CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 141: COURT HEARING (SECOND UPDATE)

I found my title was wrong again; this is actually the content of Chapter 141 (Part 2).

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Simon Forrester stood behind her, his hands encircling her waist, his gaze burning as he looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Their heated gazes met and intertwined in the mirror.

Sienna Thornton was wearing flat slippers, standing only up to Simon Forrester’s chin.

She looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Her man had tidied himself up neatly and cleanly, the stubble on his chin and cheeks all shaved off, his thick brown hair brushed meticulously back as he did when working.

His features were deeply set, with a chiseled jawline, thick eyebrows, and a high nose; a pair of amber almond eyes were especially striking, as deep as the star-studded sky.

Right now, wearing the simplest white crew-neck T-shirt, he looked clean, pure.

Even though they’ve been in a relationship for over two months, almost always together, seeing him like this still made Sienna Thornton’s heart flutter.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

He lowered his head and kissed her cheek, whispering softly in her ear, "I’ve got you covered."

No excessive reassurance, just a simple yet firm promise, and real, reliable companionship.

...

At dawn, Simon Forrester immediately drove Sienna Thornton to South Bay.

Because it was a public trial and given that the case had stirred quite a bit of public opinion beforehand, the first day of the trial attracted quite a few media outlets.

As the car drove into the South Bay Court gates, before reaching the parking lot, Sienna Thornton saw some reporters with long lenses waiting at the high steps in front of the courthouse, seemingly ready to catch her for an interview.

She frowned in thought, considering how to slip in discreetly later, when Simon Forrester, having turned off the engine, took a new pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment and helped her put them on.

She came back to her senses and smiled, "I’m not a big star, why wear this?"

He smiled faintly, tucking her stray hair behind her ear and adjusting the position of the sunglasses, "You’re prettier than a big star; wouldn’t want those reporters to snap you."

As he spoke, he grasped her hand tightly with one hand, while the other caressed her nape, pulling her into his chest, resting her on his shoulder.

In angles she couldn’t see, his lightly disguised ease fell away, his eyes clouded with deep worry, but his tone remained gentle, "If we have to compensate, we’ll compensate; money can always be earned again. It’s not a big deal."

She softly replied, "Hmm," raising her hand to pat his back, saying, "I understand, I’ve adjusted well over this past month."

He wanted to comfort her further, but suddenly someone knocked on the car window.

She hurriedly released his embrace, glanced at the person outside the driver’s side window, her face flushed red.

Simon Forrester turned around to see Thomas Reed, opened the car door, and got out.

Thomas Reed looked at Sienna Thornton getting out from the passenger seat, his emotions complex, trying to explain, "Sienna, I’m sorry, Master can’t help you defend today."

Sienna Thornton smiled, "It’s okay, I originally wanted to defend myself."

But Simon Forrester didn’t see it that way.

He had previously asked Thomas Reed nicely for help, and Thomas Reed had agreed, yet he pulled this stunt at the last minute, forcing Sienna Thornton to face the case herself.

Thinking about this made him angry, he stepped forward, lowered his voice, and asked, "What threat did you receive, causing you not to dare to go to court?"

Thomas Reed’s face showed a moment of discomfort, he raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Are you paranoid?"

Simon Forrester glared at him with frustration, "I’ll settle this with you sooner or later!" With that, he went around to the passenger side and guided Sienna Thornton forward.

Thomas Reed followed, walking on Sienna Thornton’s other side, his expression restored to normal, "Remember what we discussed earlier?"

"I remember, Master." Sienna Thornton responded obediently.

After speaking, she looked up at Simon Forrester, seeing his jaw clenched and his expression not too good, she gently scratched the palm of his hand. He immediately tightened his grip, holding her hand back.

The two tacitly didn’t speak much in front of Thomas Reed but kept holding hands tightly.

As they reached the courthouse entrance, the reporters swarmed over.

The spare lawyers Thomas Reed brought with him stepped forward to block them while he and Simon Forrester flanked and escorted Sienna Thornton into the courtroom.

South Bay Court Civil Courtroom

Sienna Thornton sat in the litigation agent’s seat beside the defendant’s bench, which was empty as she insisted Maeve not come over.

Rochelle Linwood, as the assistant, sat beside her.

Across from them was only the plaintiff’s litigation agent.

So far, Sienna Thornton hadn’t even seen the parents of the two teenagers, nor had she had a chance to say "condolences."

At ten o’clock, the trial officially commenced.

The plaintiff’s lawyer argued two points:

First, the deceased were minors who registered with other people’s documents, yet the homestay failed to effectively verify their documents, directly provided lodging, and did not conduct room inspections during the deceased’s stay, mismanagement leading to this tragedy.

Second, the homestay did not activate the fire alarm, missing a chance for rescue, directly causing irreparable loss in this tragedy.

The plaintiff’s request was: for the homestay to publicly apologize for the deceased’s death and to pay 8.5 million in compensation.

Reason: The deceased was the only child in the family and had great potential in the tech field, a rising star. The plaintiff invested tremendous financial, emotional, and manpower in his growth and is now unable to bear children. The deceased’s accidental death caused significant emotional trauma and economic loss to the plaintiff.

Upon hearing the compensation amount, both Simon Forrester and Thomas Reed were somewhat surprised.

Thomas Reed hinted at Sienna Thornton to apply for a temporary court recess for deliberation, but Sienna Thornton did not agree. She seemed very calm, not showing any panic because of the sky-high compensation amount.

The trial continued...

Sienna Thornton refuted, "The defendant’s failure to effectively verify the deceased’s documents did violate relevant provisions of the ’Hotel Industry Security Management Measures,’ but this action is not related to the deceased’s suicide by burning. Furthermore, since the deceased used smokeless charcoal, which does not produce a large amount of smoke when burning, even if the fire alarm were activated, it likely wouldn’t have triggered an alert. Therefore, the alarm’s failure to activate is not causally related to the deceased’s death; in summary, the defendant does not constitute infringement."

The relevant written and physical evidence had already been submitted to the court.

She noticed early on that the deceased used smokeless charcoal upon entering the scene. At the scene, there was only a strong odor and no smoke detected.

Initially, she didn’t pay much attention to this, but later realized that the deceased’s family would sue the homestay, so she had Rochelle Linwood get the charcoal’s material test report from the police as soon as possible.

For more than a month, she prepared counterarguments for all possible claims the plaintiff’s lawyer might raise, far more than the two points presented in court.

The trial continues...

In court, Sienna Thornton spoke at a moderate pace, her tone gentle, presenting the facts logically and coherently, but never mentioning the most critical point—the most controversial aspect of the case—that both deceased were minors without civil capacity.

But this was only a deflection technique and naturally did not affect the judge and the jury; the real intention was aimed at the reporters and the general public in the gallery.