Chapter 236

With fervent backing from supporters, Enigma's sales skyrocketed by ten percent, immediately claiming the title of the season's most coveted brand.

By the day of Lainey's public trial, half a month afterwards, the chatter around the case had not dimmed.

A sharp rap from the judge's gavel signaled the official commencement of proceedings.

The bailiff guided Lainey to the defendant's bench with firm hands.

She was clad in a standard prison uniform, her hair hanging dull and yellow, her face exhausted and hollow-her former radiant beauty completely vanished.

When she lifted her eyes, Eleanor and Nolan appeared in the gallery, their expressions detached. Jeff and his wife sat nearby, anger etched across their features.

Hatred blazed in Lainéy's gaze.

Everything pointed to Eleanor!

Without Eleanor's interference, she would have married Nolan and inherited the Benton fortune by now.

Eleanor had destroyed her entire future.

Rage consumed Lainey, leaving her trembling and unrestrained. "Eleanor! You wretch! You'll pay for this!"she shrieked.

Two bailiffs gripped her firmly; otherwise, she might have lunged forward.

"Quiet!" The judge slammed his gavel forcefully, his tone sharp and commanding.

Nolan's lawyer rose, presenting a hefty bundle of documents to the bench.

"Your Honor, my client accuses Lainey Gilbert of financial corruption, orchestrating Darleen's murder, and falsifying DNA paternity results. The proof is undeniable. We respectfully request the court's judgment." The judge skimmed the papers briefly before addressing the defendant. "Miss Gilbert, the plaintiff has submitted accusations.How do you plead?"

Lainey seemed disconnected, lost within her own chaotic thoughts.

Avoiding accountability, she launched into a frantic monologue. "I didn't do anything! I didn't kill anyone!That hateful Darleen! She envied me constantly, blackmailing me after my return to the Benton family. She even hired people to torment me! I had no choice but to end her! I'm the real victim!"

She continued, "The DNA test? The Benton family ran it themnselves and accepted the outcome. How does that implicate me?"

Her words tumbled out wildly, each sentence a desperate attempt to frame herself as innocent.

Hearing her frantic claims, the plaintiff lawyer calmly repositioned his gold-rimmed spectacles and gestured for his assistant to display a video before the court.

It showed the unedited sequence of Lainey mercilessly killing Darleen in the hospital room.

Her face twisted with fury, the repeated stabs leaving horrifying marks, each movement brutal and deliberate.

What depth of hatred could push someone to mutilate a woman repeatedly, even after death?

A nurse, entirely innocent, also suffered under her violent grip.

The audience gasped audibly at the gruesome footage.

The plaintiff lawyer's voice cut sharply through the courtroom. "Miss Gilbert, do you still claim to be the victim?"

He paused, then commanded, "Bring in the witness."

A bailiff soon escorted a trembling man forward.

Fear drained his knees, leaving him shaking uncontrollably like a leaf caught in the wind.

At the sight of Lainey, he collapsed entirely, voice quivering as he confessed. "I plead guilty! | admit everything I did! Lainey Gilbert ordered it! She forced me to murder that nurse! She orchestrated everything -it isn't my responsibility!"

Panic overtook Lainey.

This man had worked under Horace previously, tasked with doing her dirty work for her.

How had authorities discovered his involvement as wvell?

She was doomed.