Reborn With a Money-Making System: Ruined Actress to Nation's Treasure-Chapter 154: The Fierce Court (2)

Author’s POV

He then asked Ethan to step closer and provide a brief explanation about the witness they were about to call.

Ethan walked forward immediately and spoke in a low but clear voice, making sure only the judge could hear him.

After listening for a moment, the judge nodded. His expression tightened, as if the information he received was heavier than he expected.

"Very well," the judge said. He straightened in his seat and looked toward the courtroom doors. "Bring the witness in."

The smile on Addison’s face instantly disappeared the moment the eyewitness Ethan had called walked into the courtroom.

"J-Jeremy..." she whispered, her voice shaking. She never imagined that the man she had hoped would help her win the case would be standing there as a witness for Helcia instead.

"Your Honor, this is Jeremy Tyler, the former CFO of Goldenline Bank," Ethan introduced him politely. "He is here today as an eyewitness, but the truth is, he was also the one who helped Mrs. Davenport transfer one million dollars into my client’s account, even though my client had no proper job and did not meet any of the requirements to take a one-million-dollar loan from the bank."

"Your Honor, this is ridiculous! He’s a criminal!" Stephen burst out. "How can someone like him make such a serious accusation against my client—"

"Mr. John," the judge interrupted firmly, "please calm down. This is a courtroom, so please, show some respect. And to reminding you, a criminal can still give testimony if it is relevant to the case."

On the other side, Addison clenched her jaw so hard her teeth almost cracked. She glared at Helcia with eyes full of rage.

Yesterday, Helcia had promised not to expose her affair with Jeremy as long as she came to court, and yet that damn man suddenly appeared as a witness!

Addison knew very well that her affair would be used as evidence to support their claims.

Helcia, who was being stared at like she had committed a crime, simply shrugged. Then, with the most innocent face she could make, she stuck her tongue out at her stepmother, just for a second.

It was long enough to irritate Addison, but not long enough for the judge to see it.

Why would she keep a promise to someone who constantly tried to hurt her anyway?

Between her and Addison, breaking one little promise felt like a tiny ice cube compared to an entire iceberg.

From the witness stand, Jeremy tightened his grip on the railing, refusing to meet Addison’s furious eyes. His face had gone pale, like someone who had just lived through the worst moment of his life.

Well, of course he looked like that.

He used to be a respected CFO at Goldenline Bank, and now he was nothing more than a disgraced man: a criminal who had an affair with a woman who abused her own stepdaughter.

Helcia glanced at Lando. He looked unbelievably calm, almost too calm... which only confirmed that he was most likely the person who made Jeremy lose his position so quickly.

Ethan turned back to the court and spoke clearly, "To summarize, Mr. Tyler and Mrs. Davenport have been having an affair for the past two years. During that time, he helped her shift a one-million-dollar debt onto someone who had no job, while the two of them used the money for themselves."

Helcia honestly couldn’t understand why Addison would risk her entire reputation over just one million dollars.

Sure, one million was a lot of money, but it was nothing compared to all the luxury things Addison got from Gideon. Her clothes, her bags, her jewelry, everything she owned was already far more expensive than that loan.

That was why Helcia started to believe this case wasn’t really about money at all, but it felt more like a power play.

Addison enjoyed feeling superior to her, and because she hadn’t worked a single day since marrying Gideon, maybe she wanted to prove—at least to herself—that she could "earn" money on her own, even if she had to drag Helcia down to do it.

"Your Honor, let me ask a few questions to the witness," Ethan said. His voice snapped Helcia out of her thoughts.

"Permission granted," the judge replied, giving Ethan a small nod.

Ethan stepped closer to the witness stand, his expression calm but sharp.

"Mr. Tyler," he began, "on the day the loan was transferred under Miss Helcia’s name, did she come to the bank personally to sign any documents?"

Jeremy shook his head. "No. She never came."

Ethan nodded. "So all the documents were handled by Mrs. Davenport?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Yes," Jeremy replied with emptiness in his eyes. "She told me to process everything as fast as possible."

"Liar!" Addison suddenly stood up from her seat, pointing her finger at Jeremy. "He’s lying! I’ve never even met this man in my entire life! How could he possibly be my secret lover?!"

Helcia could tell that Addison was desperate because there was no way she didn’t know that Helcia’s side must have collected solid evidence of her affair.

But feeling betrayed must have shattered her pride so badly that she didn’t care anymore. She just wanted to deny everything, even if her words made no sense.

"Mrs. Davenport, calm yourself!" the judge ordered, striking his gavel several times. "If you continue like this, we will issue a punishment."

Stephen quickly motioned for Addison to sit down and stop acting so recklessly. But how could she calm down when Helcia kept smiling at her with that irritating, victorious little grin?

"Your Honor! I refuse to accept these false accusations!" Addison shouted even louder. "I am a loyal wife to my husband! There is no way I would ever cheat!"

"Addison!" Jeremy suddenly shouted, making everyone turn their heads toward him.

"Shut the fuck up! If it wasn’t for getting involved with you, I wouldn’t be in this disaster!" he shouted, his face red with anger. "You bitch! I should’ve ignored you the moment you tried to crawl into my bed!"