She’s a pretty quick-witted woman! She appeared flustered just moments ago, yet it only took her a short while to calm down. Furthermore, she managed to find a reason for the missing red mole in less than ten seconds. Her reason makes sense, and it didn’t evoke any further questions from Julia’s end.
Can Sonia and Zane have full control over a woman as smart as her? If this woman decides to betray them, they might end up in a horrible situation! At that thought, Toby retrieved his phone and dialed Tom’s number as he walked toward the elevator.
“President Fuller.” Tom’s voice came from the other end of the line. Toby pressed his lips together before he spoke in a stern voice. “I want you to get someone to monitor Taylor secretly. I want to be informed whenever she does anything out of the ordinary.”
He simply couldn’t allow a woman like Taylor to threaten Sonia. If someone like Taylor comes up with a nasty idea, I’ll have to destroy her before she tries to do anything. Tom didn’t understand Toby’s intentions, but he nodded in agreement. “I got it, President Fuller. Do you need anything else?”
“That’s all.” Toby ended the call.
Meanwhile, Sonia drove over to the court. Carl and Charles were already waiting for her at the entrance, and they walked over together once they saw her getting out of the car. “Sonia,” Carl greeted. “Baby!” Charles cried.
“How long have you guys been here?” Sonia asked as she shut her car door.
“We’ve been here for a while, but we couldn’t go in since it isn’t time yet. We had no choice but to wait outside.” Carl handed her a cup of milk tea that he had bought earlier.
“Thanks, Carl.” Sonia took the cup from him.
“You’re welcome.” Carl gave her a warm smile. Charles pointed toward the crowd opposite them. “Those reporters are staring at you, darling.”
Sonia sipped on her milk tea as she glanced in the direction that he was pointing. There were reporters snapping photos of her. If it weren’t for the security officers standing outside the court, these reporters would have probably rushed over once I arrived, huh? This trial will determine Tina’s sentence, so the reporters are probably curious to hear my thoughts on it.
“Just ignore them, Sonia. You shouldn’t let them affect your mood.” Carl only took a brief glance in the direction of the reporters.
Sonia nodded. “I’m not going to let them bother me. But aren’t you worried that they might recognize you?” Although Carl was wearing a cap and a mask, his height and body shape was distinct enough to attract looks from others. If the reporters stared for a while more, they might even recognize him.
Carl shrugged. “I don’t mind if they happen to recognize me.”
“It might affect your work,” Sonia replied. Carl’s gaze darkened a little. “It’s fine. I’m not sure if I’m going to continue pursuing a career in this field, anyway.”
“What do you mean?” Sonia and Charles exchanged glances before they both looked at him. “You aren’t thinking of leaving the industry, are you?” Charles placed an arm around Carl’s shoulder. Carl shook Charles’ arm off before he gave Sonia a smile. “I do have the thought of leaving the industry, but I’m still in the midst of contemplating my decision.”
“This is sudden.” Sonia frowned. “Isn’t it your dream to become an internationally-known top male model? Did something happen, Carl?” How else could one explain his sudden wish to give up on his dreams? Sonia wondered.
Carl’s eyes glistened as he spoke. “It’s nothing. I just feel drained, and I just feel like taking a break. That’s all.”
“Is that so?” Sonia narrowed her eyes. She clearly didn’t believe him.
Carl waved her off with a smile. “Alright, now. Let’s not talk about this. The doors are open so we should go in.” Sonia turned to look at the doors leading into the court and realized that Carl was right. “Okay. Let’s go,” she said with a nod. The three of them, along with some other individuals who got seats in the court, made their way in.
Titus and Julia arrived just a while later. Sonia saw the burning hatred in both their eyes as she looked in their direction. She wasn’t afraid of them at all—she even spread her lips into a smirk. The look on her face only made Titus and Julia more furious than ever.
There was a live stream for the entire trial, so people on the Internet were all able to witness the process. Soon enough, Tina was brought up onto the stand. She had been kept in the detention center for the past few days, and she hadn’t got much food or sleep. On top of that, she was suffocated by the stress she had been facing due to this incident. All of these factors contributed to her significant loss in weight. If it weren’t for Tina’s paler skin tone, Sonia might have thought that the person she was looking at was Taylor. Right now, Tina looks exactly like how Taylor did when she first came out of the village. She looks malnourished and like she would topple if she was struck by the wind.
Upon seeing the drastic change in her daughter’s appearance, Julia held her hand over her mouth and began to sob. Although Titus had felt a huge sense of resentment toward Tina throughout this period of time, he no longer had the energy to hate her then. He merely shook his head helplessly.
Smack! Once the judge pounded the gavel, the trial officially began. The entire trial was rather pointless since everyone had seen proof of Tina attempting to harm Sonia. The trial was, therefore, more of a procedure than anything else. Charles recalled something as he watched Tina arguing with Sonia’s lawyer. “Baby, I have bad news that I think I should tell you,” he turned and whispered to Sonia.
“What is it?” Sonia shifted her gaze toward him. Carl had an idea of what Charles was about to say. “I think he wants to tell you what the lawyer told us before you arrived,” Carl uttered with an icy look in his eyes.
“What did the lawyer say?” Sonia’s expression turned serious when she saw the stern looks on both their faces. Charles pinched the bridge of his nose before he spoke. “Well, before you arrived, I spoke to your lawyer for a while. He told us that Tina’s sentence might be less severe than what we expected—she might not even be sent to jail. The chances are that the court might just give her a probation order.”
“All she might get is a probation order?” Sonia tightened her fists—she was clearly displeased by this news. What Sonia intended was for Tina to be sentenced to jail, not to receive some probation order. Charles understood Sonia’s wishes, which was why he told her that he had bad news.
“That’s right. A probation order. It’s a fact that Tina attempted to harm you, but the lawyer said that you didn’t encounter any actual harm throughout the process. Her crime of intentionally harming someone is therefore turned into a crime of attempted harm, which reduces the severity of her punishment,” Charles explained.
“What nonsense is that?!” Sonia’s face was flushed with rage.
Charles sighed. “I know, right? Furthermore, the lawyer said that the outcome would be the same even if she had tried to frame you. The main reason for this is her health. She would receive a sentence out of prison even if she was sentenced, and this naturally translates into a probation order. That’s why the lawyer said that Tina would end up receiving a probation order.”
Sonia bit her lip without commenting any further. A probation order? This is so ironic! All along, my intentions have been to send Tina to jail. I thought that I finally succeeded this time around, yet they are telling me that all she is probably going to get is a probation order! What could possibly be more disappointing than this? Sonia’s heart felt heavy, and her aura was no longer as strong as before. Carl and Charles both understood the reason for this.
They were both dissatisfied by the outcome, but they knew that it was how their nation functioned. Even if a mother were to kill her own daughter, she would only be sentenced to jail for up to five years. The outcome of court trials was, oftentimes, less than ideal.
Eventually, the trial came to an end. The result of the trial was as the lawyer had predicted—five years of probation. Within the five years, Tina wasn’t allowed to leave Seafield, and she would have to wear fetters that would keep her under police surveillance. If Tina attempted to commit any crime, she would be sent to jail.
However, if Tina played by the rules, she would be safe. She might even get the chance to reduce her sentence if she was a good citizen. In other words, Tina remained free despite being constantly watched by the police. She would go on with her life as usual—she simply wouldn’t be able to do anything illegal. Sonia couldn’t accept this outcome at all. She wanted to appeal the court’s decision, but her lawyer stopped her from doing so.
