Chapter 9
The video ended.
The courtroom fell into dead silence.
Even the noisy "brothers" shut their mouths.
Zoey's face turned pale.
Her lips trembled. "It's not like that... I didn't see..."
Adrian suddenly turned to look at me.
For the first time, guilt appeared in his eyes.
He finally realized that Zoey had known about my condition all along.
And he had almost become an accomplice in my death.
Adrian stared at Zoey with intense hatred.
He gritted his teeth. "Zoey, you've ruined me."
Zoey laughed and cried at the same time.
"What's wrong with loving you?"
Adrian looked at her as if she were a monster.
When the trial was adjourned, my mother walked in.
She wore a sharply tailored suit and sat beside me.
Her powerful aura froze the air.
A "brother" in the back row suddenly gasped.
He pointed at my mother, stammering.
"Isn't that... Vivienne Ashcroft? The one from the financial news..."
His voice was soft, but it reached everyone's ears.
Like a stone thrown into still water, it created ripples.
Adrian followed the direction and his pupils constricted.
"Evelyn, who is she to you?"
His voice trembled.
I didn't answer.
Zoey's breathing stopped.
She stared at my mother, her face drained of color.
"Vivienne Ashcroft... Evelyn Ashcroft..."
She repeated these two names.
Suddenly, she looked up at me, her eyes filled with shock.
"You're from the Ashcroft Group..."
They finally connected me to the Ashcroft family.
Zoey tried to rush at me like a madwoman but was restrained by the bailiff.
"Impossible... She was just an ordinary girl..."
She never imagined that the girl she had schemed against was the heiress of the Ashcroft Group.
The "brothers" in the back row fell completely silent.
Some covered their mouths and cried.
Some looked ashen-faced.
They finally realized they had messed with the wrong person.
Only the judge's voice echoed in the courtroom.
I looked at them, feeling no joy, only a sense of melancholy.
The judge struck the gavel.
"Defendant Zoey Langley, attempted murder, with aggravating circumstances, sentenced to fifteen years in prison."
Zoey's legs gave out, and she almost collapsed.
The bailiffs held her up.
Her eyes were empty, and she let out a desperate whimper.
"Defendant Adrian Lowell, causing grievous bodily harm through negligence, sentenced to eight years."
Adrian's eyes widened.
His face instantly lost all color.
He looked at me with regret in his eyes.
But it was too late.
"The remaining accomplices are sentenced to three to five years in prison."
Some burst into tears on the spot.
Some were dragged away by the bailiffs, their legs giving out.
The trial ended, and I walked out of the courthouse.
Sunlight broke through the clouds and fell on me.
My mother gently held my hand.
"It's all over."
"Yes, it's over."
The weight in my heart finally lifted.
Later, Adrian wrote me multiple letters from prison.
I heard he even threatened suicide to see me.
The prison guards had to relay the messages.
But my mother intercepted them all.
She told me,
"The cheapest thing in this world is regret."
"He didn't suddenly love you; he just regrets missing out on a wealthy family."
I nodded.
Of course, I understood.
Perhaps I was just a tool for him to show off.
He never truly cared for me.
Zoey's parents once came to plead for leniency.
They dropped their arrogance and humbly offered to give up everything they had as compensation, just to get my forgiveness.
I chuckled.
"Compensation? Would the heiress of the Ashcroft Group care about your petty money?"
They never showed up again.
I occasionally followed my mother to learn how to manage the company.
I also made new friends.
They were sincere and kind, never maliciously speculating about me.
One day, while sorting through old belongings, I found the cheap bracelet Adrian had given me.
A nine-dollar trinket.
Without hesitation, I threw it in the trash.
The future is long, and these unworthy people should be forgotten.
Years later, I inherited my mother's business and became the widely praised young CEO Ashcroft.
I heard about Adrian from a mutual friend.
He had been released from prison.
After getting out, he was penniless.
He struggled to find a job.
In the end, he had to work as a laborer at a construction site.
The friend went on and on.
"You know, he still hasn't given up. He's been asking about you. It's ridiculous."
"Oh, and last month, he fell off a shelf and broke his leg. His mom ran off with all his money."
"Zoey got into trouble with a prison gang leader and lost an eye..."
I smiled without saying a word.
Karma always comes around.