Defending Your Life Review Novels & Stories

"Are you hurt? The baby?" "We're fine. I lied to get you here. I'm sorry." Lucy clung to him, shaking now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Two agents moved to Grace Chen, cutting her restraints, checking her for injuries. She collapsed forward, sobbing with relief. Rachel approached Marcus Webb cautiously, weapon trained on his center mass. "On your knees. Hands behind your head." Webb complied smoothly, no resistance. "I'm not going to fight you. I shot Brad Carson in defense of civilian lives. Self-defense, justifiable homicide. Any lawyer will argue it successfully."

She looked up at Petra. "Defendant, your defense rests on two premises. First, you can perceive a bear's intent. Second, the bear's behavior was unforeseeable. "The first premise has been rejected by the professional opinion of a National Institute of Zoological Research representative. The second premise has been rejected by the dashcam recording. What you said in that car, 'It won't hurt anyone,' was not a whisper to your colleagues. It was a declaration made to 30,000 livestream viewers. Every one of them is a witness.

"He came willingly. He threatened us. In front of witnesses." "I know. But his legal team is good. Very good. They're arguing that the threats were self-defense. That he felt cornered. That he was protecting himself from vigilante justice." "Self-defense." I laughed. Bitter. "The man who murdered my entire family is claiming self-defense?" "Welcome to the American legal system." Alexandra's voice was wry. "Where enough money buys any narrative. Any defense. We need to meet. Today. Strategize. Figure out how to counter this."

“What if I killed him, Ethan? What if he’s dead? I didn’t mean to—I just wanted to stop him, to protect you, Vivian, Aiden. Oh God, what have I done?” Ethan’s hands gripped my shoulders, his voice firm, his eyes locking onto mine, a steady anchor in my storm. “Liv, listen to me,” he said, his tone calm but fierce, his hands steady, his resolve unyielding. “He didn’t deserve to live, not after what he did—breaking in, threatening Vivian, Aiden, you. You acted in self-defense, to save us. If he’s gone, that’s on him, not you. You did what you had to do.”

Once the security guards came over, she quickly broke free of Zachary's grasp and hid behind them. "Calm down, Zach. I really didn't know it was her. I was too panicked to see who she was." The passersby at the courthouse entrance saw the frightened Gigi hiding behind the security guards and the shaken Zachary who looked like he was drowning in regret. They were all curious to know what happened. Before I could speak, John angrily filled them in. Everyone was stupefied when they heard that Zachary had defended his first love and gotten her acquitted of all charges when she had killed his mother.

Her voice is steady when she speaks, but I can hear the underlying tremor that means she's fighting to keep control. Is something wrong? "That's not—I mean, self-defense exists for a reason," she says, her words carefully measured. "If someone is trying to kill you, or hurt you, and you defend yourself, that's not the same as murder. You're not the aggressor. You're trying to survive." There's my girl. The thought hits me out of nowhere, fierce and possessive and completely inappropriate given that she won't even look at me. But watching her argue for something she clearly believes in, seeing that fire spark back to life in her eyes...

The rumors surrounding her had painted her in an unfavorable light, and the disdain from the audience was palpable. Jamie, however, paid no mind to the negativity. With legal codes in hand and confidence in her knowledge, she stepped onto the stage and began her defense, her voice calm and commanding as she addressed the mock case. “During the altercation,” Jamie started, “evidence shows that the aggressor retained mobility and the ability to continue the attack. Miss Russell’s actions to neutralize the threat were necessary and should not be classified as excessive self-defense.” Her delivery was poised, her argument well-structured, as she advocated passionately on behalf of her client.

She informed me. I scoffed “I have a feeling that this is personal.” I shot at her. “Every case is personal, especially when someone’s life is at stake.” She retorted. “You are derailing from the actual issue, meddling in my life, and trying to accuse me of things you have no proof of! I’d like to see the search warrant that allowed you to g into my house and do whatever you wanted.” “Oh, you will get all the information you want in due time, but if I were you, I would focus on defending yourself from all these charges, Especially Jared’s death, that’s homicide and at this rate, you will get a death sentence.”

Winona “Unless it’s a damn taser and a bodyguard, you’ve got nothing,” he argued, like he truly believed there was no way I could be prepared if someone jumped me. “I take self-defense classes. Dante’s been training me for years. I’ve been in enough dicey situations to get out of most of the ones I encounter now. If not”—I shrugged and reassured him—“I’ll live. Because if I don’t, I’ll die, right?”

I’m hoping like hell today is the last day and it’s all behind me. It better be. I’ve been meeting with them every couple of days for months pawing over every single detail of not only what the humans have and are going to say, but what we want the narrative to be. Everyone that set me up is now dead so really, the only option is to say it was self defense. I know I’m hardly a straight arrow but dear Goddess, please don’t strike me dead for what I’m about to say when I testify. When the judge and jury are seated, my attorney calls Mona as my character witness. I can tell she’s relaxed, she’s more than ready.