Chapter 4

The night before the final trial, I received a call from Austin's assistant, Zach.

He told me that Austin had suddenly withdrawn our key anonymous witness from the court petition.

I couldn't believe my ears.

To protect Ashley's reputation, he was willing to sacrifice my father's entire case!

Clutching the witness files, I drove to Austin's office like a madwoman.

I threw the door open. Ashley was sitting peacefully on the couch.

Under the desk lamp, Austin was leaning over, patiently explaining how the opposing counsel might attack her in court.

The scene was so warm, yet so blindingly painful.

"Austin!" I slammed the files onto his desk. "Why did you withdraw our witness?"

He took off his gold-rimmed glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and spoke nonchalantly.

"That witness is too risky. His testimony could expose some of Ashley's past financial disputes, which would hurt her case."

He sounded so incredibly justified.

"But that witness is my dad's only hope of winning!" I screamed.

Austin looked at me with the smug confidence of a senior partner.

"Clara, you need to trust my professional expertise. Even without one risky witness, I have other ways to win this case."

Ashley stood up from the couch, her eyes red, putting on her usual helpless act.

"Clara, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt your father's case..." She paused, then added, "But you have the money to hire a top lawyer like Austin. Me? I only have Austin."

I stared at her coldly. "Ashley, look me in the eye and tell me: who is hurting whom here?"

Ashley froze.

Austin immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her. He glared at me. "Clara, stop being so vicious!"

"Ashley has severe depression. Any negative press could push her over the edge. Protecting her is a matter of basic humanity!" He used his grand moral high ground to justify his bias. "As a lawyer, I have to calculate all risks."

"Really?" I took a deep breath, forcing him to meet my gaze. "So my father's risk of losing his company and reputation is less important than Ashley's risk of facing public scrutiny?"

Once again, faced with a choice between me and Ashley, he chose to protect her without a single doubt.

Ashley stepped out from behind him, holding out a blessed guardian angel charm to me as a fake peace offering.

"Clara, please don't pressure Austin so much. He's already exhausted. Take this, it will bring your father good luck."

I slapped the charm out of her hand.

"Get lost!"

Austin's face turned ice-cold.

"Ashley already apologized to you! What more do you want?" He announced authoritatively, "The witness decision is final! I am the lawyer here. Stop trying to micro-manage my case!"

Looking at him, I suddenly lost all desire to fight.

I simply nodded, turned around, and walked out.

Behind me, I could hear Ashley's soft, victimized whimpering, and Austin's voice instantly switching back to that tender, comforting tone.

I leaned against the wall at the end of the corridor. My phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was my father.

I answered it, blinking back my tears, trying to sound cheerful as I told him everything was going perfectly.

At the other end of the hall, the elevator doors opened.

I saw Austin personally escorting Ashley out.

Through the car window, I saw the pendant around Ashley's neck, the one that belonged to me, gleaming sharply under the garage lights.