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All Chapters of The Final Defense: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Denver's POVThe second those words landed, I shoved the desk in front of Audrey Taylor over."Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound, Audrey?"My whole body trembled as I stared at the woman in front of me, as if I were seeing her clearly for the first time."You're actually blaming the victim for what happened. Are you really willing to throw away your professional ethics just to protect that student of yours?"Audrey froze for two seconds, startled by my outburst. When she recovered, the last of her patience was gone."And what gives you the right to stand there and lecture me, Denver Walsh?" Her brows drew together, her gaze ice-cold. "You're acting like an animal that's completely lost control, you know that?"Being hurt doesn't give you the right to accuse someone without evidence. If you're so determined to insist Talon was behind this, then prove it."I stared at her in silence. Suddenly, I felt nothing at all.What a joke.That night had become a nightmare that to

Chapter 2

The next day, when the doorbell rang, I'd already packed half my things by myself.I opened the door to find Talon standing there with a document envelope in his hands, wearing a shy smile."Hey, Denver. Professor Walsh asked me to bring over the trial materials."I didn't move. A chill crawled over my entire body as every emotion I'd forced down last night came surging back.My grip tightened around the doorknob. For one horrifying moment, I had the uncontrollable urge to wrap my hands around his throat.Talon seemed to sense something. He shrank back slightly before asking cautiously, "Denver, are you still mad at me?"Huge tears spilled from his eyes on cue. He looked so remorseful he might drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness at any second."I really didn't know something like that would happen... It was all my fault. I was immature. I just wanted to have someone scare you to get back at you. I deserve whatever happens to me..."I watched his performance coldly, my smi

Chapter 3

At two in the morning, the pain from my wound still hadn't stopped.Once I'd regained a little strength, I braced myself against the bed and stood. I barely made it two steps before my legs gave out again.Audrey still hadn't come home. I called her twice, but she never answered. In the end, I called a ride and forced myself to make it through the ER alone.One of the nurses took a single look at me and immediately hurried over to support me. "You're white as a sheet. What's wrong?"I forced myself to lift my shirt, revealing the blood-soaked bandages underneath.Her expression changed the moment she saw them, and she immediately called over another nurse.Once I was in an exam room, the doctor pressed an ultrasound probe against the wound. I flinched from the pain. He remained expressionless for a long moment before finally looking at me in surprise."Who treated this wound?"I froze. "I did."The doctor sighed, sounding exasperated. "With an injury this serious, how could yo

Chapter 4

Three days later, on the day of the trial, I still hadn't recovered.The surgery to remove my kidney had taken a serious toll on me, and a dull ache lingered in my abdomen.The courthouse bench was cold and hard. I kept my back straight and did everything I could to cooperate with Melanie.Not far away, Audrey stood at the defense table in a sharply tailored black suit, calm and composed, her voice steady. It was the version of her I knew best, the version I'd once been proudest of.In our six years of marriage, I'd watched her stay up all night poring over case files for her clients. I'd watched her methodically pick apart arguments in court and turn seemingly hopeless cases around.Back then, I'd always believed that someone who respected the law so deeply and cared so much about the truth would be the strongest person I could ever have in my corner.But now, all her expertise, insight, and eloquence had become weapons aimed at me.Her arguments were sharp. She acknowledged th

Chapter 5

Third-person POVThat evening, Audrey came home carrying a bouquet of lilies, something she almost never did.The outcome of today's trial had been exactly what she'd expected. Talon had cleared his name, and the case was finally over. She simply assumed that once Denver calmed down, their lives would go back to normal.But the moment she opened the front door, the icy early-winter air hit her. None of the lights were on. The entire house was unnervingly still.Audrey tightened her grip on the lilies as irritation surged through her.He was a grown man. Was he seriously pulling the running-away-from-home routine?She knew she'd neglected him lately. She also knew he still resented her for what had happened that night.But the law was the law. She'd won the case, which proved that her judgment had been right.Audrey frowned and tossed the lilies onto the entryway table.Before she could fully process the unease beneath her irritation, her phone suddenly rang. It was one of the

Chapter 6

Audrey released the door handle and went completely rigid, as if an electric current had shot through her.She couldn't believe those words had come from the same student who was always soft-spoken, shy, and polite around her.Even harder to believe was that Denver had been right all along. Talon really did have feelings for her that had crossed every appropriate boundary.Before she could fully process that revelation, his next words sent her world crashing down around her."That whole thing with Denver is finally behind me. I covered my tracks so well; no one's ever going to trace it back to me."The guy finally gave me the video he took that night, and I can actually show you guys now. You should've heard Denver screaming in it. It was freaking pathetic." Talon laughed. "God, watching it felt good."He shouldn't have called me the other man in front of the entire firm. Besides, the other man is the one who isn't loved, right? That old scumbag..."His voice abruptly stopped.

Chapter 7

Audrey shoved Talon away hard, sending his back crashing into the cold wall.She stared at the man in front of her, wild-eyed and nearly unhinged, and felt as though she were looking at a complete stranger—a terrifying one."From the beginning, I've only ever cared about you as my student. Don't project your fantasies onto me.""My fantasies?" Talon let out a shrill laugh. "When I was sick, you made me tea and brought me a heating pad. Was I imagining that?"You stayed up all night helping me prepare my proposals. Did I imagine that too?"You canceled a candlelight dinner with your husband to have dinner alone with me. Was that all in my head?"And don't forget what you did in court. You tore your own husband's testimony apart for me! So don't stand there now and pretend you're some devoted wife!"Every word struck Audrey like a slap. She wanted to explain that she'd only been looking after him because she was his mentor, but now, even she couldn't quite believe that excuse.Af

Chapter 8

Denver's POVAfter leaving Audrey, I picked up my brushes again.I'd once turned down projects, passed up exhibitions, and put my illustration career on hold for three whole years just to take care of her and our life together.Now I painted late into the night every day, filling every waking hour with work. It was the only way I could temporarily forget the pain in my body.However, the trauma didn't disappear.I became afraid of the dark. I flinched whenever an unfamiliar, imposing man came too close. And night after night, I dreamed about that rooftop.Two weeks later, I was diagnosed with PTSD.It was already dark when I left the therapist's office.I was carrying my medication toward the older apartment building where I'd rented a place when someone suddenly rushed toward me."Denver!"My whole body jerked. The bag of medication slipped from my hand and hit the ground.I had no idea how Audrey had found me.She'd lost so much weight that she barely looked like herself.

Chapter 9

From that day on, Audrey waited outside my building every day.She brought hot breakfast in the mornings, then flowers and personal safety items in the evenings. One apology letter after another appeared under my door, every page filled with regret and pleas for one more chance.I didn't read a single one.Whenever I went downstairs, I threw the letters and flowers straight into the trash while she watched."Denver, I just want to take care of you...""Stop trying to make yourself feel better and calling it concern." I walked right past her without breaking stride.A month later, Talon's case went back to court.Audrey turned over the recording, bank transfer records, and call logs, then testified herself. The man who'd attacked me also changed his statement and admitted that Talon had hired him.In the end, Talon was sentenced to ten years in prison. The psychiatric evaluation the other man had submitted in an attempt to reduce his sentence was also proven fraudulent, and he r

Chapter 10

The day the waiting period ended, Audrey and I met for the last time at the county clerk's office.She was even thinner than the last time I'd seen her, her eyes sunken. In one hand, she clutched the wedding ring she'd taken off long ago.The clerk asked us one more time whether we were certain we wanted the divorce."Yes," I answered calmly.Audrey stared at me for a long time before finally picking up the pen with a trembling hand and signing the divorce agreement.As she finished the last stroke, a tear fell onto the page, blurring the ink.Once everything was finalized, she followed me to the door, her eyes red."Denver, could I... hug you one last time?" She held out her arms, a desperate plea in her eyes.I stepped away. "No."Then I turned and walked out of the building. Sunlight fell across my shoulders. I didn't look back.That day, I finally ended the marriage that had consumed six years of my life and nearly destroyed the rest of it.After the divorce, Audrey volu

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