The Heiress With Seven Secret Identies (Stella Shaw) novel Chapter 80

Chapter 80 Lloyd’s Damning Testimony

+5 Pearls

The moment Lloyd walked in, something shifted in Derek’s eyes. For the first time, he looked genuinely

scared.

Stella’s hands had gone cold. Elias held them the whole time, his warmth slowly seeping into her skin. She didn’t pull away. Her gaze stayed locked on Derek, clear and frozen solid.

“Lloyd,” the prosecutor began, “is it true that Derek abducted Luna, that he abused her, beat her, and eventually killed her–and that he asked you to pose as a police officer to help cover it up?”

Derek’s eyes bored into Lloyd from across the room. His hands clenched at his sides. His heart pounded harder with every second.

Jasmine and Ruby gripped each other’s hands without thinking, their eyes fixed on Lloyd, waiting.

“Yeah,” Lloyd said quietly. “It’s true.”

Derek’s knees almost buckled.

“You’re lying through your teeth!”

Lloyd kept his head down at first. Then he looked up and met Derek’s stare.

He knew he was finished. Everyone from White Pit was finished. The only play left was to save his own family.

That Stella girl–word was she moved millions in a single deal. Who was he to go up against money like that?

Maybe if he told the truth, they’d go easy on him.

And why should Derek live comfortable while the rest of them had to beg him for scraps? They were all the same kind of people, weren’t they?

“I ain’t lying,” Lloyd said. “That day, you and me went to Jenston looking for work. Didn’t find any, ended up crashing at the bus station.

“There was this girl sitting there. Young. Looked lost. Kept checking her phone like she was waiting on

someone.

‘You saw her and you wanted her. Slipped something in her drink and took her back to White Pit.

‘She begged you. Pleaded. Offered you money. Told you she’d work for you, send you everything she made.

“Didn’t matter. You chained her up in that shed with the cattle. Made her live in there like an animal.

“Everybody in White Pit knew about it.

“Later, when you figured out she really was some college girl and could actually bring in money, you made a deal. She works, you let her go. That’s when you married Ruby. Got the woman and the cash both.

9:48 am PPPP

Chapter 80 Lloyd’s Damning Testimony

+5 Pearls.

“But you never let that girl go. One time she fought back, hit her head bad. Started forgetting things.

“Then you found out she was pregnant. Still smart. Still could make money. So you kept using her.

“Then, sixteen years ago–you forced yourself on her again. Beat her till her head was bloody. That’s when she started remembering. Remembered her family. Remembered who she was.

“You got scared she might really come from money. So you killed her.

“After that, you had me put on a uniform and play cop so nobody would ask questions.

“You even made up a fake report. Said she died during a home invasion. Some stranger attacked her.”

Lloyd was shaking by the time he finished. The words came out rough, uneven. But they came out. The lawyers helped fill in the gaps.

Stella closed her eyes. A single tear slid down her cheek.

She hadn’t seen what happened to her mother. But she’d seen enough in White Pit to imagine it.

Her heart broke all over again. But something else caught her attention too.

What was her mother doing waiting for someone in Jenston?

The tear landed on the back of Elias‘ hand. His chest tightened.

shot a look at Milo that could’ve frozen fire.

f Derek doesn’t get the maximum sentence, don’t bother coming in tomorrow.

Milo’s voice cut through the room again.

“Your Honor, in addition to Lloyd’s testimony, we have statements from multiple other witnesses. We have evidence that Derek falsified police reports. We have recordings between Derek’s wife Ruby and Lloyd corroborating key details.

“All of this confirms that Derek intentionally murdered my client’s mother, Luna.

“Witness accounts align. They prove Luna was abducted. Beaten. Abused. Imprisoned. Violated.

“Derek exhumed her remains to intimidate my client. He attempted to traffic Stella. Tried to sell her off like property to settle a debt. We have both testimony and physical evidence to support these claims.

“Furthermore, Derek was involved in other trafficking cases beyond this one.

“Witnesses. Evidence. It’s all here.”

Derek couldn’t stand straight anymore.

He’d figured the old–timers from the village might crack. They’d never seen real money. But physical evidence? How could they have physical evidence?

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9:48 am Pppp

Chapter 80 Lloyd’s Damning Testimony

He’d been so careful. Buried everything.

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