His Ex-Wife Is A Billionaire (Evadne and Thaddeus) novel Chapter 581

The courtroom erupted into chaos. The nation was in shock.

Frederic's face drained of color as if the blood had been siphoned from his veins. He leapt from his chair as if it had burst into flames, standing abruptly without a care for decorum, staring in disbelief at Elspeth.

Cynthia? Hadn't she taken her own life because of severe depression? How had it turned into murder?

How could the murderer be Elspeth, the woman who had shared his bed for twenty years?

"I do it!" Elspeth sobbed, shaking her head as she locked eyes with him.

Thaddeus's icy gaze slid inch by inch onto Frederic's pale, plaster-like face. He couldn't help but let out a bone-chilling laugh from the deepest, most bitter part of his chest.

Even now, he didn't see the slightest hint of sorrow for his mother on this callous man's face. What Frederic felt was not disbelief out of love for Elspeth.

He simply couldn't accept that he had been so blind, having spent twenty years married to a murderer!

Cedric felt like he'd been struck in the back of the head with a sledgehammer, his mind buzzing.

Jason had blindsided him completely. In his decade-plus career, he had never seen anything like this. It was supposed to be a clear-cut case of murder for hire, so how had Thaddeus's mother's case gotten dragged into this?

If Elspeth really was a killer, then he would be dragged through the mud too!

So he shouted in desperation, "Your Honor! This witness is irrelevant to the case at hand, please dismiss her right to testify!"

While Ivan hesitated, Jason struck while the iron was hot, "Your Honor, the defense previously stated that Elspeth couldn't possibly be the killer because she's a cultured, high-character society lady. But my witness here can attest that the defense's argument is nothing but a cunning ploy to exonerate their client. Thus, this witness is indeed relevant to the case, and her testimony should be considered!"

Ivan finally relented with a slight nod, "Then let the defense proceed with their questioning."

Cedric was seeing stars from rage.

Yolanda stole a glance at Thaddeus, who sat with a stern dignity in the audience, remembering the dread his presence inspired. She dared not hold back any longer, spilling the secrets that had been hidden for years.

"Back then. I was ordered by Mr. Abernathy to attend to Elspeth's daily needs, while she was nothing more than Mr. Abernathy's mistress. Only because she carried the heir to the Abernathy empire was she temporarily welcomed into the Abernathy fold, but Mr. Hamilton never truly accepted her."

Ivan tapped the gavel once more, reminding in a cold tone, "Defendant, please remain calm and refrain from causing a disturbance!"

Yolanda continued, her voice trembling with fear, "At the time, there were some problems between Elspeth and Mr. Abernathy, but he still had feelings for her and never thought of letting her go. Even though Elspeth carried the Abernathy heir, she had no hopes of being officially welcomed into the family, so she coerced and tempted me, asking me to switch Cynthia's depression medication with regular vitamins. She wanted to exacerbate Cynthia's condition, to make Mr. Abernathy grow weary of her."

"You're lying! I never told you to do that! You're slandering me!" Elspeth raged, yet her guilt was palpable.

"If I lie, may I be struck down the moment I step outside!"

Yolanda's oath was fierce, "At first, you only wanted me to switch the medication with vitamins, but then Mr. Abernathy and Cynthia began to reconcile, and she started responding to treatment! Everything was improving, and seeing no chance for advancement, you became desperate and harbored evil thoughts of getting rid of her!"

"I did not! Shut your mouth!"

"To utterly destroy her, you were no longer satisfied just swapping her antidepressants, you instructed me to poison her!"

Yolanda stood up, pointing directly at Elspeth, her voice filled with accusation, "I got cold feet and backed out, but you couldn't wait to take matters into your own hands! Years back, I worked the counter at a little clinic's pharmacy, a place where secrets were as common as cough syrup. You think I didn't notice, but I did—I saw you mixing up something wicked in the back, away from prying eyes. It wasn't for any flu or fever. It was fentanyl, and it was for Cynthia."