Teresa and Jonathan couldn’t show up at the same time. Jonathan was the plaintiff, while Teresa was there as a family member of the defendant, allowed to observe the proceedings.

As for Teresa, she was only able to attend as a family member of the defendant, sitting in the gallery as an observer.

Jonathan had gone to meet Irene early in the morning. Before leaving, he told Teresa not to worry, saying it would probably just be a six-month sentence.

Irene was also set to appear in court. That meant Teresa would have to face Irene directly after giving birth to her second child.

“You made it,” Gary said. He had arrived early and was already sitting in the front row of the spectator section.

Teresa asked Gary if he had seen Donald.

“He’s coming, too?” Gary asked, looking puzzled.

Teresa nodded. “Of course, he is.”

Gary checked the time. There was still half an hour until the trial began, and he had no idea when Donald would show up.

The defendant’s seat was still empty. Jennifer still hadn’t shown up.

Gary glanced at his watch every now and then. “Why isn’t Donald here yet?”

“I don’t know,” Teresa replied. She’d talked to Donald earlier that morning. He said he was taking a taxi since his car was in the shop, and asked her to hold a spot for him.

Teresa told him there was no need to save a seat, just take her car instead. Her Porsche was still parked at the office, which was close to where Jennifer and Donald lived, so she never bothered to drive it back. Not having a car was a hassle.

“Thanks, Teresa,” Donald had said.

Teresa snapped back to reality, feeling puzzled. She thought, ‘Why isn’t Donald here yet? Driving over shouldn’t take this long. Did he seriously oversleep?’

Gary looked irritated. “If he really overslept, then there’s no point calling him. How could he sleep in on such an important day?”

Teresa frowned. “Maybe something important came up and held him up.”

Teresa tried calling Donald again, but still couldn’t get through.

“Just forget it,” Gary huffed, “If he’s not coming, he’s not coming. The guy has zero concept of time.”

It was time for the trial to begin. Jonathan sat at the plaintiff’s table, with Irene beside him, a partition between them.

Jennifer was escorted in from the entrance, her hands cuffed until she reached the defendant’s seat.

Jennifer’s eyes swept over the gallery, spotting Teresa and Gary. Her eyes wavered slightly, then drifted to the seat beside Teresa.

Her gaze dimmed, then softened with a trace of relief. ‘So, he didn’t show up,’ Jennifer thought to herself. ‘That’s fine, too.’

The judge entered, and the trial began.

“Defendant Jennifer, on February 8th of this year, while working at Nareigh Maternal and Child Health Hospital, took advantage of her position in the transgenerational inheritance department.

“During the father-son DNA test in the transgenerational inheritance department commissioned by the plaintiff, Jonathan, she swapped the DNA test samples, causing the test to show that the plaintiff and his biological son were not related.

“Later, after being transferred to Nareigh General Hospital, she used her role as deputy director of the gynecology department to forge the DNA test report for a second and third time.

“Her actions showed blatant disregard for the law, undermined the integrity of society, damaged the authority and fairness of the law, and caused a serious negative impact on the plaintiff’s family.”

Everything Jennifer had done was brought to light, one incident after another.

The past was still vivid in everyone’s mind. All those things she did, claiming it was all for Teresa’s sake. At that moment, everything was exposed in broad daylight.