Chapter 147: The Court Case X

Words : 1131 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Chapter 147: The Court Case X "Yet, I don’t think Fiona is entirely to blame for her misdeeds, considering she had the approval of her father to be an evil stain on society. He even leads by example..." Athena began, her voice cutting through the tense air as Elder Timothy struggled to calm the increasingly agitated crowd. He chose not to tell the defaulters to retrieve their shoes, which were lying idly on the ground, seeking to protect them, nor did he sanction them as he normally would. After all—if he had been part of the congregation—he would have stoned Fiona with whatever was at hand. At Athena’s words, Elder Timothy’s attention snapped towards his right-hand man, his lips pursed in disapproval as he observed the man, Alfonso, fidgeting restlessly in his seat. However, suddenly, the man became deathly still before erupting in a shout. "Be mindful of your words, Athena! You are here with a case against Ewan, not me. Don’t tarnish my good name in front of the people!" Yet, Elder Timothy knew; he had long since accepted the truth—his old friend was guilty as charged. This outburst was merely a desperate attempt to save face. After all, would Athena make such a grave accusation without solid evidence to back it up? So, he remained silent, refraining from defending his friend. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Athena, bracing himself for the evidence he knew was forthcoming. When Athena chuckled softly and turned her attention back to the table of contents, clicking on the ’tyrant’s father’, his heart raced with a mix of curiosity and concern. What reckless act had his old friend committed now? In an instant, the headshot of an unknown male—a man appearing to be in his early forties—flashed ominously on the screen. "This is Larry Kaka, forty-nine years old..." Athena’s voice boomed, laced with a sadistic amusement that echoed through the room like a dark bell tolling. But Alfonso didn’t recognize the man—at least, not until Athena continued. "He is popularly known as Herbinger in the dark web. A hit-and-run mercenary..." Suddenly, Alfonso’s face drained of color, his pallor apparent to everyone present in the hall. His hands trembled violently on the platform, and he had to clamp them onto his thighs to hide the manifestation of his growing dread. Yet, the sheen of sweat forming on his forehead betrayed him, glistening like a beacon under the harsh lights. Athena moved to the next slide, building the tension. "Now, this is a chat between our dear Elder Alfonso and the Herbinger. As you can see..." Athena pressed on, her demeanor unfaltering as she highlighted the damning conversations. "He paid the mercenary to eliminate me and the children on Christmas Day. I’m sure some of you here can recall the images of my mangled car that circulated on social media—it went viral after the celebrations..." Before Alfonso could muster a word of defense, a red flat shoe flew from the audience, shocking the elders to their core. But due to the distance and the podium’s nature where the elders sat, the shoe could only land ungallantly at the base. "Who threw that?" Alfonso screamed, indignation flaring deep in his blood, his green veins visibly straining at the sides of his head. "Don’t you have any respect?" "There’s no respect for a murderer!" echoed the crowd, a fierce chorus of outrage. Alfonso pointed accusingly at the audience, but Elder Timothy sensed the crowd’s anger and impending violence boiling over again and swiftly intervened. "Alfonso, go take a seat with your daughter." Alfonso paled further, disbelief etched on his face. "What are you talking about, Timothy?" "It’s Elder Timothy to you..." The words rolled off Timothy’s tongue with an icy conviction. Alfonso shrank under the weight of those words, a dawning realization chilling him to the bone. His position of eldership was hanging by a thread. He opened his mouth to argue, but the stern glares from the other elders silenced him. Dejected and seething with unspent fury, he stepped down from the podium and trudged toward the witness seats. Now exposed, he was a target for the varied shoes that erupted from the crowd, some even striking Fiona, who bit back her screams of pain. By the time Alfonso slumped into his seat, red scratches marred his head, and blood streamed from his nose. But the onlookers were unfazed. Elder Timothy banged the gravel for order a minute later, a cold stillness gripping the room as he did. "A few days before that even, Fiona had tried poisoning my children..." Athena pressed on, seamlessly moving back to the list of contents without waiting for Elder Timothy to signal. There was no need for permission this time. Fiona sat in stunned silence, pondering how Athena had uncovered all her dark secrets. Even the grip of Ewan’s hand, tightening around her arm as if to draw her back from the brink, couldn’t drown out the noise inside her head. "You tried poisoning my children?" He stammered, but no reply came. What could she possibly say? Lies were futile against the unyielding evidence displayed on the screen. The next video showed her in conversation with a nurse, the trays of snacks innocently perched on the nurse’s hands. "As you can see," Athena narrated, her tone a blend of authority and scorn, "she distracts the nurse. While the nurse is away fetching a bandage, she slips cyanide into the drinks meant for the children." Athena grasped her cane tightly, her knuckles white, producing a sharp, creaking sound. This evidence struck at her very core—Fiona attempting to poison her kids in a hospital she was entrusted to protect. How could she dare? What audacity propelled her? Desperation, Athena answered the unspoken question in her mind. "Luckily for us, someone was monitoring the technical room. When he witnessed this, he sprinted to report it before my children could drink to their death." A deadly silence fell over the room, the air thick with astonishment and disbelief as the crowd processed the shocking revelation. What kind of monster was Fiona? Some stared at her, their expressions reflecting a mix of horror and incredulity. Ewan recoiled, dropping his hand from hers as though she’d burned him after catching a glimpse of the harrowing video. "I thought you said you wanted me to get custody of the kids? Why would you want to kill them then?" Fiona had no answer, merely a vacant stare directed at a nonexistent speck on the desk, her skin crawling with unease, her heart racing as she avoided her father’s gaze. "You know..." Athena finally broke the silence again, her tone dripping with irony. "It’s amusing to me how she does this while she has a child of her own."

Chapter 147: The Court Case X

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