One down, many more to go

"We have frequented enough hotels for you to make your imaginations run wild. She knows I'm married with kids, but she was still willing to be my mistress. Why do I need to be brought here just because she decided to go back on our love? Besides, she's doing all these to gain back her husband's favor. Your honour, we both knew what we were getting into, so there's no reason why she should try to step all over me right now…" 

Manny Hansley continued to implicate Roxanne with his words, but surprisingly, she remained quietly seated. Nothing he said could get under her skin. 

When Manny was done, the judge and the few other people who were in the courtroom were rendered speechless. 

Just then, Roxanne got closer to Jim and whispered a few words into his ears. The lawyer looked at her with a new found admiration, as her words were enough to negate the impression Manny has created in everyone's minds. 

"Your honor, I have a question for the accused." Jim spoke up when he was invited by the judge. 

"My client mentioned that the share collateral agreement was only done out of her goodwill. Why then are you speaking about hotels? I want to know." 

Everyone listened with bated breaths, but the young man on the stands decided to pull Roxanne further down with him.

"Tsk! Out of her own good will? I wonder how many men have tasted her good will. Besides, why would you do so much for someone if there's nothing between you two?"

Manny didn't spare her any face at all. 

Roxanne was then invited to the stands. After stating her name and swearing, Manny's lawyer decided to tear into her defenses. 

"Ms Winslow, can you tell me about your relationship with Mr Hansley?" 

"He was my partner." The court went into an uproar at Roxanne's words. "I was angry with my husband, so I paid him to be my pretend boyfriend. We visited various hotels and tried to leave traces so my husband would find out and file for a divorce."

Lawyer Jim was shocked to hear her repeat the same thing she told him in his office earlier. 

"That's a lie. Even yesterday, you were in a hotel room with me." Manny Hansley spoke out in a panic. He couldn't allow the others to buy Roxanne's nonsense. 

"Ms Winslow, are you lying to this court?" Lawyer Jim asked, confused. It was his turn to question her, but didn't know what to believe anymore. His friend's wife wasn't someone he could vouch for, but he wasn't willing to build his defense on something, only to have the other side bore holes into his words. 

Unlike what he told her, there was a sure way to settle things quickly, but he only wanted to punish the young lady a little. 

"I wouldn't dare! If Manny Hansley claims I've been intimate with him, he should feel free to tell the court about my hidden tattoo. There is no way he won't notice it if I've truly been intimate with him like he claims."

Roxanne's words caused Manny to turn pale, and his mouth was even hung open. He had no retort for Roxanne's words. 

Before he could think of a comeback, Roxanne added, "The closest I got to this young man was the handshake we shared on the day we sealed the deal to piss my husband off. He never held my hand or even dared to kiss me-talk less of lifting a piece of garment on my body." 

With all eyes on Manny, Roxanne sealed the nail on the coffin, "Your honor, I would like to sue Mr Hansley for one billion dollars. He has trampled on my goodwill and tried to scam me. Not only that, but he's trying to discredit me in the eyes of my husband, with whom I'm trying desperately to make amends. Please help me find justice. I plead this honorable court…"

Roxanne skillfully began her waterworks, as everyone began to feel sorry for her. Even the judge felt like she only made a bad decision, and needed to be allowed to right her wrongs. 

Another reason why he also felt bad for Roxanne was that his daughter adored the supermodel, and always spoke about how no other model could be compared to Roxanne. Her picture was even in his dining room at home. He feared that if he didn't treat her fairly, his wife and daughter could skin him alive. 

"Approach the bench." The judge signaled for the two lawyers to get close, and it was at that point that Lawyer Jim presented all the anomalies in the bank's activities, as well as the contract clause that stated that Manny Hansley would hand over his company and all other assets that summed up to the cost of the loan he took. Failure to pay the loan meant that he had a fifteen percent penalty on top of the initial sum. 

Roxanne smiled at her antics of adding all the clauses that blocked the young man's exits. At the time, she only did it to ensure that the contract was reasonable. However, after her rebirth, she couldn't believe how stupid she was to overlook that. In her past life, such a clause was there, but because she signed the divorce and lost Sebastian's protection, Lawyer Jim wasn't in the equation. 

Aside from that, she lost a lot of money to incompetent lawyers, paid huge fines for breach of contracts, and finally got slapped with a lawsuit. Manny accused her of tarnishing his image, and ended up taking a million dollars from her. Roxanne didn't see any reason why she shouldn't up everything a bit by suing him for a billion in this lifetime. 

"All assets of Mr Manny Hansley are to be frozen until the bank is sorted out. Ms Winslow's shares are to be returned intact within an hour of this judgment. Also, if Ms Winslow wishes to sue Mr Hansley, that should be handled as a separate lawsuit. On this note, the prosecutors are charged to investigate Fortune bank as far as their involvement in this sham is concerned. This is my judgment!" 

With every word the judge spoke, Manny felt as though he was being slapped across the face with hot iron. He couldn't believe what just happened, so much so that he was shocked as to why his lawyer agreed to such a deal without taking his words into consideration. He only kept telling Manny that it was best to accept the court's ruling, and he was lucky he wasn't under arrest for fraud. 

Even though Manny was fuming, his lawyer was overjoyed to have shared a courtroom with the legendary Jeremy Masters. He even went over and shook the latter's hands in reverence. 

"I want to appeal this case in the high court. Everyone here has been bought over." Manny Hansley alleged, and the lawyer was glad the fool didn't shout those words. 

"If you want, I could pick up a pen and note down all your crimes. If I were you, I would think about the one billion dollar lawsuit that's coming up. Also, you need to find another lawyer. I'm no fool to step into court with a bulldozer anymore. Lawyer Jim may be the best, but I also have a reputation to protect." 

The lawyer was out of the courtroom before Manny could even recover. He still hasn't come to terms with how fast everything moved. 

Seeing Roxanne sit so calmly beside Lawyer Jim, while taking selfies with the people in the courtroom, Manny felt bitter. He was losing everything, yet, a few tearful words from her already sealed his fate. 

"Can I go now?" Roxanne asked Lawyer Jim, who responded, with a mere nod. She wanted to ask him how things would proceed, but chose to trust in her husband's ability to put Lawyer Jim in check. "Please tell the judge I'll be available for a selfie with his daughter at any time." 

Roxanne left the place before Lawyer Jim could show his anger over her making him an errand boy. 

Meanwhile, all he saw was a wink from her before she rushed out with her shades in place. 

When Roxanne's eyes met Manny, she quickly looked away and muttered, "One down, many more to go…"