Chapter 3
Final hearing for “Pacific Industries v. TH Corp“-packed courtroom.
I sat at the defendant’s table, calmly watching the plaintiff’s side.
Nora was in designer everything today, hair perfect, radiating confidence.
Court began, and as plaintiff’s counsel, she spoke first.]
“Our core argument is that defendant TH Corp engaged in systematic contract fraud, with our evidence chain demonstrating…”
She was articulate, logical, sharp.
Every word she spoke had once been mine, hammered out during late nights and filed away in my most confidential documents.
I used to think that was lawyers sharing a commitment to justice.[]
Now I realized I was just being pathetically naive, and Marcus was the coldest thief of all.]
The really sick part? Marcus was sitting front row in the gallery.
Listed as an “expert consultant for Nora’s side, looking all professional in his expensive suit.[]
The way he looked at her was full of admiration and encouragement–like she was his greatest masterpiece.
He didn’t even glance my way. Like we were complete strangers.[]
Nora’s presentation earned approving nods throughout the courtroom.
When she finished, dead silence]
The judge looked at me:“Counsel for defendant, you may proceed with your response
Marcus had this barely–there smirk on his face.
In his mind, I was screwed, completely outmaneuvered
Nora shot me a victor’s look too.
I put away my phone and stood up, every eye in the courtroom on me.
Simple movement, but suddenly I was the center of attention.]
“Why you stand up?” the judge prompted
Marcus frown.
Nora also looked at me with this mix of scrutiny and confusion.[]
Instead of jumping into my response, I turned to the judge.]
“Your Honor, before I begin, defendant moves to examine plaintiff’s expert consultant, Mr. Marcus Sterling.”
My voice carried clearly through the microphone, calm and controlled.]
“Per court rules, we have the right to challenge the neutrality and credibility of expert consultants.“]
Murmurs rippled through the gallery.
I paused, letting my gaze cut through the crowd to land precisely on the man whose face was already changing color, then added:
“After all, Mr. Sterling is my husband.”
The courtroom exploded.[]
Dozens of eyes ping–ponged between me, Marcus, and Nora–shock, confusion
Ignoring the chaos, I plugged my flash drive into the court’s system.
Nora’s supposedly brilliant examination outline appeared on the big screen.[]
“Ms. Lopez’s strategy is indeed remarkably precise.” I said evenly, pulling up the document properties.]
“The logical framework is based on a very unique triple–evidence trap model.”
The screen showed creation time, edit history, everything.
Nora went pale.[]
I continued: “This model is my personal creation, never published anywhere.“]
“Perhaps Ms. Lopez could explain to the court the reverse engineering steps for anticipated counter arguments in this model?“||
Every eye in the room focused on Nora.
She stood there, lips trembling, unable to say a single word.
She was just the messenger–no clue about the theory behind it.
“Your Honor!” she suddenly cried out, turning to the bench looking all helpless. “Marc, I don’t know what’s happening, she’s attacking me, I didn’t plagiarize anything.”
What a perfect little victim act.
Marcus couldn’t sit still anymore. He jumped up and strode over to shield Nora, playing the righteous protector
He glared at me and hissed under his breath: “Harper! Have you lost your damn mind? You want to destroy all of us here?]
Looking at him like this, I almost laughed
Chapter 1
“Destroy?” I stepped closer, matching his low volume. “Honey, the show’s just getting started.“]
