…..
“You should have told me earlier.” I continued to whisper into Michael’s ear, “You should let me know of the things you’ve done for me.”

Michael lowered his head to look at me and replied, “I didn’t want to hide it from you.”

Michael let out a long breath and lowered his voice. “What happened today was too sudden. I only told you after I was done with everything. And I want you to know I’ll do what I promised you. She hurt you, so I won’t let her go.”

I hugged Michael’s waist tightly and snuggled up to him.

Michael was my greatest faith and support. I realized that I’d become more and more dependent on him.

Although Michael did not tell me his plans, he always did everything behind my back. As long as I was by his side, I didn’t have to worry about anything. It also gave me endless courage and strength.

The judge looked at Joanna. “Miss Joanna, do you have anything to explain about the content of the video?”

Everyone looked at Joanna. Her mouth fell open, but no words came out. I saw her gulp and stammer, “There’s no… No, she’s not…”

“Not what? Please explain in detail,” the judge said calmly.

Sitting in the audience, General Lovecraft suddenly stood up and stared at his daughter. His facial expression had been ugly since Courtney had stood up and accused Joanna.

From the shock on his face at the beginning, I bet that, as a father, he didn’t fully understand what his daughter had done.

General Lovecraft glared at all of us. He seemed to have forgotten about Michael and Brandon’s identities. He didn’t show any respect to the Princes.

“She said she didn’t do it,” he said in a deep voice. “Joanna would never do something that would kill humans.”

The judge frowned. “General Lovecraft, you are not allowed to speak now. If you continue to disrupt the court’s order, we will have to ask you to leave.”

General Lovecraft’s face alternated between red and white for a while. Finally, he snorted and sat down with a livid face. Joanna’s eyes darted back and forth uneasily. She looked like she was about to say something but had not thought of the right words.

At this moment, her lawyer stood up again and said, “Your honor, I think my client is too shocked by this false and sudden accusation. This happened twenty years ago; no one can remember everything so clearly. This must be a misunderstanding.”

Joanna’s lawyer looked at the jury sincerely, trying to gain sympathy from them. “As you can see, my client is just an innocent and kind girl. She has never experienced such groundless accusations and malice. These blurry videos alone can’t prove anything.

“I believe that everyone is here for justice. Can you bear to let a young girl be imprisoned? You must know that before this happened, everyone already had their judgment. We should continue with the previous procedure and not be delayed here.”

“But the person she killed might be a human girl. Using the power of a beast to harm a weak human is intolerable,” one of the committee members said.

“And the video evidence is already here. Are we just going to turn a blind eye to it?” another person said.