THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS-Chapter 430: The Trial 3: She’s Gone Nuts

"That doesn’t still prove that she loaded the gun. So permit me to say here that my client is being unjustly accused based on mere assumptions, which are not substantial enough to establish that she is guilty."

"They are not mere assumptions, I have evidence to prove that the bullet was loaded by Dr Thompson."

’Evidence?! That’s impossible. She’s must be bluffing, I’m sure,’ Dolly thought to herself but a gnawing sense of doubt still found its way into her thoughts. ’What if she actually does?’

Mr Callaghan backed off slightly, turning to address the jury. "Interesting. Let’s see the evidence," he said confidently even though his tone betrayed his unease.

Detective Parker was dismissed, and Cheryl began calling other witnesses down to the man at the black market Dolly had purchased the bullet from.

The icing on the cake was the security footage presented by Isabella’s over protective father who had secretly installed a CCTV camera when his daughter decided to leave home and stay alone in another city.

The footage showed Benita entering a small room, likely a bathroom. A few moments later, Dolly was seen sneaking into the room where Benita had left her bag. Dolly took something from under her shirt, precisely from her bra, opened the gun, and swiftly slipped a bullet inside with the skill of someone familiar with weapons, before quietly exiting the room.

Unaware of what had transpired, Benita reappeared, grabbed her bag, and left in haste, presumably heading to the wedding.

A stunned silence gripped the courtroom as all eyes shifted to Dolly in disbelief.

At this point, Dolly could no longer sit still as she directly sprang to her feet, yelling.

"That’s not true. The footage has been doctored. I clearly did not see any camera in the apartment. I made sure to look around before ..." She stopped mid-sentence, realizing the gravity of her slip, but it was already too late.

"What were you about to say, Dr Thompson? Go on, finish your thought. But of course, you won’t," Cheryl smirked and folded her arms across her chest.

"But what I’d like to know is why you were searching for cameras in a friend’s house? Isn’t that strange... unless, of course, there was something incriminating you wanted to do which you didn’t want captured by any hidden camera." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Objection!" Dolly cried out in panick which undoubtedly caused heads to turn in her direction.

"What is she objecting to? And shouldn’t that be the job of her lawyer?" Someone murmured.

"I think she’s gone nuts. They had better have a psychiatrist on standby," another person quipped.

The courtroom erupted into murmurs and soon enough, more voices rose as everyone aired their views and opinions, all of course in judgment against Dolly’s character and behavior.

"Order! Order! Silence in the court!" the court clerk shouted repeatedly until the room finally quieted.

"This court will not tolerate any unruly behavior from you, Dr Thompson," the judge warned with a stern expression. Turning to Cheryl, he said. "You may proceed Ms Moore."

"Thank you, your honor. With the evidence provided, it is proven beyond every reasonable doubt that Dolly Thompson loaded the gun."

And from the very start, her intentions have been clear: to exploit Ms Dawson’s naivety and use her as a pawn in her plan to achieve her ultimate goal... getting Dr Steffan Rosse all to herself."

"Dr Thompson saw Ms Lauren Holmes, who was set to marry the man she coveted, as an obstacle. And what better way to eliminate that obstacle than to manipulate an unwitting and naive Ms Dawson into doing her dirty work?"

"Had Ms Holmes been killed by that gunshot, Dr Thompson’s path would have been clear as Ms Dawson would be imprisoned for murder, leaving her, Dr Thompson to swoop in and claim the one man she’d always desired."

Dolly stood up, and started yelling frantically as she tried to defend herself, but her words only added to the tension.

Mr Callaghan, rose quickly and reached out to calm her down again.

"Doctor, sit down," he hissed under his breath, but she shrugged him off, pacing as if she was trying to figure out her next move.

"No! No, I will not sit down!" Dolly snapped, glaring at him. "This whole thing is a farce! It’s a conspiracy to unjustly accuse me."

On the other hand, the judge, whose patience was waning, slammed his gavel down repeatedly as his voice rose above the noise. "Dr. Thompson, I warned you. Sit down this very minute."

Breathing heavily, Dolly stood frozen, torn between her need to obey the judge and the realization that everything was tilting towards an inevitable doom for her.

Mr Callaghan tugged at her sleeve, whispering furiously.

She shot one last venomous look at Mr Callaghan before begrudgingly sitting down with her fists clenched on the table.

Mr Callaghan released a sigh of relief when she eventually sat down. ’Why am I so unfortunate to have to deal with this psycho?’ he groaned inwardly.

The murmur of the courtroom slowly died down as all eyes turned back to the judge, who motioned for Cheryl to continue.

Cheryl’s expression remained calm as she went on to address the court. "Thank you, Your Honor. With the evidence provided, it’s clear that Dr Dolly Thompson’s actions were deliberate. Her plan was to exploit Ms Dawson and remove Ms Lauren Holmes from the equation to pursue her own romantic interest in Dr Steffan Rosse."

Cheryl paused, letting the weight of her words sink in before turning to the next stage of her case.

"I now call Dr Steffan Rosse to the stand."

The tension in the room shifted as Steffan slowly stood, adjusting his suit before making his way to the witness box. He exchanged a brief glance with Lauren.

"Dr Rosse," Cheryl began once Steffan had been sworn in, "could you tell the court about your experience with Dr Thompson following your accident?"

Steffan nodded calmly although his expression was serious. "After the accident, I woke up in Dr Thompson’s apartment. Dolly was the only one there, and she told me she had saved me from a group of thugs who were trying to assassinate me. At the time, I had no reason to doubt her, as I was suffering from memory loss."

Dolly, who had been anchoring her hope on Steffan’s testimony, until that moment, instantly sat up, her face pale with shock.

What is he doing? she thought. This wasn’t the plan. Panic welled up in her chest as Steffan continued to speak, clearly going off-script from what they had agreed upon. He had agreed to convince the judge that they were married and not just because she said so but because he was sure of it.

Cheryl leaned in slightly, pressing forward. "Are you telling this court that everything you knew about yourself and your circumstances after waking up were based solely on what Dr Thompson told you?"

"Yes," Steffan confirmed.

"Including your supposed marriage to her?"

Dolly, now visibly shaking, tried to catch Steffan’s attention.

She hoped for any sign of acknowledgment from him, but Steffan refused to look her way, even as everyone else in the courtroom turned to watch her after the minor commotion she deliberately caused in her seat