The Trial

[DAY 7]

Inside a small room, a woman sat on a small bed. She was hugging her knees and her hair was disheveled. Her eyes were red and sorrowful, but she was not crying anymore.

In her mind, her grandmother was her first concern.

Was her grandma alright?

Was she feeling pain?

Maybe she's awake already? Was she looking for her?

'I'll definitely get you out...'

The voice of a young girl echoed in her mind.

She was very nervous today. But she believed in Bivia and Huo Dian, they would definitely get her out of here. Besides, that girl promised... How that girl would do that, she did not know, but she could not help but to believe.

Cling-clang.

She looked up and saw a guard opening the door.

"Miss Xiao Mei, I'll escort you out for your trial," the guard said.

Xiao Mei gulped and stood up. With handcuffs on her hands, she followed the guard out.

___________

After a closed ride to the court, she was led to a big door.

Four guards surrounded her. The one in front opened the door, and flashes of lights greeted her. She inadvertently closed her eyes.

The guard behind her pushed her forward, forcing her to open her eyes.

!!!

Xiao Mei was shocked.

'There's so many people... and cameras...'

As the trial was announced to be held in public today, many media companies went to cover the trial. The SHM, the root of all these, was at the back corner of the room.

Xiao Mei was led to the chair of the defendant side. In that area she saw her best friend, Bivia Chang. Her eyes lit up. Bivia would be her lawyer!

Lawyer Chang smiled, reassuring her. At the opposite side, in the prosecutor's area, she saw Huo Dian. Huo Dian also saw her, and nodded. She sat on her chair and Lawyer Chang held her hand.

"Don't worry, Mei Mei, we will clean your name," Lawyer Chang whispered to her.

"E-en." There was a lump in her throat. Her hands were sweaty. She looked at the witnesses' area of the trial. Most people sitting were reporters. Her eyes then traveled to the back rows. In the farthest corner, Xiao Mei saw a girl wearing a cap and a jacket. Even if she was far away, Xiao Mei had an inkling that the girl was the one who had promised to help her. 

Lawyer Chang saw her gaze.

"That's Xiong Zhi. Don't worry, we will win this."

The judges entered the room. After a while, they announced that the trial would begin.

The prosecutor stood up for the opening statement.

Huo Dian stated the crime that Xiao Mei allegedly committed and its punishment once she was proven guilty. Then, Lawyer Chang also stood up for the opening statement and told them that the defendant denied the accusations.

Next, the presentation of cases followed.

Prosecutor Huo Dian stood up again and opened the projector, a picture of a document appeared. He told them that this document was signed by the CEO's assistant, Xiao Mei, who was the one who received the diamonds that they ordered. He then called the witness, one of the managers from CJ who was in charge of the shipments of the diamonds they received.

Huo Dian began to ask questions.

"Are you the one who handed the ordered diamonds to Ms. Xiao Mei?"

"Y-yes."

"Before you handed it to her, did you touch any of the boxes?"

"N-no. They were all sealed. The only one who can manage or transfer them was Miss Xiao only."

"Did you see for yourself that Miss Xiao received the diamonds personally?"

"Yes."

"When she entered the storage room, was she alone?"

"Yes."

"Did anyone besides Miss Xiao handle, carry, or transfer the diamonds to the storage?"

"No. It was only Miss Xiao Mei, no one else."

"That's all, your honor."

Then, Lawyer Chang stood up to begin cross examination.

"You said, you are the one who received the shipments of diamonds, right? And saw personally that Miss Xiao was the one who transferred it?"

"Yes."

"Whenever Miss Xiao came to you for the transfer, did she bring anything with her?"

The witness was silenced for a moment. He looked at the audience area, where the president and the board of directors were sitting.

"N-no." He could only answer.

"Not even a bag or a handkerchief?"

The witness thought carefully.

"Nothing," he answered truthfully.

"Did you personally send her towards the storage area?"

"Yes."

"Did you also wait for her to come out?"

"Yes."

"When you waited outside, how long did it take for Xiao Mei to transfer the goods?"

"A-about two minutes."

"When she came out, did she carry anything with her?"

The witness opened his mouth but was unable to speak. He looked at the audience area again, then peeked at Xiao Mei at the side.

He gritted his teeth, and had no choice but to answer the truth.

"N-no. She was bare handed."

"That's all, your honor, thank you."

Whispers, murmurs, and the sounds of typing echoed throughout the court.

It was then Xiao Mei's turn. She sat on the middle chair and Huo Dian began to question her.

"How long did you work for CJ?"

"Almost a year and a half," Xiao Mei answered.

"For all the transactions of receiving the diamonds and transferring them, you handle them alone since the time you started working under CJ?"

"Yes, soon after I was hired."

"You are an assistant. Is it part of your job description?"

"As an assistant, no. But I cannot disobey my boss."

"Your boss? President Long? Are you saying he is the one who ordered you to handle the reception and transfer personally?"

"Yes."

President Long stood up from the audience.

What was this prosecutor doing?! He was supposed to corner her!

"So it's not your role to handle that job?"

"No."

Whispers, murmurs and typing once again echoed throughout the court.

Huo Dian got a box from his table and presented it to the jury. He then clicked for the next slide. A video and a picture of the transaction appeared. He played the video.

The video contained the monitoring wherein Xiao Mei personally delivered the orders to the staff, and the staff gave it to the customers.

Huo Dian said,

"This video shows to us that only Xiao Mei got the order, personally handing it over to the staff. The staff on the camera gave it to the customer. So the shifting of diamonds can only be done in the hands of Xiao Mei."

CEO Long who stood up began to sit down.

'Hmph, so he was only preparing for that.'

He began to calm down thinking that the prosecutor and the lawyer was on his side. 

While the chief on the other seat wanted to faint since the moment the lawyer and the prosecutor sat on their seats. Why were these two people here?! Where were the people he assigned?!

Huo Dian presented more evidences against Xiao Mei, such as her schedule that she was often gone during breaks and were in the storage room instead, personally handling all transactions for sale and her signatures to all receiving orders.

Hearing this, Xiao Mei was raging inside. All of those were not part of her work, but her boss always commanded her to do them, saying that she was the only one who could be trusted without her moving hands and feet. Xiao Mei felt a bitter taste in her heart. Those things that Huo Dian mentioned were all her hard work. She did not even get to have a proper break because she had to check carefully the diamonds that were received. 

Now, all of her hard work was paid by betrayal.

After Huo Dian finished, he sat back on his seat.

It was Lawyer Chang's turn to defend Xiao Mei.

She inserted a USB and a file appeared.

Seeing the file, President Long's eyes widened.

It was the first transaction file that SHM posted in the internet days ago.

"Hey, isn't that the first file that SHM posted? It was proven fake, right? Why did the lawyer present it again?"

"Perhaps, they don't have other evidences?"

"I think... the file that SHM listed was true. If it is not, why would the lawyer use it here, in front of the jury?"

There was another bout of loud buzzing whispers, flashes of cameras, and typing sounds inside the room. The jury had to silence everyone.

Lawyer Chang's goal was to tell the people that the file SHM posted was true. But since it was irrelevant to Xiao Mei for this trial today, she just grabbed this chance as to not waste the document, and also to emphasize to the people that CJ was truly conning them.

She even emphasized.

"As you see in this file, this transaction was signed by the president himself and the board of directors. I had it checked with the professionals, and there has been no signs of tampering. The documents are authentic. It means they approved of these transactions and allowed Miss Xiao to handle the receiving and transferring of the goods."

She then clicked on the next slide. It contained another video.

Inside the video, Xiao Mei appeared with the manager. They got the boxes and Xiao Mei entered alone inside the storage room with the boxes. Lawyer Chang then paused the video and continued speaking.

"As you can see, Ms. Xiao Mei did not bring anything with her and when she left, she also did not bring anything out. This also matches with the witness' testimony. Besides, the time consumed was only less than two minutes. How can she switch the diamonds without something on her and with such a little time? Not to mention, opening a packet, switching it, sealing it again in a precise manner."

Then she clicked on the next slide. The bank account of Xiao Mei appeared. Lawyer Chang just repeated what SHM said. She also added that she had investigated with the relevant departments that the defendant, Xiao Mei, did not have any other dummy accounts. She then presented other evidences that proved Xiao Mei's innocence such as the videos through her breaks, the money that she had, and the expenses as well since working at CJ Company among others.

Then Lawyer Chang presented a box of jewelry and a receipt as well as a certificate of ownership from the customer who owned it. She gave it to the jury and finally called a well-known jewelry expert to stand as a witness.

The court was silent as the expert studied the diamond necklace in his hand.

"This... Outrageous. It is fake." The expert frowned and shook his head.

Murmurs erupted in the court.

"Honorable jury, this diamond was released two years ago. It came from CJ Company during their promotional sale. So, this fake diamond, was it also switched by Miss Xiao who was still studying at college during that time?"

Then she clicked on the next slide.

It was another article that SHM posted, two days ago. She encircled the points that SHM said: 175/85 units, the miracle 90 units of diamonds, etc.

President Long who was listening could not hold it anymore. He stood up and angrily shouted.

"How brazen! It's irrelevant to the case! That's all fake! Judges! Prosecutor, you need to stop her! She's ruining CJ's reputation! That's libel!"

But no one listened to him. It just made the reporters around him more excited. Flashes of camera rained on him while the people at his side, the directors, pulled him back.

The jury frowned and ordered silence in the court.

President Long looked around, then his infuriated gaze landed at the chief.

'Didn't you say they are on my side?!'

He wanted to shout this at the useless chief. The chief tiredly closed his eyes and just turned away from him. 

Even he did not know about this!

Lawyer Chang did not stop and ignored President Long. She then brought out a file, put it under the machine projecting it to the screen and let the jury and the reporters look at it clearly.

Seeing the papers in Lawyer Chang's hands, CEO Long's jaw fell in shock. The board of directors were also unsettled.

'H-how did she get that!'

Lawyer Chang called up another witness. It was the representative of the GXX Company who delivered the diamond shipments to CJ Company.

The witness sat on the chair and Lawyer Chang began questioning.

"How long has GXX Company been in contract with CJ Company?"

"Fifty-five years."

"This diamond—" Lawyer Chang pointed to the diamond in the box.

"—is proven fake. It is from CJ Company two years ago, and as CJ's supplier of diamonds, it is logically from you. Do you deny this?"

"Yes! We never delivered fake ones."

The representative looked at President Long. The GXX Company did not have a choice. Their reputation would be destroyed if they did not participate in this trial. This fake diamond would be pointed at them. They had to clear their name even if they had to let go CJ.

"This transaction in my hand, is it the transaction you did?" Lawyer Chang said while pointing at the paper that CJ Company released.

The representative glanced at President Long indifferently.

'Don't blame us, since you also used our company, putting us at risk for making that lie.'

"No."

"You—!" President Long stood up again.

The audience collectively took in gasps of air, then flashes of cameras and excited whispers exploded in the court. Even the jury showed expressions of surprise.

This was almost a hammer signifying that the CJ's scandal was true!

If the other party said it's fake, then CJ was really over! That was a big crime!

"Is the one in my left hand your true copy of transaction?" Lawyer Chang was not yet finished. The left one was the file that SHM had posted.

"Yes, it is."

The noise had not yet quieted down when another bomb was thrown at them.

"Oh my gosh!"

"Then what SHM said is real! CJ is really deceiving us! Selling us fakes!"

"I even wore this bracelet that was worth three months of my salary to important occasions, don't tell me it is fake!"

"I need reimbursement!"

"Me too!"

The jury repeatedly silenced the crowd but the audience was infuriated.

Angry shouts were directed towards President Long.

President Long stared wide eyed at the paper in Lawyer Chang's hand. His eyesight was slowly getting faint.

'Why...? Didn't they say, they don't have time to investigate it? Why...'

Then he fainted.