Chapter 1028: In Court (6) Hard Evidence
"You're talking nonsense!" Minerva's outburst caused her to collapse onto the plaintiff's seat. Excitedly, she pointed at Zeny, shouting, "You're talking nonsense! This is my original work! What does it have to do with Hannah Cooper?"
Zeny glanced at her.
"Quiet! Please be quiet, plaintiff!" the judge said sternly.
Minerva remained agitated. She couldn't allow anyone to discover the design wasn't her own. "I seriously suspect this person was bought by Besse," she declared. "What evidence does she have to prove this work belongs to Hannah Cooper? If it belonged to Hannah, she should confront me instead of sending some random person to spout nonsense!"
She'd heard rumors of Hannah's death—unreported widely, but mentioned at a class reunion—and that only her parents remained at Cooper Manor. Those close to the family knew. Hannah's absence, she reasoned, provided her with impunity in accusing Besse.
"If Hannah Cooper were here, I wouldn't need Ms. Hutcherson. I can't elaborate on the specific reasons."
"You're stalling! There's nothing you can't say clearly in court! I'm accusing Besse of plagiarism. If you want to accuse me of plagiarizing Hannah, she needs to be here!" Minerva insisted confidently.
"Miss Bird, I'm not accusing you of plagiarizing Hannah's work. I'm arguing you lack the standing to accuse my client of plagiarism," the defense attorney explained calmly. Accusing Minerva of plagiarism from Hannah would require a separate, unrelated case, easily dismissed by the court.
Minerva, unable to counter this, gritted her teeth, her emotions running high.
"Even without Hannah Cooper, I can provide evidence this piece isn't Miss Bird's original creation," the defense attorney said, turning to Zeny. "I understand you kept a video recording of the competition."
"I did," Zeny confirmed. "We'd agreed to broadcast it with TV stations, but for various reasons, it never happened. We kept the tapes."
"Did you bring them?"
"Yes."
"Thank you," the defense attorney said, addressing the judge. "Your Honor, may we play this recording?"
"Granted."
Minerva's composure crumbled, but she was powerless to stop the video's playback.
A familiar figure appeared on screen, causing Susan's eyes to well with tears. The sight of Hannah, alive and well, yet inaccessible, was unbearable. She'd had Manuel delete all videos of Hannah from her phone, unable to resist the temptation to watch them and further her heartbreak.
Hannah, young and inexperienced, in her simple high school uniform, stood out amidst the flamboyant fashion designers—pure and lovely. The image affected Susan, Manuel, and Theodore deeply. Theodore felt immense guilt; had things been different, he mused, the situation might have been very different as well.
Unnoticed, a man under discreet protection sat quietly in the audience, his gaze fixed on the woman on the screen.
The video paused on Hannah, smiling gently, holding a design sketch.
"This footage, from nine years ago, clearly shows Hannah, not Minerva, designed the Angel Series."
"I disagree!" the plaintiff's attorney protested. "Your witness stated the competition wasn't broadcast. How could my client have copied anything? That's more absurd than Besse not seeing my client's work in a magazine!"
"Mr. Simmons, you're overlooking something. Minerva knew Hannah early on."
The prosecution lawyer frowned.
"Miss Bird," the defense attorney asked, "is that correct?"
She remained silent.
"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. I have a witness to confirm your relationship with Hannah," he said, requesting the witness be brought forward.
"Even if Hannah and I were classmates, what does that matter? Why do you say I plagiarized her, instead of her plagiarizing me? Just because she published first?"
"Can I then argue my client, Besse, also designed it for a long time before publishing?"
Minerva's frustration mounted.
"Besse has no connection to my client. However, my client and Hannah were classmates. My client designed something Hannah saw and used in a competition. It's reasonable," the plaintiff's attorney argued.
"Is it? Let's examine Hannah's designs before and after the incident, and Minerva's as well. One glance will reveal who copied whom," the defense attorney countered.
He presented Hannah's designs, both before and after the competition, along with Minerva's. The Angel Series' style clearly resembled Hannah's, with no correlation to Minerva's work. The difference was apparent to both professionals and lay observers.
"Ms. Hutcherson," the defense attorney addressed Zeny, "as a top-level designer, whose work does the Angel Series resemble?"
"I can't deny it looks more like Hannah's," Zeny admitted. "When asked to testify, I studied Phantom's designs. Her skill level indicates she couldn't have created such sophisticated work herself. She must have copied."