Chapter 3

Joanne's attorney, Jason Miller frowned deeply.

"Ms. Jenner, this evidence has been professionally authenticated. YYour baseless denial isn’t enough to disprove it!"

Joanne wiped away her tears.

"T-That was a recording I secretly started while he had me pinned beneath him. I did everything I could to press the record button without him noticing. Every word and every cry was real!

"How can you still lie through your teeth when things have come this far?"

By the time she finished speaking, she was almost too overcome with sobs to continue. Her shoulders shook violently and made her look utterly pitiful.

I sneered again.

"There are plenty of people in this world with similar voices. Why are you so certain it was my husband?"

Jason looked at me and sneered.

"If the defendant feels that the evidence isn't convincing enough, then I have a second piece of evidence."

He lowered his head and continued operating the computer.

A moment later, the large screen at the front of the courtroom lit up.

A video began playing.

It was surveillance footage from the living room of my home.

The timestamp showed the night I had left for my trip.

The lights in the living room were dim. A man opened the front door and walked inside.

He walked directly toward Joanne, who was standing in the living room.

"Are you Joanne? Tsk. She wasn't lying. You really are quite a pretty little thing."

Before he had even finished speaking, he reached out and grabbed Joanne by the wrist.

The bottle in Joanne's hand fell to the floor.

She struggled weakly and cried out in terror. "What are you doing?! Let me go! Help!"

The man easily overpowered her. After several rough tugs, he grabbed her around the waist, hoisted her over his shoulder. He then walked toward the bedroom.

The bedroom door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Moments later, faint cries and sounds of struggling seeped through the crack in the door. They matched the audio recording played earlier almost perfectly.

The video cut off there.

Jason turned around and spoke in a grave voice.

"This is surveillance footage recovered from the cameras inside the defendant's home!

"According to professional comparison, the man's build and clothing closely match Gary Levine's!"

He then turned to face me.

"Ms. Jenner, are you still going to claim that this isn't Gary?"

The spectators started yelling again.

"The evidence is overwhelming! The footage is perfectly clear!"

"She could deny it before, but let's see how she talks her way out of this now!"

Someone even stood up and shouted furiously, "Why waste time arguing with such a heartless accomplice? Your Honor, pass judgment already! Let them rot in prison!"

Under countless hostile, contemptuous, and furious gazes, I slowly rose to my feet. My gaze locked onto Joanne.

"You keep insisting that the man was my husband. Then let me ask you this. Before this happened, had you ever actually met Gary in person?"

Joanne stood up with one hand supporting her protruding belly.

"I worked in your house for three months. How could I possibly have never seen your husband?

"He opened your front door as if he belonged there. His build and clothing matched too. Who else could he be but your husband?"

The spectators immediately began insulting me again.

"The recording and video evidence are right in front of her, yet she still refuses to admit it!"

"What a vile woman! Helping a rapist bully a helpless young woman. Disgusting!"

"You can tell just by looking at her that she's no better than her husband! They're both the same!"

The filthy insults filled the courtroom.

I took a deep breath and looked across the room.

"I've said it before. My husband never forced himself on her!"

I turned to face the judge.

"The plaintiff's attorney is identifying the man based solely on his build and clothing.That is not a valid identification!

"It is entirely reasonable for me to suspect that the man in the surveillance footage is not my husband!"

Jason sneered.

"I see you won't give up until you're forced to face the facts!"

With that, he reached into the folder in front of him and retrieved a document.