Chapter 4

An edited recording was uploaded online.

The footage of me telling the delivery driver’s husband, “I’ll take this case,” was transformed into ‘irrefutable evidence’ of a lawyer first demanding exorbitant fees, then inciting the client to reject a settlement.

The last bit of public sympathy vanished.

My name became synonymous with “crooked lawyer.”

My personal information was dug up.

My home address, the schools I attended.

I turned off my phone.

Sitting in my half-empty office.

The door was pushed open.

It was Grandma.

She had come from the countryside.

Her hands were covered in cracked skin, with decades of ingrained dirt in her fingernails that wouldn't wash away.

It was these hands.

That had saved dollar by dollar for all my tuition, from elementary school to law school.

“I know what you’re doing.”

Grandma looked up.

Tears streamed down her face.

“But I’m scared.”

“When your dad left, the road… it was all shattered…”

“I… I didn’t even receive a single intact piece of his clothing…”

Grandma covered her mouth.

Her shoulders shook violently.

“I’ve already lost a son.”

“Alex, I can’t lose you too.”

“Let it go…”

I knelt down.

And held her hands.

“Grandma, this time is different.”

I looked up.

“Every debt owed will be paid, not a single one less.”

“Did you bring that thing?”

“I did, but I’m afraid…”

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

The next day.

The Campbell family held a public press conference.

The live stream started simultaneously, reaching over a million viewers within ten minutes.

Eleanor Vance was the first to take the stage.

Her prayer beads were replaced by a charity medal on her chest.

Her tone was gentle, her eyes filled with perfectly placed tears.

“I’ve done twenty years of charity work, built forty-three schools, and sponsored over two thousand underprivileged students.”

“We are all heartbroken by the delivery driver’s injury.”

“We immediately offered full medical compensation and lost wages.”

“But that lawyer rejected all goodwill, determined to drag this family into court.”

Her voice trembled.

“I just want to ask one thing: who is truly harming that delivery driver?”

The comments section exploded.

[Ms. Campbell is right! That lawyer isn’t helping the delivery woman at all, just using a poor person to get famous!]

[Could someone who’s done charity for twenty years be a bad person? It’s the suspended lawyer who’s full of dirty tricks!]

Ethan Campbell was wheeled onto the stage.

His arm was bandaged, his face pale.

He kept his head down, his voice so soft it seemed fragile.

“What happened that day… I know it was my fault.”

“I’ve been blaming myself ever since, unable to sleep at night.”

“I’m willing to take full responsibility and compensate for all damages.”

“But that lawyer… he doesn’t want money, he doesn’t want a settlement; he wants to send me to jail.”

He looked up.

Tears fell.

“I’m only twenty-four this year.”

“I just made a mistake…”

Eleanor Vance walked onto the stage, placing a sympathetic hand on Ethan’s wheelchair.

She took the microphone and scanned the audience.

“The law is not without compassion.”

“Ethan is still a child; he has his whole life ahead of him.”

“As a seasoned legal professional, and as a mother.”

“I will never allow anyone with ulterior motives to use public opinion to ruin my son’s life!”

*Bang!*

The side door of the venue burst open.

All cameras abruptly turned.

I walked in, step by step, wearing my lawyer’s robe.

“What a touching display of mother-son affection.”

“But why didn’t you protect my father like that back then?”

I looked at Eleanor Vance on stage, who was staring in shock, and spoke each word distinctly.

“My dearest, Mother.”