Adrian Chamberlain glanced sideways at Seraphina Thorne and Ethan Sterling in the audience, then took his seat in the witness stand.
After completing the courtroom oath, the prosecutor began questioning him on the spot.
"Witness Adrian Chamberlain, in the testimony you previously provided to the police, you ntioned that Caleb Thorne was aware of the construction deficiencies. Is that true?"
Adrian Chamberlain nodded, "Yes!"
"He’s lying!" Caleb Thorne imdiately retorted, "The entire construction of Zenith Apartnts was under his supervision; I was only responsible for the design drawings part..."
"Order in the court!"
The judge frowned and tapped the gavel.
Nathan Foster pulled at Caleb Thorne’s clothes on the table, and Caleb bit his lip, suppressing his anger.
Nathan Foster raised his right hand, "Your Honor, I would like to ask the witness a few questions."
The judge nodded in agreent.
Nathan Foster lifted his face, gazing deeply at Adrian Chamberlain on the witness stand.
"To my knowledge, you were once engaged to the defendant’s sister, is that correct?"
"Your Honor, this is irrelevant to the case." The prosecutor imdiately interrupted him.
"That’s not true; the relationship between Adrian Chamberlain and Seraphina Thorne affects the internal managent of Zenith Group, so I must inform the court." Nathan Foster explained seriously.
The judge nodded, indicating permission for him to continue his questioning.
"Thank you, Your Honor." Nathan Foster looked back at Adrian Chamberlain, "At the ti of Zenith Apartnts, by normal procedures, Caleb Thorne should indeed have been fully responsible, but... as his future brother-in-law, you took the initiative to apply to manage the construction part of this apartnt project, didn’t you?"
"At the ti, I did indeed offer to help Caleb Thorne with so work, because he was extrely busy with other design drafts. However..." Adrian Chamberlain shook his head, "Caleb Thorne rejected my proposal, so I was not truly involved in this case."
"You’re lying!" Nathan Foster coldly interrupted his testimony, "Your Honor, I have so relevant evidence here that can prove Adrian Chamberlain was involved in the project too, and considerably so. During the two months Caleb Thorne was on a business trip, helping Galecrest design landmark landscapes, Adrian Chamberlain was entirely responsible for managing this project’s work."
Nathan Foster handed the evidence over to the judge.
The judge seriously looked at it and then turned to Adrian Chamberlain.
"How do you explain this?"
Of course, Adrian Chamberlain wouldn’t admit it; instead, he blad Caleb Thorne.
"While Caleb Thorne was away, I did indeed help him manage for a while, but the entire project was constructed entirely according to his design drawings. Moreover, when I was in charge of managent, the building didn’t collapse; it was only after he returned that the structure collapsed, which can only indicate that his design had issues."
Nathan Foster spoke again, "I ask the court to allow to show so video evidence."
After the judge’s permission, his assistant brought over a laptop to connect it to the court’s television.
"This video and photos were taken by us at the scene; from the pictures, it can be seen that the thickness of the walls and the amount of steel used did not et... the standards of my client Caleb Thorne’s design, and all this happened during the ti Adrian Chamberlain was in charge of managent while Caleb Thorne was away."
After introducing the video materials, Nathan Foster stood up.
"To prove all of this, I request my witness to take the stand."
A mont later, a slender, dark-skinned middle-aged man walked into the courtroom and took a seat in the witness stand.
Seeing this familiar supplier, a hint of panic flashed in Adrian Chamberlain’s eyes.
They actually found him?
"This is Shawn Morrison, the steel supplier for the Zenith Apartnts project." Nathan Foster briefly introduced the witness’s situation, "He can confirm that during the two months before the collapse, the entire Zenith project was under Adrian Chamberlain’s purview, and moreover..."
Nathan Foster raised his voice.
"During this period, Adrian Chamberlain also collected substantial kickbacks from the other party, allowing them to use inferior materials by substituting low-quality steel for proper steel."
"Witness Shawn Morrison, is this true?" the judge asked sternly.
"Yes, Your Honor, this is all true. At the ti, I even asked President Chamberlain about this; I said... building such a tall structure with this kind of steel could pose safety concerns. He nonchalantly replied, saying, it wouldn’t be an issue, as long as there’s no typhoon or earthquake, it wouldn’t be a problem. He did the sa on other projects too..."
"You’re talking nonsense!" Adrian Chamberlain yelled urgently, "Your Honor, this is slander; I never said any of these things nor took any kickbacks from him. If you don’t believe it, ask him, does he have any evidence?"
Adrian Chamberlain knew that if these matters were truly exposed, there would be serious problems.
Therefore, he was also extrely cautious, confident that the other party wouldn’t be able to produce solid evidence.
"I have evidence." The witness raised his face, "I was worried there might be issues with this matter, so... I secretly recorded audio at the ti."
Nathan Foster voluntarily handed the audio recorder to the judge, "The recording is here."
The judge took the audio recorder and played it in court.
Quickly, the voices between the pair began to play from the recorder.
"President Chamberlain, this... isn’t this too risky?"
"There’s no risk at all, we’re just swapping in slightly inferior steel, which won’t really have an impact."
"But, what if sothing happens..."
"Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility if anything happens."
...
Listening to his own voice from the recording, Adrian Chamberlain’s face turned deathly pale.
Glancing around, he realized that the situation was unfavorable to him.
He swayed, closed his eyes, and collapsed on the spot.
Two bailiffs imdiately rushed over to help Adrian Chamberlain from the ground.
"Your Honor, he has passed out."
The judge, seeing Adrian Chamberlain faint, also stood up hastily.
"Quickly, call an ambulance."
In the audience, Seraphina Thorne was the first to stand up, rushing down the steps.
"Adrian Chamberlain, get up! Don’t try to play possum."
She yelled angrily, ready to barge into the courtroom.
"Seraphina!" Ethan Sterling hurried over, holding her back, "Don’t be impulsive."
In such a setting, even though knowing full well Adrian Chamberlain was pretending, if Seraphina were to act against him, she would be held responsible for any repercussions.
Soon, an ambulance arrived and took Adrian Chamberlain on a stretcher to the hospital for ergency aid.
Adrian Chamberlain was the key witness in this case, and with events unfolding to this stage, the trial was unlikely to continue.
The judge had no choice but to announce a suspension and rescheduling of the trial.
The bailiffs entered the courtroom, escorting Caleb Thorne from his seat.
Originally believing they could help her brother overturn the case today, who would have thought Adrian Chamberlain would pull such a trick, delaying the next trial indefinitely.
Seraphina Thorne felt both angry and heartbroken.
Watching as everyone was about to take Caleb Thorne away, she couldn’t hold back any longer and hurried over, wrapping her arms around Caleb Thorne.
"Brother!"
"Miss, please step aside imdiately!" two bailiffs sternly reminded her.
"It’s okay." Caleb Thorne tried to control his emotions, raising his cuffed hand, gently patting his sister’s head, "We’ll definitely win, take good care of Dad, your brother’s alright."
"Seraphina!" Nathan Foster also urged beside her, "Calm down."
His heart went out to Seraphina Thorne too, but the law is rciless, and there was nothing he could do.
"I can’t calm down, Adrian Chamberlain’s doing this on purpose." Seraphina Thorne held onto Caleb Thorne’s arm, her voice tinged with tears, "I won’t let you take my brother away!"
The two bailiffs stood by, looking helpless.
"Miss Thorne, if you continue like this, we’ll have to enforce it."
"I want to see who dares to touch her?"
Ethan Sterling strode over, wrapping an arm around her waist, holding her hand that was clutching onto Caleb Thorne’s arm.
"Seraphina, listen, let go."
Seraphina Thorne held back tears, reluctantly releasing her grip on Caleb Thorne’s arm.
The two bailiffs stood on either side of Caleb Thorne, ready to take him away.
Caleb Thorne stayed in place, frowning at Ethan Sterling holding Seraphina Thorne.
"Are you Ethan Sterling?"
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