Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Mrs. Ogden froze, her expression shifting as she turned to the sarcastic Hayden. "What did you say?!"

"Hey, your daughter went to the Dyer family's witness stand. Don't tell me... she's the witness Tina mentioned?"

Mrs. Ogden's voice turned sharp. "Impossible! She's my daughter. How could she side with outsiders?!"

Hayden sneered, his gaze filled with disdain. "Now you remember she's your daughter? Where was this motherly concern before?" "You-"

"Order in the court!"

The judge frowned, banging his gavel for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

All eyes turned to Pippa Ogden, standing tall at the witness stand. The judge's frown deepened as he observed her composure. "Witness, please deliver your testimony."

Pippa raised her eyes, briefly glancing at Mrs. Ogden, whose eyes were wide with shock. A faint smile tugged at her lips before she began. "Your Honor, my name is Pippa Ogden. I am the girl who was allegedly 'molested' by Mr. Dyers." "I can definitively say that Mr. Dyers is the best teacher I've ever had. He never molested me. Everything back then was a fabricated lie orchestrated by my mother, Mrs. Ogden, and Phil Walker."

The courtroom erupted in gasps.

Mrs. Ogden's fury broke loose. "You little brat! What lies are you spewing?! Get down here! After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?!"

Phil Walker, sitting nearby, couldn't contain himself either. "Pippa Ogden, are you insane?! Do you even know what you're saying? Get off the stand right now!"

But Pippa's smile only grew wider. She seemed to take pleasure in tearing apart the facade of Mrs. Ogden and Phil Walker bit by bit. "Of course I know what I'm saying. Your Honor, I was the victim. I know better than anyone whether Mr. Dyers ever did anything inappropriate to me."

Across the courtroom, Kylie Lambert's eyes narrowed coldly, her perfectly lined gaze flicking toward Tina. She hadn't expected Tina to find and bring in Pippa Ogden as a witness.

Kylie's thoughts raced, and she suddenly spoke up. "Your Honor, I've heard that Pippa Ogden suffers from severe depression. How can we trust the testimony of someone with an unstable mental state?"

Tina remained calm. "Miss Lambert, if you've read any books, you'd know that depression isn't amnesia. People with depression may lack energy, but their minds remain sharp."

Dexter, standing behind Tina, added, "Legally, there is no rule disqualifying someone with depression from testifying. Besides, this witness is the direct victim in this case."

Mrs. Ogden screamed, her voice shrill. "Tina, you and your group of scumbags! What did you do to my daughter? Your Honor, I demand a medical examination to see if they've injected her with drugs!"NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

She tried to storm past the officers holding her back. "Pippa Ogden, come back here! Stop causing trouble! I'm your mother-don't I know you better than anyone?!"

Pippa's voice was icy. "What exactly do you know? Do you know how to sell me to powerful men? Or how to turn me into a maid for you and Timmy?"

"Or maybe you know how to strip me of opportunities to enter a top university, falsely claim I have severe depression, and lock me in a psychiatric hospital? If it weren't for your latest attempt to frame Mr. Dyers, I might have spent my entire life in that dark, miserable place!"

The courtroom buzzed with murmurs.

"What?! She was sold to powerful men by Mrs. Ogden herself?"

"But Joseph Dyers is just a regular teacher! If he were powerful, would he still be in such a modest position now?"

"Is this girl even in her right mind? Who would publicly accuse their own mother?"

"She seems very clear-headed to me. Didn't you hear her say her mother falsely claimed she had depression? Probably just to cover up her own tracks. If I had a mother like that, I'd testify too!" "This is insane. I thought the case was over, but this twist just fried my brain!"

Even the court clerk, who was monitoring the online stream, couldn't keep up with the flood of comments. He looked up to rest his eyes, only to see Pippa Ogden standing tall as she spoke again.

"Mrs. Ogden, you should've known that the things you did to me would come back to haunt you one day!"

With Pippa denying the accusations against Joseph Dyers, it no longer mattered if Phil Walker brought in more witnesses. Dexter's eyes gleamed with the satisfaction of a plan well-executed.

The judge, clad in his black robe, prepared to deliver a verdict.

But before the gavel could strike, Phil Walker, consumed by desperation, broke free from the officers and lunged toward Pippa. "You ungrateful wretch! How much did they pay you? Tell me, and I'll double it! Why are you doing this to me?!" "Get away!"

Hayden reacted swiftly, kicking Phil Walker aside.

Pippa stood behind Hayden, her calm, steady gaze unshaken. She had been composed from the start, but now, as her eyes locked onto Phil Walker, a fierce hatred burned within them.

"Why? Mr. Walker, have you forgotten what you did to me five years ago?!"

She turned to the judge, her voice resolute. "Your Honor, I am now filing a charge against Phil Walker. Five years ago, he abused his position of power to coerce and molest an underage girl."

Her gaze then shifted to Mrs. Ogden, and her words came slowly, each one striking like a hammer. "And Mrs. Ogden-she was his accomplice!"

Elsa, sitting nearby, gasped, covering her mouth to stifle her shock. She leaned closer to Tina and whispered, "Is what she's saying true? How can a mother like Mrs. Ogden exist?!"

Tina's eyes were cold, her voice laced with disdain. "Elsa, there are all kinds of creatures on this planet. People like Mrs. Ogden and Phil Walker are just the scum of the earth."

Even she hadn't expected Phil Walker to be the true culprit behind everything.

Mrs. Ogden's face twisted with rage, her features contorted beyond recognition. "You little brat! I should've left you to rot in the countryside! I must've been cursed to give birth to such an ungrateful daughter!"

As the situation spiraled further out of control, Mrs. Ogden dropped all pretense of civility. Her hysterical outbursts only confirmed the lack of any genuine motherly bond with Pippa.

Hayden shielded Pippa, keeping everyone at bay.

The girl remained calm, ignoring Mrs. Ogden entirely. Instead, she turned to the judge.

"Five years ago, Mrs. Ogden sold me to Phil Walker, who was then a department head, for ten thousand dollars. But Mr. Dyers caught them and stopped it."

"Afterward, they somehow turned the blame on Mr. Dyers, accusing him of molestation."

Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a recording device. "I was forced to comply with Mrs. Ogden back then, but I secretly recorded everything. I've been waiting for the day I could expose the truth." "For years, Mrs. Ogden has imprisoned me, using the excuse of severe depression to lock me in a psychiatric hospital."