I had just wrapped up a domestic abuse case. The victim was in tears, thanking me over and over again. "Harper, if it weren’t for you, that monster would have beaten me to death!" Chloe sobbed. "Even if I have to mortgage my house and sell everything I own, I’ll make sure you get your legal fees." Knowing how hard her life was, I only charged her a token fee of a hundred dollars. But the very next day, she sued me. Sitting in the plaintiff's seat, her voice trembled with theatrical agony as she addressed the court. "I asked her to just help me teach my husband a lesson. But instead, she pushed for a three-year prison sentence just so she could pocket a massive attorney fee!" "What am I supposed to do now? What about my family? My child is only three years old. How is a stay-at-home mom like me supposed to survive? She is driving my family to suicide!" Standing in the defendant's box, I remained silent. I only leaned over to my assistant, Leo, and whispered, "Request a copy of the court transcript as soon as this session ends." Chloe had probably forgotten one crucial thing. I am an elite defense attorney. I haven’t lost a single case since the day I passed the bar. Since I was strong enough to drag her out of her living hell, I was more than strong enough to send her right back down. **1** When I received the court summons, Leo was carefully hanging a custom engraved plaque on my office wall. It read: *A Beacon of Justice.* "Harper, look at this. Is this spot okay? It looks so professional!" Leo turned around, his face beaming with excitement, waiting for my approval. I gripped the thin piece of paper, my knuckles turning white. The name in the plaintiff column, *Chloe Miller*, felt like a slap in the face. Just yesterday, this woman was holding my hands, weeping and calling me her savior. Today, she was dragging me to court. Noticing my pale face, Leo walked over. "Harper, what’s wrong?" His eyes fell on the summons. His voice died in his throat, his smile instantly freezing. "This... this is a joke, right? Chloe is suing you? Has she lost her mind?!" I didn't say a word. I just tossed the paper onto my desk and stared at the plaque on the wall. "A Beacon of Justice?" The corner of my mouth twitched into a cold, quiet sneer. "Even King Solomon would have thrown his crown on the ground if he had to deal with someone like her." The lawsuit was ridiculous, but the internet moved faster than the law. In less than twelve hours, a video went viral across all social media platforms. The headline was incredibly clickbaity: *Elite Attorney Ruins a Family Just for a Paycheck.* In the video, Chloe held her three-year-old child, sobbing uncontrollably. She detailed how her husband, Austin, had beaten her, and how she had desperately sought my help. But then, she spun the narrative. She claimed she only wanted me to help her get a restraining order to scare her husband. She claimed that I, greedy for a massive legal fee, had brainwashed her about the extreme dangers of domestic violence, manipulating her into pressing felony charges. "Attorney Harper Vance told me that the only way I'd ever be safe was to put my husband behind bars. She said it was the only way to get a huge payout." "I’m just an uneducated housewife. What do I know about the law? I believed every word she said." "But I never expected her to actually throw my husband in prison! He was the sole provider for our family. Now that he's gone, how are my baby and I supposed to survive?" "And instead of showing any mercy, she handed me a massive bill right after the sentencing. She demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. She threatened to foreclose on my house if I didn't pay!" "I have nowhere else to turn. I’m begging the internet to help me. I just wanted to protect my family. What did I do wrong?" At the end of the video, she fell to her knees, clutching her child. Next to her on the floor lay a "exorbitant legal bill," which was deliberately blurred out. The comment section was completely toxic. [Holy crap! Is this lawyer even human? She's literally sucking the blood of a victim!] [I knew these lawyers were bloodsucking leeches. They'll do anything for money!] [The abusive husband is trash, but this lawyer is worse. She manipulated a helpless woman just to get paid.] [Boycott Harper Vance! The Bar Association needs to disbar her immediately!] My phone was ringing off the hook. The firm's front desk was flooded with angry callers screaming abuse at me. Before long, Marcus Sterling, the managing partner of the firm, called me into his office. **Chapter 2** **2** Marcus slammed his phone onto the desk. The viral video was still playing on the screen. "Harper! Look at this mess!" His face was red with anger. "Our firm's reputation is being dragged through the mud! We already have clients calling to terminate our contracts!" "In just half a day, we've had over ten major clients back out. We've lost nearly a hundred thousand dollars already!" His angry rant was cut short by his phone ringing again. He snatched it up impatiently. "Marcus speaking... What? Another cancellation? Fine, process the refund. Just try to keep them calm!" He threw the phone down and glared at me. "Marcus, this is a malicious frame-up," I said, my voice as calm as if I were discussing someone else's case. "A frame-up?" Marcus scowled. "Then explain the bill. How much did you actually charge Chloe for her case?" "A hundred dollars." "One hundred thousand?" "One hundred dollars. Cash." I looked him straight in the eye. "Knowing her financial situation, I personally waived my usual fee and only charged her a basic administrative filing fee." Marcus froze, completely bewildered. "Then why didn't you clear your name immediately? The public outrage is already out of control. A simple statement now will look like you're just making excuses or forging evidence." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Fine. I’ll have the PR team prepare a press release. You go prepare your defense. We need to clear this up before the first court hearing to minimize the damage to the firm." "Until then, I’ll try to shield you. You’re one of the most brilliant attorneys I’ve ever seen, Harper. Don’t let me down." He patted my shoulder. A wave of gratitude washed over me. "Thank you, Marcus. I won’t let you down." Tomorrow's press conference would be my first counterattack. ... Leaving Marcus's office, I saw my assistant, Leo, arguing heatedly with a few of the younger associates. "Harper is not that kind of person! You guys don't know the facts, so shut your mouths!" Serena, a newly hired intern fresh out of law school, spoke up self-righteously. "Leo, we aren't doubting Harper's skills. We just feel bad for Chloe." "Did you see her video? Her husband was their only source of income. Now that he's in prison, how is a housewife with a toddler supposed to survive? Don't you think Harper lacked a bit of... human empathy when she handled this case?" Another female colleague nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the law shouldn't be completely devoid of mercy. Sometimes a judgment might be legally correct, but it's socially devastating. As lawyers, shouldn't we consider the real-world impact of our actions?" Leo was turning red with rage. "You guys... you're talking from a place of pure privilege! Have you even read the case file? Do you have any idea how much of a monster that abuser was?" Leo grabbed his phone and pulled up photos of Chloe's injuries. He pointed at the screen frantically. "Look at this! Chloe’s face and arms were covered in deep bruises! If Harper hadn't stepped in, she would have ended up in a body bag!" Serena glanced at the screen, letting out a soft, mocking laugh. "Leo, anyone can Photoshop a bruise. If it was really that serious, why would Chloe turn around and sue her own lawyer? You're a man, so of course you don't get it. Men are the pillars of the household. When the pillar falls, the house collapses. It's the women and children who suffer!" "Then again, how could a man ever truly understand a woman's pain?" I stood a few yards away, listening quietly. This was the typical naive, fresh-out-of-college intern. Not only was she simple-minded, but she was also utterly useless. She didn't care about the facts. Armed only with a viral video and her pathetic "empathy," she chose to stand on a moral high ground to judge me. I didn't waste my breath arguing with her. I walked back to my office, shut the door, and dialed Leo's number. "Leo, come into my office." **Chapter 3** **3** Leo pushed the door open, his face still flushed with anger. "Harper, don't listen to those idiots! They're just keyboard warriors playing saints!" "Sit down," I said calmly, gesturing to the chair across from me. "Now is not the time to be angry. I need you to do a few things for me." Leo immediately sat up straight and pulled out his notepad. "Name it." ... The next morning, the moment I arrived at the office building, a mob of reporters ambushed me. "Attorney Vance! Is it true that you forced a victim's husband into prison just to secure a massive payout?" "Chloe Miller claims you took advantage of her ignorance. What is your response to that?" "There are rumors that you've been suspended by your firm and are currently under investigation by the Bar Association. Can you confirm this?" Dozens of microphones and cameras were shoved into my face, the camera flashes blinding me. I kept my mouth shut. With the help of security, I barely managed to squeeze through the crowd and enter the building. As soon as I stepped into my office, Marcus called. "Harper, is everything ready for the press conference?" "Yes, Marcus," I replied calmly. "We can begin." ... The press conference was scheduled for that afternoon. The journalists packed the conference room, eager to get the latest scoop. Once the cameras started rolling, I pulled up a video on the projector screen. It was the security footage of Chloe being brutally beaten by her husband in their hallway. The room went dead silent, filled only with her agonizing screams for help. The footage cut to the moment I arrived with the police to rescue her. I then displayed her official medical evaluation report. Under the diagnosis column, it read: *Severe internal bleeding and acute organ trauma.* This was the first task I had assigned to Leo. The reporters began whispering among themselves. "Wait, what is this? Chloe said she only had minor surface bruises. She literally had internal organ damage?" "Did she lie to us?" I paused the video and stared coldly at the crowd. "As you can all see, if I hadn't intervened that night, Chloe Miller would probably be lying in a morgue right now." I stopped there. The tide of public opinion was already starting to turn. But I wasn't in a hurry to reveal all my cards. A simple press conference was too small a stage for what I had planned. The real trial was in two days. Under the gaze of the entire city, I would deliver the fatal blow. For myself, and for Marcus who had trusted me, I was going to win this war. Unsurprisingly, by the next day, clips from my press conference topped the trending charts on TikTok and Twitter. The comment section under Chloe’s original video started filling up with doubt and criticism. She was panicking now. Within hours, she posted another video. "Yes, I was abused, and yes, it looked bad in the video. But what if I told you that medical report was forged? We’ve been married for seven years. How could Austin have beaten me that badly?" "If he had really tried to kill me, why would I turn around and defend him now?" The twenty-second clip instantly threw the internet into another frenzy. I watched the video, my brows furrowing. I was the one who had taken her to the hospital. I had personally handled her bills, and the doctor had handed the medical report directly to me. There was absolutely no way it was forged. While I was trying to figure out her angle, she dropped another video. It was a surveillance clip. In the video, a woman whose build and side profile looked remarkably like mine, wearing a baseball cap and dressed in dark clothing, was whispering to a doctor in a hospital hallway. When the doctor turned around, my heart skipped a beat. It was the exact doctor who had handed me Chloe's medical report. **Chapter 4** **4** The internet exploded once again. [I knew it! The medical report was fake! The great Harper Vance bribed the doctor!] [Unbelievable! I actually believed her yesterday! You lied to all of us, Harper Vance! Do you have a conscience?!] Angry netizens quickly doxed me, leaking my home address and personal number. Before I could even process the situation, a massive crowd of angry protesters gathered outside our office building. To keep the mob out, security had to lock down all the entrances. *Splat!* Someone threw a rotten egg, leaving a disgusting yellow stain on our pristine glass doors. Then came another, and another. Some extremists even threw buckets of manure, and the stench slowly seeped through the vents into the office. A few of the younger, more timid female colleagues began crying in fear. I walked out of my office and looked at my terrified coworkers. My fists clenched tightly. In the middle of the office, Serena stepped forward, her eyes red from crying, and pointed a finger at me. "Attorney Vance! Look at what you've done! Are you really going to stand here and watch everyone suffer because of your greed?" "How many of us came to this firm because we looked up to you? And this is how you repay us? You've dragged us all into this hell! Are you still the 'Beacon of Justice' they praised?!" "If you have even a shred of decency left, please... just walk out there and face them! This firm doesn't belong to you alone!" I bit my lip so hard I nearly drew blood. I couldn't even look Serena in the eye. I turned my head, only to lock eyes with Marcus. His gaze was filled with profound disappointment. My breath hitched in my throat. It felt like lead had been poured down my esophagus. I couldn't make a sound. "Marcus..." I whispered. He looked at the angry mob outside, let out a heavy sigh, and walked back into his office with his hands behind his back. Through the dirty glass doors, I spotted Chloe standing across the street. She tilted her chin up at me in a smug, provocative gesture, silently mouthing three words: `[Paywall]`
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