In court, the trial related to the watering of the wheat was over. Several workers had confessed to their crimes in court. Just as the chief
In court, the trial related to the watering of the wheat was over. Several workers had confessed to their crimes in court.
Just as the chief justices were deciding to conclude this part, the plaintiff’s lawyer suddenly presented new evidence.
“I have new evidence to submit to the court!”
The Liji Group’s lawyer looked at the defense attorney for the workers with a strange expression. He didn’t know what the other party was up to.
In the trial just now, he had crossed swords with this lawyer. He was very skilled, had disrupted his plans several times, and had made some of his previous preparations come to nothing.
Now there shouldn’t be any problems between the two sides. What evidence was the other party going to submit?
Just as he was wondering what the other party was up to, the workers’ defense attorney submitted a new set of materials to the court and the judge.
“After the incident, the Golden Port police quickly identified the criminal suspects and soon arrested them.”
“After the interrogation, one of my clients, inside the police station, came into contact with an unidentified person.”
“He made a request to my client and offered some conditions.”
“Including, but not limited to, giving my client a large sum of money, helping him and his family move out of Golden Port, and settle in another place.”
“He promised to arrange a new job for him that could guarantee his family’s livelihood.”
“After paying so much, this mysterious person had only one request…”
At this moment, the Liji Group’s lawyer suddenly realized what the other party was about to say. He immediately raised his hand, “Objection, Your Honors, I object that the evidence submitted by the opposing counsel has no relation to this case…”
The judges glanced at the Liji Group’s lawyer and shook their heads. “Objection overruled. Continue.”
“Thank you, Your Honor!” The workers’ defense attorney looked at his opponent sitting opposite with a hint of mockery in his eyes and continued, “This mysterious person had only one request, and that was to have my client recant his testimony in court!”
The entire courtroom was in an uproar!
Because the social influence of this case was constantly changing, the media liked to report on these scandals of large companies, and more and more people were paying attention.
The Department of Justice believed that this case did not involve state secrets or anything of the sort, and coupled with the public’s desire for the truth, the case was being tried publicly.
Anyone, as long as they obeyed the court’s order, respected the judicial system, and there was an empty seat, could enter the courtroom in an orderly manner to observe.
Including reporters, who could also listen to the trial in the courtroom, but could not take pictures or ask questions, and had to maintain respect for the court and the judiciary.
So there were many people at the scene, and these people were also very clear about how vile a thing it was to ask a criminal suspect to recant his testimony in court.
The chief justice struck the base with his gavel twice, followed by a command with a hint of majesty, “Silence!”
The bailiffs also turned to look at the noisy crowd. In an instant, the courtroom fell silent. No one wanted to be kicked out at such an exciting moment.
The chief justice looked at the evidence in his hand, which included a police officer’s testimony, some eyewitness testimonies, and an anonymous bank account.
The chief justice put down these materials and asked, “The person who contacted your client, have you found him?”
The lawyer nodded and said, “We have already found him.”
“Is he here?”
“He can’t come!”
The chief justice frowned. “I have never heard of anyone the Supreme Court can’t summon. Even the president must come here when he receives a subpoena.”
“The Supreme Court represents the judicial system and the dignity of the judiciary of the Federation. No one is allowed to desecrate it, no matter who he is.”
He paused as he spoke. “I can issue an arrest warrant for him. Since he is unwilling to come on his own, then I will have someone escort him over.”
The chief justice had the authority to do so. From a certain point of view, at that moment in the court, he was the personification of the Federation’s judiciary.
Only then did the lawyer say, “Sorry, Your Honor, the reason he can’t come is that he has been silenced. A dead man cannot attend a trial, nor can he bring us anything.”
The court was in an uproar again. The Liji Group’s lawyer raised another objection, but it was still overruled.
The lawyer on this side began to narrate the whole process of the matter. “…My client, from multiple photos, has repeatedly identified the person who asked him to recant his testimony in the police station as a legal consultant from the Liji Group’s legal department.”
“At the same time, I noticed that in the past cases in which the Liji Group was involved, a total of twenty-nine witnesses recanted their testimony in court, providing extremely important help for the victory of the Liji Group’s lawsuits.”
“Objection!” The Liji Group’s lawyer stood up again with his hand raised. “This is slander, libel. I object that such irresponsible remarks should not appear in a trial that is unrelated to other cases.”
The chief justice looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded. “Objection sustained.”
Although it was sustained, the people had already been influenced by the lawyer’s words. They didn’t even need any evidence. They began to suspect that the Liji Group had really done this.
The worker’s lawyer provided a large amount of corroborating evidence to prove this fact. At the same time, he also mentioned another police officer involved, who had also been quietly silenced.
The lawyer repeatedly emphasized that this case involved a $4,000,000 breach of contract compensation, implying that the Liji Group, in order to save this $4,000,000, had gone so mad as to silence the insiders.
But the public was willing to believe this. They were willing to believe that this world was composed of conspiracies, and also willing to believe that the bones of those seemingly glamorous big shots were as black as ink.
The Liji Group’s lawyer didn’t want to admit this, but he couldn’t produce any evidence. On the contrary, the workers’ defense attorney was very well prepared. Various pieces of evidence were being thrown out, and he had already successfully won the trust of the court and the various circles of people who were observing.
Although this was only a part of the whole case, and the judges did not announce a verdict in court, after the trial, news came out from the Department of Justice.
The Liji Group, over the years, had used their formidable strength to bully the weak, using malicious litigation to drag many people into a vortex of litigation, forcing those with no ability to sue to respond, in order to achieve their evil goals.
This time they had even used such vile means, and were even suspected of silencing insiders. Although the Supreme Court and the prosecutor’s office had not fully verified the authenticity of this evidence…
But some powerful figures had already expressed their dissatisfaction with the Liji Group’s behavior. If the case leaned towards a victory for the Garden Company…
Then the judicial department would give the Liji Group a “punitive fine.” The amount of the fine would be between $20 million and $50 million.
As soon as the news came out, the stock price that the president had just managed to hold up with a few days of effort plummeted again.
A crisis of confidence, moral risks, legal risks…
A large number of problems were thrown at the Liji Group all at once. In addition, with the crazy hype from the financial hyenas during this period, within fifteen minutes of the news spreading, the Liji Group’s stock plummeted by nearly 6% again, setting a record for the largest drop in one hour.
The shareholders, investors, banks, and all the creditors who had just been appeased could no longer sit still.
This was not a small fine. A fine of 2% to 5% of the market value. This would very likely further erode the Liji Group’s cash flow.
Once the cash was in danger, and no one came to help, even if the Liji Group still had a lot of assets, there was a huge risk of bankruptcy.
The president fainted directly in his office, which made people even more uneasy and worried.
A company with a monopoly position in the industry, just because of a mere $4,000,000, had been pushed to the brink of collapse.
“Who would have thought that the Liji Group, which had made a big profit from grape futures half a year ago, would now become like this.”
Lance put the newspaper in his hand back on the table. In fact, at the beginning, he had only wanted to get his money back and give them a small punishment.
A giant had taken a big fall because of a hard pebble. Perhaps this was the price it had to pay for its arrogance.
“I hear that many farms have also started to sue the Liji Group. It seems they are about to fall.”
Luca, sitting on the side, talked about this with some excitement. He had never thought that a shell company could actually do this.
Lance shook his head. “Bankruptcy is impossible, but it will be dismembered again.”
“Capital is just that simple, pure. As long as there is a slight chance, they will pounce on it and devour it.”
Luca asked with some longing, “Then we…”
“Can we also…”
He was a little embarrassed to speak. Lance understood what he wanted to express and gave him a negative answer again. “In this feast, a small physique like yours, if you squeeze in, not only will you not get any food, but you might even be thrown onto the dinner table yourself.”
“So just watch honestly.”
“Before you are qualified to sit with them, the price of sitting in the wrong seat is much heavier than you imagine.”
Luca stopped talking and remained quiet.
He might not be worth much, but the Lawrence farm behind him was still of great value.
They could completely, after eating up the Liji Group, turn around and fabricate a crime of fraudulent transactions and contract fraud, and put Luca and the Lawrence farm on the dinner table.
Capital is pure. Because it is pure, it has no humanity.
Capital will not, because we are friends with each other, be modest with each other when there are disagreements and potential huge interests.
It will only use its understanding of the other party to directly trample the other party underfoot.
After a while, Luca continued to ask, “Then is there anything else we need to do?”
Lance glanced at him sideways. “If you want to see, I’ll take you with me then.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble you, Lance,” Luca said with some expectation.
(End of chapter)