thefictionvixens Chapter 592 - 563: Evidence as Solid as a Mountain
Chapter 592 - 563: Evidence as Solid as a Mountain
It was late at night, and Sienna Thornton and several lawyers were still in the conference room discussing the case.Simon Forrester had already left his seat for a long time. Ever since he saw the forensic report, he stood by himself at the floor-to-ceiling window in the conference room, arms crossed, unmoving as he gazed at the night view of Los Angeles outside.
Sienna Thornton was a bit worried about him. After taking a break from work, she stretched her limbs and walked toward him.
She stood with him in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, following his gaze to see the scenery he was looking at.
There weren’t many skyscrapers in Los Angeles, only a dozen or so rising in the city center. The dazzling city lights and the bright stream of cars made the city resemble a galaxy hanging upside down over the earth.
"What are you thinking?" she asked gently, tilting her head to look at him, "Talk to me?"
He came back to his senses and smiled at her, "I was thinking about how I could help."
"Tomorrow, why don’t you go to the company and take a look? They need you there. I can handle things here."
To her surprise, he did not object and replied with a simple "Alright."
Later, when they returned to the hotel, Simon Forrester didn’t mention Zane Forrester’s case at all. Seeing that the situation was still unclear, Sienna Thornton chose not to bring it up herself. Whatever she said at that moment would feel weak and powerless.
.
The next day, Simon Forrester dropped Sienna Thornton off at the law firm, leaving trusted individuals to assist her there, and returned to the Forrester’s overseas headquarters in Los Angeles himself.
Once he left, Sienna Thornton and the lawyers immediately plunged into discussing the case.
The initial evidence was detrimental to Zane Forrester, severely detrimental!
After his arrest, the police searched the hotel room where he was staying on the night of the incident and found a used condom containing his DNA, the victim’s hair on the sofa, and traces of the victim’s DNA under his fingernails.
The second witness of the case also confirmed that the victim received a call from Zane Forrester around ten o’clock that night and immediately went to his room, returning to her own room at three in the morning, her body covered in bruises when she undressed.
The prosecution believed that Zane Forrester had coerced the victim into a sexual relationship through violence, which was why his fingernails contained the victim’s DNA and the sofa in the room had the victim’s hair. They speculated that the condom containing his DNA was used during the interaction.
Now, since the victim was still unconscious, if she awoke and testified against Zane Forrester in front of the jury and judge, the case would be practically sealed.
Sienna Thornton stood in front of the softboard, arms crossed, frowning as she looked at the photos pinned on it.
The victim’s chest and abdomen were covered in bruises and swelling. The medical examiner believed this was caused by violent pounding, leading to broken ribs and internal bleeding. All the injuries were in places that could be concealed by clothing, so no one noticed her unusual condition when she returned to her room.
Sienna Thornton sat back down, repeatedly reviewing the case files.
After exchanging information and faced with solid evidence, the law firm’s partners probably felt that this case had little chance of success, so they assigned two more lawyers adept in criminal cases to assist.
"This hotel is really strange; the CCTV cameras just happened to be nonfunctional on the floor where Mr. Forrester stayed."
"And what if there were surveillance? Would the prosecution just show the footage of the victim entering and leaving Mr. Forrester’s room to the jury and judge?"
These words fell into Sienna Thornton’s ears, halting the hand that was writing on the paper. She retracted her pen, turned the swivel chair half a turn, looked at the photos on the softboard again, and fell into contemplation.
"The absence of surveillance might not be a bad thing..." she muttered to herself.
The other lawyers heard, and asked, "Thornton, do you have any ideas?"
Sienna Thornton turned around and sifted through the evidence materials, picking out the most damaging ones against Zane Forrester and laid them out one by one.
The other lawyers gathered around.
She gazed at those pieces of evidence, contemplating, pointing at the one on the far left, the DNA report of the condom bearing Zane Forrester’s DNA, "The substance in the condom is indeed confirmed to be the defendant’s, but is there a possibility that it was used by the defendant with someone else, not the victim?"
Her voice was not loud, partly due to exhaustion and partly due to uncertainty, making it sound somewhat like she was talking to herself.
The other lawyers chuckled, as deep down, everyone suspected that Zane Forrester did indeed commit the crime. Hearing Sienna Thornton speak like this, they felt she was being somewhat unrealistic in her desperation to exonerate her father-in-law.
The lead lawyer pointed to the second report and asked, "Then how do you explain the skin cells from the victim found under Mr. Forrester’s fingernails?"
Sienna Thornton did not immediately respond, pondering. She then looked at another report, taking out the photos for a closer look. The victim’s long, blonde hair was striking against the black sofa chair back.
She recalled how Zane Forrester would lean back on the sofa without concern, boldly speculating, "Isn’t it possible that the victim’s hair stuck to the defendant’s outer clothing first, and when the defendant returned to his room and sat on the sofa, due to static electricity in winter, the victim’s hair stuck to the sofa?"
Everyone thought her idea was quite audacious but didn’t have the heart to say it aloud.
Only the leading lawyer dared to question Sienna Thornton due to his authority. He smiled courteously and asked, "Thornton, you haven’t answered my last question."
"The victim’s skin flakes?" Sienna Thornton said, "Similar to the hair, could it be that the two had prior contact, leaving traces in Mr. Forrester’s fingernails?"
The lead lawyer was somewhat resigned and advised, "Thornton, I understand your eagerness to save your family, but these far-fetched speculations might provoke the jury and judge."
Sienna Thornton smiled, "We mustn’t overlook any possibility, right? If we give up, what happens to the innocent defendant?"
She reached for her coat, tidying up her personal items on the desk, "I want to go to the hotel where the incident occurred and take another look, I’ll be back later."
Perhaps because Simon Forrester had previously arranged it, a younger male lawyer also packed his things, "Thornton, I’ll go with you."
The two, along with the person arranged by Simon Forrester, headed to the hotel where the incident happened. Sienna Thornton wanted to see if there were any overlooked clues at the crime scene.
The car was stuck in traffic on the streets of Los Angeles. Simon Forrester’s person was driving, another lawyer sat in the front passenger seat, and Sienna Thornton sat in the back, gazing out at the street scenery, lost in thought.
Everyone believed Zane Forrester was guilty, even his own son, Simon Forrester, silently accepted this "fact," but having reviewed the evidence, Sienna Thornton had a sense that while the case appeared to have ample evidence, a deeper investigation revealed numerous questionable points.
Whether as a secondary lawyer on this case, a fair and just legal practitioner, or as a family member of Zane Forrester, before the verdict was out, she would choose to believe in her client. There was no other reason. What she had to do was to find every possible way to clear her client of the charges.