American Tax Officer

"All rise!"

In their thoughts, a court officer's shout brought everyone back to their senses, and those who were standing stood up while those returning to their seats did so.

Down the aisle, Nicola, dressed in a judge's robe, walked out and took her seat on the bench before announcing, "This court is now in session, bring in the defendant!" Stay connected with empire

From the other side of the aisle, Julie and the other celebrities were led out one by one by inspectors from the Western Suburb Branch.

Unlike most of the defendants David had dealt with before, those who arrived here either looked ashen or were panic-stricken.

However, when these celebrities were brought out, not only were they calm and composed, but they even greeted some of the socialites present, which clearly showed they were indeed top-notch performers, incredibly adept at managing their expressions and demeanor.

Once the celebrities were seated in the dock one by one.

Nicola on the bench first looked toward Julie and questioned, "Ms Julie, you are now suspected of being involved in a tax evasion case, do you acknowledge this or have any recollection of it?"

"Your Honor, I, Julie, have been in the film industry for many years and can honestly say I have never defaulted on my taxes to the IRS, not even for one day, let alone commit illegal crimes like tax evasion!"

Julie immediately retorted.

Her lawyer, Kerry, also immediately added, "Your Honor, here are my client's tax records, all documented and filed for your perusal."

The court personnel immediately presented the documents to the bench, and Nicola carefully reviewed them.

About seven or eight minutes later, she closed the folder, turned her head to David in the visitor's gallery, and said, "We now invite the prosecutor, Director David from the Western Suburb Branch, to come forward and present their case!"

David stood up from his seat, straightened his suit, and stepped down to the well of the court, saying, "Your Honor, I would like to call my first witness."

"Granted!"

Through the aisle, a man in his 60s was led out by inspectors from the Western Suburb Branch and made his way to the witness stand.

Seeing this man, Julie on the defendant's bench showed a flicker of recognition; she felt she had seen him before but couldn't remember where exactly.

"What is wrong, Ms. Julie?"

As a top lawyer, Kerry had to always keep control of the courtroom details. Noticing his client Julie's unusual expression, he asked vigilantly.

Julie murmured in response, "I seem to have seen this man before, but I can't recall where... "

"..."

Just as they were whispering to each other.

The old man in the witness stand began to speak, "Your Honor, my name is Temple Morgan, and I previously worked in a film crew!"

"A film crew?"

She said, seeming to remember having seen this man there; it wouldn't be surprising if he was part of the crew.

But then again, why would Director David call someone from a film crew?

Julie's expression changed uncertainly.

While she was lost in thought, Temple on the witness stand said, "Your Honor, what I wish to talk about dates back some time, to the year 1992."

Hearing Temple's words, most people in the courtroom were taken aback—as long ago as 1992 was over 20 years by then—why would the witness be talking about something so distant?

On the defendant's bench, the calm that had been on Julie's face slowly began to fade as if she was starting to remember something.

"Although the events are quite old, if your statements are true, you may proceed," Nicola said.

After receiving Nicola's permission, Temple nodded and continued, "Back in 1992, I was an assistant director, and since fund transfers were not as convenient as they are today, and for some other reasons, some producers and investors preferred to deal in cash. The film crew I was part of, called [Shadow Terminator], had one of the executives use cash for transactions..."

At this point, Julie seemed to remember something, a flash of grave realization passing through her pupils.

Kerry, sensing that things were taking a bad turn, immediately interjected, "Your Honor, I object to the witness's lengthy discourse on matters irrelevant to this case, and given the remote nature of these events— even if they are true—it's impossible to verify them, so they hold little significance."

"Lawyer Kerry, didn't you hear the witness say that the transactions were made in cash? As you know, it's highly important to check if taxes were cleared in cash transactions, and the film [Shadow Terminator] featured your client, Ms. Julie, as an actress. This cannot be construed as irrelevant to the case!" David countered.

"Since [Shadow Terminator] involves Ms. Julie's participation, it cannot be deemed unrelated to this case. Witness, please continue!" Nicola overruled Kerry's objection, and though he was reluctant, Kerry had no choice but to bite his tongue and fall silent.

"Yes, Your Honor!"

Temple collected his thoughts and went on, "As Director David mentioned, [Shadow Terminator] did involve Ms. Julie. It's true, she not only played the leading actress in the movie but it was also the first film she took part in her career!"

"The situation at the time was such: the executive brought a sum of money to the production team, about 1 million US dollars, which he used to pay our wages and bonuses!"