Chapter 2

Once I got a yes, I murmured a quick thank you and hung up.

Everyone at the law firm knew our history. The year Mom died in a car crash, Megan—who had already retired from the courtroom—stepped back into the game to handle my case.

Back then, I was just a nobody intern. She personally guided me through trials and handed me the best resources on a silver platter.

The year my career skyrocketed, she agreed to marry me.

I gave her my whole heart, managing her Calystron branch without ever asking for a dime in return. I worked myself to the point of throwing up blood and relying on medication just to cope with the crushing stress.

And yet, all that devotion meant nothing to her.

…

The next day, I arrived at Helmont alone.

Colleagues I used to work with were throwing strange looks my way. It felt like they were all waiting around for a circus to start.

Then, Edward walked up, looking like he owned the place, and gave me a smug smile. "Zachary, Ms. Mitchell gave me the presentation slot for today's demo negotiation. You aren't mad at me, are you?"

His eyes were glued to the thick stack of notes in my arms. I had ruined my health preparing these notes through the night.

I knew Megan doted on him, but I hadn't realized it went this far.

A dull ache flared in my chest, but in the end, I just handed the papers over.

As a fresh intern, Edward could barely stumble his way through the presentation. Yet, watching through the observation glass, Megan couldn't hide the fond, adoring smile on her face.

Meanwhile, as a senior pillar of this firm, I was reduced to picking up coffee and printing documents for Edward.

Whispers from the surrounding staff drifted into my ears.

"If anyone else messed up a presentation like that, Ms. Mitchell would've flipped the table."

"Right? She's never raised her voice at Edward. She treats him way better than her own husband."

One of them laughed and said, "Husband? In name only. She won't even pay the guy a salary. Guess she just likes the free labor."

"Hey, let's place bets on who takes home the Golden Cloud Award tomorrow. 50 bucks on Edward."

When the demonstration negotiation wrapped up, Megan walked over to me, absolutely beaming. "Edward did great, didn't he? I knew he had potential."

She couldn't hide the pride in her eyes.

But in the past five years, she had never praised me once.

If I hesitated for even three seconds in court, she would tear me apart at the company-wide meeting for being unprepared.

"Yeah," I replied flatly, then turned around to drop some files off in her office.

Frowning, Megan stared intently at my back as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

The moment the office door clicked shut, I clenched my fists tightly.

While organizing the documents, I saw a hidden video file on Megan's computer.

Compelled by some dark instinct, I bypassed the encryption. The next second, Edward's frantic, sobbing voice filled the room. "I didn't mean to hit Zachary's mother! The brakes failed, and I lost control of the car!

"You're the lead attorney on this case. You know how poor my family is. If I go to prison, they won't survive…"

The words hit me like a lightning strike, and my heart sank.

On the screen, after a long silence, Megan slid a liability waiver across the desk to him. "Sign it. When the trial date comes, someone else will take the fall for you."