Chapter 113: DISGUSTING EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION

Chapter 114

Lumi

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over as Neve’s confession settled into every corner of the courtroom.

The reporters stopped their scribbling just to stare at the witness stand in disbelief.

"I did that because of Callum..." Neve continued, her voice full of disgust as her eyes locked onto Callum’s pale face across the room.

"Callum came to me few days before before the incident, crying and begging like a dog for my help because he swore up and down that he still loved Lumi, that he made a huge mistake, and that he desperately wanted his family back.

At first I told him Lumi would never go back to him, but when he showed me pics of Ren and Lumi kissing in his office.

He knew how protective I was over my younger brother, so he deliberately played on my worst fears and my insecurities to make me push Lumi right back into his toxic, manipulative arms."

The lead prosecutor took a slow, deliberate step forward, resting his hand lightly against the edge of the polished wooden railing as he looked up at Neve.

"And why are you telling this court all of this personal information now, Miss?"

"Because I was a complete fool," Neve said, a single tear breaking free and trailing down her flushed cheek as she finally turned her head to look directly at me sitting in the front row.

"I watched the way my brother looked at Lumi, and I saw how Lumi looked back at him whenever she thought no one was watching.

She wasn’t with him out of revenge, and it certainly wasn’t some cheap game to heal her broken ego.

They genuinely loved each other, and when Lumi almost died at her mom’s abandoned building, I realized that Callum’s twisted lies almost made me destroy the two people I love most in this world."

She lifted her arm and pointed her finger directly at Sienna and Callum, her voice ringing out clear, sharp, and unwavering through the breathless room.

" Lumi never once cheated on Callum or seduced my brother. She was completely destroyed by these two selfish, monstrous human beings, and my brother was the only person who stayed by her side through the darkest nights of her life to help her put her shattered world back together."

Sienna’s perfectly composed expression completely shattered, her face flushing a dark, blotchy red with fury as her fingers dug so violently into the edge of the wooden table.

"Your Honor!" Callum’s lawyer sputtered, jumping up from his leather chair so fast he nearly knocked his legal notepad off the desk while waving his arms frantically toward the bench.

"This entire statement is nothing more than emotional opinion, hearsay, and dramatic speculation that has absolutely no place in a serious legal proceeding!"

"It goes directly to the defense’s fabricated claims of continuous infidelity, timeline fraud, and emotional instability," Judge Gabriel cut in sharply, his voice as hard and unyielding as iron as he looked down over his reading glasses at Sienna.

"Mrs. Reed, your desperate attempt to frame a violent, premeditated kidnapping and armed assault as a simple domestic custody dispute born out of an illicit affair is completely undermined by this witness’s sworn testimony. Step down from the stand, Miss, and let the prosecution call the primary victim so we can conclude this matter."

Neve stepped down from the witness box, wiping her red-rimmed eyes as she made her way back to our bench, and the lead prosecutor immediately gestured toward me with an encouraging nod.

"The prosecution calls the primary victim, Lumi Vale, to the stand to provide her direct account of the physical assault, the events leading up to her displacement, and the attack at the timber mill."

Ren’s large, warm hand gave mine a gentle, reassuring squeeze under the bench, his thumb stroking my knuckles to anchor my spirit before he slowly released his grip so I could stand up.

I smoothed down my clothes, lifted my chin high, and walked steadily down the center aisle into the wooden witness box.

I took the formal oath, placed my trembling hand upon the bible, and turned my gaze toward the gallery, deliberately ignoring the piercing, hateful glare radiating from Callum, Sienna, and my father at the defense table.

"Mrs. Vale," the prosecutor began softly, standing a respectful distance away so the full weight of my voice could reach the bench.

"The defense has claimed before this court today that you were acting out of bitterness and jealousy, and that your father, Arthur Vale, was merely attempting to mediate a private family dispute at your late mother’s property. Can you explain to this court, in your own words, what actually happened on that day?"

I took a deep, steadying breath, letting the cool air clear the heavy, suffocating fog from my chest while Astra’s warm, steady presence hummed quietly within my soul.

"After I was asked to evicted Neve’s apartment, I rented a hotel for few days. The proof of payment are already submitted your lord.

After few days, I decided to go check my mom’s abandoned apartment to see how much could still be saved, just as I saved her company after returning from the UK." My voice was clear through the silent room without a single tremble or hesitation.

"As I entered the living room, I heard footsteps and as I turned, I saw someone I haven’t seen for years.

That man right there." I pointed to my dad with a painful smile.

"The last time I saw him was when he left I and my mom years ago for a business trip and never returned. Even when my mom died, he never returned." I let out a scoff.

"Your honour, during those years, I never remembered I had a father. Ren and Neve were the only family I had. So I still don’t understand what Sienna meant when she said I was jealous of her.

I was never jealous because there was absolutely nothing to be jealous about.

When I saw my dad, he told me how he got married to my mom because he wanted her inheritance but then she gave birth to me.

He said he hated me for ruining his plan." I heard every one gasp. I tightened my palm, my nail digging into my flesh but the pain couldn’t compare to what I was feeling at that moment.

I glanced over at Arthur, whose hollow face had gone completely rigid and drained of all color as he sat slumped beside his attorney.

"After his confession, I realised he hated me and would hurt me. So I tried to run away but he caught me. He used a wood on me and I went unconscious. When I regain consciousness, he threatened to murder everyone I loved if I don’t write a suicide note. After that he made me take a substance. I had no choice because I didn’t want him to hurt my son Theo or Neve or Ren."

A horrified gasp rippled through the press gallery, and the rapid, frantic scratching of pens on paper immediately filled the heavy silence of the room.

"And why did he commit such a horrific act against his own daughter, Mrs. Vale?" the prosecutor asked, keeping his tone measured and precise for the court record.

"Because he and Callum had struck a secret financial deal," I answered firmly, turning my eyes to face Judge Gabriel directly.

"Callum wanted me completely out of the picture so he could take Theo away forever without facing a long legal custody fight, and my father was more than willing to sacrifice my life to secure Callum’s money and Sienna’s happiness.

If Ren hadn’t seen my at the time he did, I would have died right there on my mother’s floor." Callum’s attorney slammed his palms down on the table, jumping to his feet in a visible panic.

"Objection, Your Honor! The witness is offering wildly inflammatory accusations regarding an unproven attempted murder!"

"Overruled!" Judge Gabriel barked, slamming his gavel down with a sharp, booming crack that rattled the wood of the bench. "Proceed with your direct statement, Mrs. Vale."

"And when they realized that their attempt had failed to kill me, they lured Ren to the abandoned timber mill on the edge of town," I continued, holding my posture straight as I forced myself to recount the nightmare that had nearly taken everything from us.

A heavy, breathless silence settled over the entire gallery, every single reporter staring in absolute shock at the sheer gravity and horror of what we had survived at the hands of the defendants.

Judge Gabriel looked down over the edge of his bench at the defense table, his sharp eyes filled with profound disgust as he surveyed Sienna, Callum, and Arthur.

"Mrs. Reed," Judge Gabriel said, his deep voice dropping into a dangerous, icy register that made the entire room freeze.

"You came into my courtroom this morning spreading outrageous, theatrical lies that the victim was a bitter, jealous woman who fabricated a criminal story to steal a child, yet we have official UK adoption decrees establishing her absolute legal motherhood, sworn witness testimony exposing your disgusting emotional manipulation, and direct victim testimony outlining a cold-blooded attempt on her very life."