Chapter 178

Bianca's eyes sparkled with a daring idea, completely unaware that her downfall was just around the corner.

As time ticked by, the courtroom staff filed in, signaling the start of the live broadcast.

The judge glanced at the three family reps, then at Isabella and her parents, feeling a wave of frustration. Family drama was the last thing he wanted to deal with because it was always so messy. Plus, having three family reps involved just added to the pressure.

Despite his frustration, the judge went through the usual formalities.

After confirming everyone was present, he turned to Jasper and Mia.

"Let's see your evidence," the judge said, cutting to the chase.

Jasper and Mia handed over a police report about their kidnapping and near-burial.

The judge sighed to himself. This wasn't Isabella's doing, and the evidence was weak-it mostly just looked like she'd ditched her parents to save her own skin.

He then turned to Isabella. "Isabella, got anything to say?"

Isabella nodded. "My parents mentioned in a video that the people who kidnapped and tried to bury them were from the Brown Family. Mr. Brown, the head of the Brown Family, is here. Maybe the judge could hear his side of the story."

The judge looked towards the audience, and Paxton immediately stood up, his face darkening. "This has nothing to do with my family. This accusation is completely unfounded!"

The judge felt a bit stuck. Paxton wasn't dumb; he wouldn't admit to something like this.

Jasper quickly stood up and said, "We might have gotten Mr. Brown wrong. After all, his daughter kidnapped my daughter once, so it's not like our suspicions are completely out of left field."

"You say my daughter kidnapped yours. Got any proof? These accusations are ridiculous!" Paxton angrily pointed at Jasper.

Even though Isabella always said Pearl had kidnapped her, she had no proof that Pearl was there during the kidnapping.

Plus, with Pearl's current miserable state, everyone saw her as a victim. Without evidence, Paxton's anger made sense.

The judge asked Paxton to calm down and then turned to Jasper and Mia.

"Plaintiffs, your daughter's kidnapping isn't part of this trial. Show me other evidence against your daughter," the judge said.

Jasper nodded and handed over a second piece of evidence, Isabella's travel records to Aurora Continent.

The judge's face fell. This was just as flimsy as the police report-not real evidence.

The judge knew Jasper was trying to sway public opinion.

The judge's decision needed evidence, but public opinion didn't. People would judge based on what they believed.

The judge looked at Isabella. "Isabella, got anything to say?"

Isabella nodded and stood up. "I don't see how my parents almost getting buried alive has anything to do with me. But yeah, I did go overseas to see my husband's family. What Mr. Taylor presented isn't evidence."

'Of course, I know this isn't real evidence. This is just a battle of public opinion,' the judge thought to himself.

At that moment, Juniper, sitting next to Isabella, stood up. "Your Honor, I have something to say."

The judge looked at her curiously. "Ms. Fox, what do you want to say?"

He knew Juniper and was curious about her.

As a skilled public relations professional, she expertly managed online public perception, often portraying involved parties in a sympathetic light to protect their reputations. But during Isabella's media storm, Juniper and her team seemed to have done nothing, letting public opinion brew, which was unusual.

Juniper smiled at the cameras. "As everyone can see, Mr. Taylor's accusations against Ms. Taylor are based on pure speculation, not solid evidence. His attempt to manipulate public perception and control the narrative through calculated ambiguity is highly irresponsible."

Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows. While it was common knowledge, saying them out loud was pretty bold.

Jasper jumped up angrily. "Madam, watch your words. These are facts, not baseless speculation!"

"You call those facts? Let's see if my next evidence qualifies as such," Juniper said, a smile playing on her lips as she produced a document.

"This document contains the call logs from the day Isabella was kidnapped. Before she was kidnapped, she made a call to the police and also received a call from her mother. During that call, Isabella mentioned her next destination to her mother, and then she was kidnapped." Juniper's words made everyone turn to look at Mia in astonishment.

Mia's face turned pale. She quickly stood up and said, "What are you implying? Are you suggesting that I would give my daughter's information to the kidnappers?"

Everyone looked on with suspicion. It didn't seem like something a mother would do.

A cold smile appeared on Juniper's lips as she took out a bank transfer record.

"Please take a look at this. Just 10 minutes after Isabella's call with Mrs. Taylor, $1 million was deposited into Mrs. Taylor's bank account, and the sender was Ms. Brown." Juniper's words shocked everyone again.

Mason stared coldly at Paxton, whose face also darkened.

"I just borrowed money from Pearl! That one million dollars was a loan and has nothing to do with the kidnapping," Mia insisted, her hands waving frantically. However, despite her protestations, the audience had already formed their opinions.

The judge finally showed some interest in the matter.

In fact, the call record and bank transfer provided by Juniper had no specific legal significance; they were also meant to sway public opinion. But Mia's claim that the money was a loan made things more interesting.

"Mrs. Taylor, you say this money was a loan from Ms. Brown. Do you have any records of this loan?" the judge asked, looking at Mia.