Chapter 137
Hearing this, Maxine quietly switched her phone to speaker.
When there was only silence on the other end, Kathleen instantly panicked, losing her usual composure. “Sebastiant Say something! Didn’t you try to talk to her for me? I kn
she’s got the wrong idea about me, but even if I want to explain, she won’t give me a chance?
Maxine smirked. “So, what exactly do you want to explain?”
Whether Kathleen was more shocked that the two of them were together, or that Sebastian actually let Maxine answer his phone, for a moment she completely forgot what she was about to say.
Maxine kindly reminded her, “You said I misunderstood you and wouldn’t listen. Well, here’s your chance. Go ahead, I’m listening,”
The air was thick with awkwardness, but Maxine wasn’t in any rush. She just waited patiently for Kathleen to respond.
After a long pause, Kathleen dodged the question. “Isn’t Sebastian there with you?”
She seemed to think Maxine had answered the call behind his back, and her tone instantly turned stiff.
Maxine shot a half–smile at Sebastian, who was driving. “Do you need something from him?”
Kathleen took a deep breath on the other end. “Listen, Maxine, I never meant to mess with you. The whole Ivanna thing… Gabriel forced me into it. You can’t just do this to me.”
Maxine raised an eyebrow. “But Ivanna was innocent, and so is her daughter. If you were forced, you can tell your side in court. The judge will decide.”
“Maxine!” Kathleen finally snapped, her voice low and harsh.
“Anything else?” Maxine asked.
A second later, Kathleen hung up. Maxine put her phone back, and both she and Sebastian pretended nothing had happened.
The car pulled up to the entrance. Maxine got out with Jessica. Sebastian rolled down the window and said to her, “Good luck. If I have time, I’ll come
and sit in.”
Maybe it was that phone call Maxine answered that made Kathleen too nervous to reach out again. She never called Sebastian before the trial started.
Still, Sebastian had someone look into Kathleen.
Studying at the stack of A4 papers filled with information, Sebastian fell silent. For the first time, he realized just how deeply he’d misunderstood Maxine and how many mistakes he’d made.
That night, the light in Sebastian’s study stayed on all night.
Cleo dropped Maxine off at the courthouse entrance, giving her an encouraging smile. “Don’t be nervous today. You already won Gabriel’s case. Kathleen’s is a walk in the park, I’ll come pick you up later.”
Maxine walked into the courtroom and spotted Kathleen sitting at the defendant’s table. Kathleen shot her a hateful glare, and right after, the judge announced the start of the trial.
Kathleen, being a lawyer herself, put up a desperate fight. But Gabriel’s crimes had already been proven, and it was a sure thing to conspired with him to bribe Rayden, tamper with evidence in Ivanna’s case, and deliberately lose the lawsuit.
that she’d
Kathleen also presented evidence that Gabriel had threatened her, including chat logs where he told her to contact Rayden.
As she spoke, Kathleen broke down in tears, choking out to the judge that Gabriel had threatened her and her family’s lives if she didn’t do as he said.
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Chapter 137
Maxine watched the whole thing with a cold, detached gaze. She knew Gabriel had threatened Kathleen, but whether Kathlarau want a was hard to say.
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
