Chapter 188

[Third-Person’s POV]

“...The last thing I remember from that night is Alexander trying to stop the bleeding with a piece of cloth he had on hand,” Evelyn finished. “I was truly convinced that I was going to die that night.”

She’d let out a steady breath of relief, knowing that she managed to get through it. It felt like a triumph as well as a long, overdue session with a therapist.

Meanwhile, the room had fallen into total silence as they all eagerly listened to Evelyn’s heart-wrenching recount. Not a single person dared to speak out of turn. More than half the room had tears in their eyes while the others merely shook their heads in sympathy.

Even the judge was speechless and struggling to keep the emotion from his words as he spoke.

“I...I am beyond words, Mrs. Kingston,” he said wearily. “What I can’t seem to understand is why Ms. Rizza chose to scar you and not use the blade for its intended purpose.”

Alexander cleared his throat and calmly stepped forward.

“I’m afraid I know the answer to that question all too well, Your Honor. You see, at the time, many people were still under the assumption that I was paralyzed and horribly disfigured. Both Fiona and Isabella wanted to make it so that, at the very least, Evelyn would end up suffering like me,” he explained.

Evelyn nodded her head in confirmation. “It’s true. Neither one of them cared whether or not I survived their torture. They were satisfied to know that they had done enough permanent damage in the end.”

Most of the jury had already looked as though they were ready to hand out Fiona’s sentencing right then and there. Isabella’s case, on the other hand, was one that needed a bit more convincing.

Naturally, Alexander had presented the court with both the physical blade along with the lab evidence to prove Fiona’s fingerprints were present. He’d even gone as far as to display a few of the images that he had his team take of the crime scene to show everyone the true carnage that Fiona and Isabella were capable of.

It was the one and only time Evelyn needed to take a step back. A terrible wave of nausea came over her. She had no idea that Alexander had managed to capture images from that night. Everything wanted to rush back. The frightening looks in their eyes. The grotesque feeling of her blood leaving her body. And the pain that just wouldn’t stop.

For the first time since the hearing started, Isbela finally spoke out. “Your Honor, I assure you that I am just as astounded by these events as you are,” she said.

Evelyn fought back a scoff as she leered at the woman in sheer hatred.

The judge gave Isabella a questioning look. “Mrs. Silverwood, although any physical evidence of yours may be difficult to discern, you seriously mean to tell everyone here that you had no idea of what was going on between Ms. Rizza and your Stepdaughter?”

Just as Isabella was about to speak, Fiona’s shrilling voice cut through the air.

“You menacing bitch! I’m not going to take the fall when you get to walk away from this!”

Isabella knowingly kept her composure. “Your Honor, clearly Ms. Rizza is not of sound mind. Of course, I didn’t have anything to do with Evelyn’s torture. I’ve always cared for her the same way as I have my own daughter.”

Evelyn glared daggers at the woman who basically orchestrated her near death.

Breathe. Just breathe. We knew this was likely to happen.

What no one expected to hear was the uproarious laughter coming from Alexander. Evelyn raised her brows and turned to look at him.

“Mr. Kingston?”

“My apologies to you and the court, Your Honor. It’s just that I’ve never heard such a ridiculous spout of utter bullshit in my entire life,” he noted sharply.

He turned back to the prosecutor’s table and picked up a second file they’d specially kept on hand for this exact situation. Just like Fiona, Isabella was going to do anything she could to avoid being sent to prison. Based on the contents of that folder, it would surely disqualify any new lies Isabella was willing to throw out.

“Not only has Isabella Silverwood been the one to plan my wife’s murder, but she also happens to be the one behind the murder attempt of her own Stepson, Edward Silverwood.”

He briskly handed the file over to the judge and allowed him and the King a chance to look over its contents. Everyone watched them with heavy interest, waiting for what was to come next.

At first, the judge’s expression was kept neutral. Although the further he read into the documents, the people began to see a shocking shift in the man’s demeanor.

“Mrs. Silverwood, you are aware of the laws which strictly prohibit the possession and use of Hemlock.”

Another round of gasps and muddled murmurs. Isabella’s entire body went stiff. Whatever heir of confidence she had initially walked in with was swiftly evaporating by the second.

“I...Well, I...Clearly, there’s been some kind of mis—”

“Mrs. Kingston, may I remind you that you are in a courtroom and currently under oath. If I or anyone else on the jury should get the single inkling that you’ve been lying to us all along, I can easily assure you that you will be placed under arrest and escorted to the nearest prison.”

Isabella gulped and nodded.

“In that case, why don’t you tell us why you’ve been in possession of one of the region's deadliest poisons.”

“That Hemlock was purely for my own personal matters.”

The judge blatantly stared at her in disbelief. “Elaborate. You can’t possibly expect me or anyone else here to believe that you’ve been administering Hemlock and taking it yourself.”

Isabella remained quiet.

“It says here you’ve been distilling it and injecting it into your Stepson’s treatments.”

Her frantic eyes glanced around the place to find a series of mean glares and disgusted looks.

“You don’t understand,” she hissed. “All my life I’ve been struggling to build the proper life and future that I deserved! When the day came when Edward fell into that coma, I took it as the biggest stroke of luck. I knew that the chances of him actually waking up were slim. Too slim to ever be hopeful.”

Evelyn clenched her jaw while her heart seized in her chest.

“I figured with Edward gone, I would finally have control over the Silverwood Pack. However, when I noticed that his treatments were actually working I needed to find a way to ensure that he wouldn’t wake up,” she said. “You see, I had to. Leonard had allowed the pack to fall into ruin ever since he lost his first wife. Once I was in control I would have ensured the pack was back to its original standing. So you see, I was doing everyone a favor.”

“A favor?” Evelyn hissed under her breath.

Alexander rested a hand on her shoulder. “Your Honor, as you can see, Mrs. Silverwood is no more sane than Fiona is. Can we not take her explanation as her confession?”

Numerous spectators were readily agreeing with his statement. As the noise continued to grow, the judge slammed down the gavel and instructed the jury to leave the room. They were not to return until a verdict had been reached.