“Are you questioning my integrity?” Neville’s voice was ice-cold. “I suggest you research my background before you speak.”
“Dixon, shut your mouth!” Old Mrs. Adams snapped. Then, with a forced smile, she turned to Neville. “Mr. Buller, he didn’t mean it that way. How could anyone doubt your methods? Your reputation is beyond question.”
Neville grunted, not dwelling on the subject. “Can we begin now?”
“Of course, of course.” Old Mrs. Adams nodded gravely at Jamie. “Jamie, tell us everything that happened. Don’t hold back. If anyone here has committed a crime, I’m sure Mr. Buller won’t let them off the hook.”
As she spoke, her eyes bore into Kayden, as if she’d already decided he was the culprit.
Emboldened, Jamie nodded. His gaze flickered to Neville, then he began. “Last night, I was out drinking with friends. When we left the bar, I was heading home. Before my designated driver arrived, I tripped on the street. Next thing I knew, I woke up in excruciating pain. When I tried to move, I realized my bones were shattered. At the hospital, the doctor said it was a comminuted fracture. My only options were amputation or… death.”
His voice cracked. “I felt my life was over. I hit rock bottom. I’m young, I had my whole future ahead of me. But now… how am I supposed to live like this? It’s just-”
Neville cut him off decisively. “Get to the point. I understand your distress.”
Dixon, Jamie’s father, chimed in, “Yes, son, focus. Tell Mr. Buller how they broke your limbs. Trust in the Captain; he’ll see justice done.”
“That’s right, Jamie. The key details,” Old Mrs. Adams urged, her voice quavering.
Jamie swallowed hard and nodded. “When I was unconscious, I clearly felt someone beating me. The way they hit, the force-it was exactly like Kayden. He’s beaten me before, so I’m certain it was him. He broke my limbs and left. And the one who ordered him to do it? It must have been Georgia. They plotted this together to get rid of me.”
As he spoke, his eyes glared at Kayden, thinking, “You’re finished now.”
“Mr. Buller, this couple might look innocent, but they’re rotten to the core. They’ve targeted me before, especially Georgia. She schemed her way into leading Adams Group. Now, fearing I might take her position, she resorted to this brutality. You must punish them severely. Don’t let them get away with this!”
Neville was speechless.
Kayden and Georgia were silent.
Old Mrs. Adams, Jamie’s parents, and others didn’t know what to say.
Everyone in the room stared at Jamie, dumbfounded. He’d rambled on without providing a shred of actual evidence. They’d all listened intently to what amounted to nothing but hot air.
Neville’s expression shifted slightly. “So, you have no evidence? It’s all speculation?”
Jamie panicked, scrambling to defend himself. “Captain, how can you say that? Everything I’ve said is based on facts. In this family, Georgia and I have the biggest grudge. I’m her biggest threat, so of course she’d want to eliminate me, her main rival. Ask my parents, ask my grandmother-everyone knows how she’s targeted me.”
In reality, it was the opposite. Jamie had always been the one targeting Georgia, while she never retaliated. Jamie was the troublemaker, a fact obvious to all.
Met with silence, he looked to his grandmother and parents. Their faces were dark, leaving him at a loss. His parents lowered their heads when he met their eyes, while his grandmother’s gaze could have set him on fire.
Embarrassment! Jamie had utterly disgraced himself. Not a single word he’d uttered could be considered evidence. In essence, he was like a toddler, completely clueless about what constituted proof.
“Mom, Dad, Grandma, say something! You need to back me up here!” Jamie cried out desperately.
But the more he pleaded, the lower his parents’ heads dropped.
“The child’s faults are the father’s failures,” the saying goes. For the scion of a second-tier family to be so ignorant about basic evidence was beyond shameful. It was pitiful.
This was something even a middle schooler would understand, let alone a college graduate.
At this moment, how could his parents lift their heads, stripped of all dignity?
Neville hesitated, then chuckled. “It seems the Adams family’s education is lacking. A grown man who doesn’t understand what evidence means.”
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Adams wished the ground would swallow her whole. The shame was overwhelming. If Jamie became the family head, who would ever respect them?
“What a disaster!” Old Mrs. Adams screamed internally.
Seeing no one speak up, Neville continued, “Never mind. Let me explain to Mr. Adams what evidence means. Evidence is something that can definitively prove the guilt of the accused-in this case, Miss Georgia and Mr. Scott. Let me give you some examples. Evidence could be you personally witnessing who attacked you, recognizing them, and seeing them in action. Or, during the struggle, you might have gotten skin cells or clothing fibers from your attacker, allowing for DNA testing. Third-party proof like surveillance footage or eyewitness accounts also count. Footage is physical evidence; a witness is testimonial evidence. What you’ve given us is mere conjecture, not evidence. Do you understand now?”
Jamie looked bewildered but nodded vigorously. “I get it now. I understand. I have witness testimony. I have a witness!”
The Adams family members, who had all but given up hope, perked up at these words.
“Son, do you really have a witness?” Dixon asked, his voice trembling. He had hit rock bottom moments ago, certain Old Mrs. Adams would never forgive them for this disgrace. But now, a glimmer of hope sparked within him.