Chapter 22 Fighting to win
I was still sitting on the floor, wrapped in Carson’s arms, my body was sore, my heart still racing in response to the whole event.
Carson helped me up slowly. “We should clean up,” he said.
I nodded, my voice gone. Broken chairs, shattered glass, blood stains—everything around us looked like a war zone.
We cleaned in silence for a while, then Carson’s phone buzzed again.
He picked it up and stepped away to answer, while I sat on the couch, hugging my knees, when he returned with a dark look.
“What is it?” I asked.
He sat beside me. “It’s Fred,” he said.
“What about him?” I asked slowly.
Carson rubbed his face. “He was never running. He wasn’t scared. He played us,” he said.
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The files… the book… They were real. But he was never trying to help. He gave it to us so we could take the fall,” Carson said bitterly.
“What?” I said unsure of the reaction to give.
“He leaked a version of the story to the press—twisted it. Made it look like we stole the files, made up lies to get revenge on Greg and Victoria,” he explained.
“But… why?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Because he’s working with someone else. A new player. Someone worse,” Carson said.
“Who?” I asked quickly.
Carson looked me in the eyes. “The judge who handled your father’s case. He’s dirty too. Fred made a deal with him. They're trying to destroy the evidence before the court accepts it,”He said.
“They’re killing the truth… again.”I said.
Carson nodded. “But this time, we won’t let them,”he said.
There was a knock on the door. We both jumped. Carson grabbed the bat again, but this time, it was a different kind of knock—slow and polite.
I opened the door carefully. It was a woman in a black suit.
“Annabel Drake now claire?” she asked.
“Yes?” I replied.
She handed me a folded paper. “You’ve been summoned to appear in court,” she said. “This Friday. You are being sued for defamation, data theft, and illegal publication of private documents.”She said and handed the paper to me.
I froze, unsure of the best way to react to it.
I shut the door and turned to Carson. “They’re suing me,”I said.
He opened the paper and read it. “They’re suing both of us,” he said.
My eyes filled with tears again. “They’re trying to bury us,”I said.
“But they won’t,” Carson said. “Not this time. We’ll go to court. We’ll fight.”he added.
“But they have lawyers, power, money—” I said.
“We have the truth,” he cut in. “And we have each other,”he added.
I nodded slowly, trying to be strong.
“We’ll need a lawyer,” I whispered.
“I already called someone,” Carson said. “One of the best in the city. She hates corruption. She’ll stand with us,”he said again.
The next few days were slow but tense. We met with the lawyer—a smart, calm woman named Amelia Cross. She had short black hair, sharp eyes, and a voice that made you want to listen.
“I’ve seen the files,” she said after we showed her everything. “This is more than defamation. This is a cover-up of the highest level.”she added.
“So will we win?” I asked.
She paused. “You have the truth, yes. But the court is tricky and they will come hard. Especially now that Fred betrayed you. His testimony will be against you,”She said.
“But he was part of it!” I cried.
“He will deny everything,” she said. “And you need to stay calm. Speak only when asked, don’t let them twist your words.”she added.
I looked at Carson. He gave me a small nod.
“We’re ready,” he said.
Friday came too fast. I wore a plain black dress. Carson wore a dark suit. As we stepped into the courtroom, my hands were shaking again.
Greg was there, in a sharp grey suit, sitting beside Victoria, who wore black sunglasses even though we were inside. Fred was there too, pretending like he didn’t see us.
I wanted to scream, but I kept walking.
The judge entered and he was the same one from my father’s case.
“This is bad,” I whispered to Carson.
“Breathe,” he whispered back. “We’re not alone this time,”He said.
The trial started and Greg’s lawyer stood first.
“They hacked into private accounts, they stole information and they twisted facts to destroy a reputation,” the lawyer said, pointing at us.
When it was Amelia’s turn, she stood with strength.
“We didn’t hack. We were given the files by someone inside. My clients only did what any citizen should do when faced with the truth—they exposed it.”She said with confidence.
The judge looked uninterested, he looked away and called in.
“Did you ever ask them to share these files?” the judge asked him.
Fred smiled.
“No, sir,” he said. “They took them on their own. I only found out later.”He added.
I wanted to jump across the table and hit him because he lied so smoothly, with no remorse.
Carson gripped my hand tightly.
“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t let him win,”he added.
Then I was called and I walked to the front though my legs were weak, but I stood tall.
“Why did you publish the files?”The judge asked.
“Because they were true,” I said.
“How did you get them?”He asked.
“Fred gave them to us,” I replied.
“But Fred said he didn’t.”
“He’s lying,” I said.
“Why would he lie?”He asked again.
“Because he’s protecting the people who killed my father!” I shouted before I could stop myself.
The room went quiet.
The judge hit the table. “Order in court!”
Amelia touched my arm gently. “Let me speak now,” she said softly.
She stood and played the courtroom video—the original footage of Greg with Victoria, talking about framing my father. It echoed in the silent courtroom.
Greg’s face turned pale and Victoria dropped her glass of water with her shaky hands.
Then Amelia showed photos from the book Fred gave us—names, transactions, fake evidence.
The judge tried to stop her. “This wasn’t submitted officially—”He shouted.
“Because your office refused it!” she snapped.
There was a long silence but suddenly, one of the reporters in the room stood up.
“We just received confirmation—three more victims came forward this morning. The story has gone global,” he said aloud.
The judge sighed heavily. “Court is adjourned till further notice.”
Outside the courthouse, reporters gathered around us.
“How do you feel, Annabel?”One reporter said.
“Are you scared?”Another one said.
“What’s next for you?”Another one asked.
I looked around, “We told the truth. That’s all.”I said.
Carson held my hand tightly.
As we walked away, I saw Fred standing alone, his eyes met mine and he looked really scared now.
This was just the beginning of justice, of truth and of fighting back.
Together, Forever..