The Million-Dollar Heart (Percival and Vivienne)
Chapter 811

Zinnia gasped and turned to look at Leopold Sterling, who was smirking weirdly, "Who are you calling an old hag?!"

"Hey, isn't that Austin's mom over there? Why is your daughter sitting with the Littleton family's witnesses? Don't tell me she's the witness Vivienne Hawthorn mentioned."

Zinnia retorted, "Impossible! She's my daughter; why would she side with strangers?!"

Leopold chuckled disdainfully, "Oh, now you remember she's your daughter? What were you doing before?!"

"You!"

"Order!"

The judge frowned, banging the gavel for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

Looking down at Cassidy, who stood confidently in the witness stand, the judge's frown deepened, "Witness, please present your testimony."

Cassidy glanced towards her mother Zinnia, who was staring at her in shock, and smiled slightly, "Your Honor, my name is Cassidy. I'm supposedly the girl Julian was accused of harassing."

"I can affirm, Julian has been the best teacher I've had since starting school. He did not harass me. The whole situation was a scam orchestrated by my mother Zinnia and Kipling Abernasy." The courtroom erupted in shock.

Zinnia screamed, "You little brat! What nonsense are you spouting?! Get down here, I've done so much for you, and this is how you repay me?!"

Kipling was equally unsettled, "Cassidy, have you lost your mind?! Do you realize what you're saying? Come down now!"

Cassidy's smile only grew wider.

She seemed to relish peeling off the masks from Zinnia and Kipling layer by layer, "Of course, I know what I'm saying, Your Honor. I am the victim here, and I can assure everyone more than anyone else that Julian did nothing wrong."

Ramona Grimshaw, standing aside with her makeup perfectly done, flashed a cold look.

She was surprised that Vivienne had managed to bring Cassidy, the very person involved, as a witness.

Her mind raced, and she suddenly spoke up, "Your Honor, I've heard Cassidy suffers from severe depression. Can we really trust the testimony of someone mentally unstable?"

Vivienne calmly retorted, "Ms. Grimshaw, if you had educated yourself, you'd know depression isn't amnesia. People with depression are only emotionally down but their memory and awareness are as sharp as anyone else's."

Jerry Perez added, "Legally, there's no rule against people with depression testifying. Especially when the witness is the victim herself."

"Vivienne, you bastards! What did you do to my daughter? Your Honor, I demand a medical examination to check if Vivienne has drugged my daughter!"

Zinnia screamed, trying to break through the police barrier, "Cassidy, come back! Don't make a scene here. How could I, as your mother, not know about your condition?!"

"What do you know?"

Cassidy responded coldly, "Do you know how to sell me off to influential old men, or how to make me serve as a maid for you and Austin?"

"Or perhaps, how to deprive me of my college opportunities, claiming I had depression, and lock me in a hospital? If it weren't for this attempt to frame Julian again, I might have spent my life in a dark room!" The courtroom was in an uproar, the clerk overwhelmed by the reactions.

Cassidy continued, "Zinnia, when you did all those things to me, you should have expected that one day, I would retaliate!"

With the victim herself denying any wrongdoing by Julian, Kipling's chances of replaceing another witness were slim, and Jerry's eyes gleamed with the success of their plan.

As the judge, in his robe, was about to make his decision, Kipling, driven by immense fear, broke through the police line and approached Cassidy, "You traitor! How much did they pay you? Tell me, I'll double it. Why are you doing this to me?!"

"Get lost!"

Leopold was quick to kick him away.

Cassidy stood behind Leopold, her calm gaze not showing a hint of panic.

Throughout the trial, she remained composed, her eyes filled with fierce determination when looking at Kipling, "Why?! Kipling, have you forgotten what you did to me five years ago?!"

"Your Honor, I wish to press charges against Kipling. Five years ago, he used his position to force himself on a minor!"

Turning to Zinnia, she said each word clearly, "Zinnia was his accomplice!"

Kaitlyn's eyes widened in shock.

She whispered to Vivienne, "Is she telling the truth? How could there be a mother like Zinnia in this world?!"

Vivienne's eyes were cold as she snorted, "Kaitlyn, there's no shortage of scum like Zinnia and Kipling on this planet."

Even she hadn't expected Kipling to be the real villain behind the scenes.

Zinnia's features were contorted with rage, "You little brat, I'm going to end you today! If I'd known it'd come to this, I would've left you to fend for yourself in some backwater town!"

"I must've been cursed to have birthed a thankless wolf like you!"

As things spiraled beyond their control, Zinnia dropped the act.

Her curses sang with a twisted joy, inadvertently proving that her relationship with Cassidy was anything but the loving mother-daughter facade they'd shown the world.

Cassidy stood protected behind Leopold, untouchable by anyone.

Cool and composed, she didn't even glance at Zinnia but instead turned to address the judge, "Five years ago, for a sum of ten thousand dollars, Zinnia tried to sell me to Kipling, who was a department head at the time. But Julian stumbled upon the scheme and stopped it."

"Someway, somehow, they pinned the charge of indecency on Julian instead."

She recounted the events calmly, pulling out a voice recording from her pocket, "I was coerced by Zinnia, left with no choice but to comply. But I also managed to record everything on my phone, waiting for the day I could reveal the truth."

"For years, Zinnia kept me imprisoned. Using the pretense of severe depression, she had me committed to a mental health facility."