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Miles Prescott calmly addressed Judge Williams upon the case resuming. He was calm as could be, fully confident.
"Your Honor, I would once again like to call my client, Ms. Stephanie McMahon, to the stand."
At the defendants' table, Vince's face displayed open confusion. He exchanged glances with Dana Finley, the attorney's face donning a matching expression.
Stephanie glanced over at them confidently, her back ramrod straight.
"Counselor?" the judge asked. "May I ask what this is all about?"
"My client has pertinent information," Prescott replied with a curt nod. "This information can completely obliterate the defendant's credibility... As well as that of his attorney."
"What?!" Dana practically shrieked as she bolted straight up from her chair. It seemed all of her previous composure had totally melted away. There was of course only *one* thing Stephanie McMahon could use against her. However, that had nothing to do with this case! It was sheer madness for it to be brought up, not to mention nobody's business.
"Ms. Finley, try sitting down and remaining calm!" Louise Williams ordered, banging her gavel for emphasis. "Another outburst like that and I'll find you in contempt of court!" The African-American woman fixed stern brown eyes on the lawyer. "Do I make myself clear?"
Finley swallowed hard, but her blood was positively boiling.
"Perfectly." She chanced a glance at Mr. McMahon as she straightened her suit skirt and sat back down. The WWE Chairman's head was downcast, but she could clearly spot the obvious nervousness he was feeling. If *her* credibility was shot, he would have to find a new lawyer for the case - and damn it, she was not about to lose!
"Mr. Prescott," the judge said, "I find this highly irregular... But you have me intrigued - I must know more." She shifted her dark gaze toward Stephanie. "Miss McMahon, you may take the stand."
The brunette stood up and calmly walked to the front of the courtroom and up to the witness stand. She took her oath, right hand raised solemnly, then seated herself.
Miles paced for a moment, then stood directly in front of his client and faced her.
"Now, Ms. McMahon... During the recess a little while earlier, you provided to me some very vital information about your father - the co-defendant - and his counsel."
"Yes, that's correct."
"To that end," Prescott continued, gesturing with his hands, "would you please share this information with the jury?"
Stephanie nodded.
"Well, as you all know, Dana Finley is my father's attorney..."
Amy perked up at the brunette's words, sensing where this was going. She looked up into Adam's eyes, her husband's expression expectant.
"... In fact, she has been his attorney for several years." The young woman paused as she shifted her gaze to Dana. The lawyer looked completely calm and cool, yet Stephanie knew that inside, she was anything *but*. And then, the other woman looked up, fixing her gaze on her. The eyes looking at her were hard and icy cold, the gray orbs unblinking and unwavering. If she'd been of any other type of personality, the brunette figured she would've been quaking in her boots right about now.
"And so, there was a night six years ago," Stephanie went on. "My father was having some legal troubles with a former employee... Naturally, he called on Ms. Finley."
"Of course," Miles said. "Go on."
"I was very much on my father's side in that lawsuit. The person suing him and the company was not someone I had ever seen eye-to-eye with." The brunette paused again, looking straight at her father, a sense of bitterness and resentment roiling inside of her. "The case was about sexual harassment. Kind of ironic, huh?"
"Objection!"
Everyone seemed surprised that Dana had spoken that word at that moment. When she realized that all eyes lingered on her, she explained herself. "That case is totally irrelevant to this one."
"Sustained," Louise Williams said, surprising several people. "Ms. McMahon, don't go into the specifics of that case... Stay on topic and tell us what happened involving Ms. Finley."
"All right," Stephanie said, nodding. "I'm sorry, Your Honor." She cleared her throat, then continued. "Anyway, because I fully supported my father during that time, I had done some research on his behalf... Trying to help him in any way I could," she explained. "And I uncovered certain information for him and went to give it to him on the night in question... Ms. Finley was there."
Adam tightened his grip on Amy's hand as he listened intently. Jay, on his other side, focused solely on Stephanie, taking in every last detail - the timbre of her voice, the perfect placement of every lock and strand of her hair, the clearness of her blue eyes, everything.
"When I entered Daddy's study, I..." She wrinkled her nose. "... I saw them. I *caught* them..."
"Ms. McMahon, you 'caught' them? And what exactly do you mean by that?" Prescott questioned.
"... They were having sex," Stephanie said, her facial expression finally changing and showing her true emotions. In fact, she broke down into tears at the disgusting, horrid, vivid memory.
An audible exclamationof shock resounded through the courtroom. Jay just about flinched at the young woman's reaction to her own words. He wished he could march right over to the brunette and console her.
"Order in this courtroom!" Judge Williams shouted, smashing down her gavel. As the courtroom grew quiet, she focused her attention on Dana Finley. "Counselor, I find your behavior to be quite unprofessional! Engaging in sexual relations with a client... And you," the woman continued, addressing Vince McMahon, "your actions are reprehensible! After everything I have heard in this case, I certainly hope the jury does the right thing."
The WWE Chairman swallowed hard and visibly, then averted his gaze from the judge. He couldn't really look anywhere - every eye in the courtroom was on *him*, and on Dana - including Chris Irvine's. However, the blond man's expression, unlike everyone else's, didn't show disdain but rather what he interpreted as amusement.
He could not *wait* until this case was over with... And he knew he was finished - just as Dana Finley was finished.