Chapter 252

After he spoke, Latham drove off, leaving Albert coughing in the thick exhaust.

Albert’s eyes darkened. It was all Latham’s fault. Because of him, Dorothea was slipping further and further away.

Dorothea glanced at Latham’s sharp profile, a little surprised. “Her trial’s tomorrow p>

“Yeah.” Latham turned to look at her. “Do you want to go p>

“Of course.” Dorothea barely paused before answering.

Carola had been especially quiet these past few days. So quiet, it made Alonzo

nervous.

“Carola, don’t worry. Even if today’s verdict isn’t good, we can still appeal p>

Carola just gave a cold smile. “There won’t be another chance p>

Alonzo felt a surge of panic. “Carola, don’t say that. You’re going to be fine p>

“Alonzo, if something happens to me, would you help me?” Carola looked at him with hope in her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper.

He had never seen her like this before. Without thinking, Alonzo nodded. “Of course I’ll help you. You can count on me. I won’t leave you behind p>

Carola’s smile was small, but somehow it sent a chill straight through him. “Thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me p>

Something about that smile made Alonzo uneasy.

Dorothea took half a day off from work, doing her best to stay under the radar. She wore a mask and dressed as simply as possible, sitting with Latham in the very back row of the courtroom gallery.

The place was packed. This case—intentional harm through bullying-had drawn attention from everywhere.

Dorothea had made sure the whole thing blew up publicly. She wanted to keep Layton from pulling strings behind the scenes.

What really surprised her was that Elise didn’t show up.

When Carola walked in and took her seat at the defendant’s table, she glanced at

the crowd and spotted Dorothea sitting quietly in the corner.

Her eyes turned icy cold in an instant.

Dorothea was looking down at her phone, busy replying to her assistant’s message, completely missing that stare.

But Latham caught it and made a mental note.

The moment the gavel struck, Carola looked away, and Dorothea slipped her phone back into her bag.

“Prosecutor, please read your charges p>

The female prosecutor spoke with

clear,

They force. She laid out h Carola had bullied several grinder

sixteen for years, during high school.

“One of the victims, Ms. W, ended her own life during the college entrance exams,

unable to escape the trauma she’d suffered in adolescence p>

“Another, Ms. L, was so damaged by the bullying that she still can’t adapt to society and has been battling. severe depression for years. The harm done to her is beyond measure p>

“Because of all this, we respectfully request the judge sentence the defendant to at least ten years for these intentional crimes p>

Dorothea watched Carola, whose head was bowed so low she couldn’t see her face.

Back then Dorothea had only started investigating because she was tired of Carola’s harassment. She never imagined there would So many other victims

Those girls were still stuck in the shadow Carola had left behind.

Dorothea felt a wave of gratitude. She was lucky she’d seen the truth in time. If she hadn’t, would she have ended up just like them?

Beside her, Latham’s hand found hers. His palm was warm and dry, his thumb tracing gentle circles on the back of her hand.

Dorothea smiled softly.

She wasn’t the same girl she used to be. She wasn’t weak or scared anymore.

Now she had him.

If Albert and Carola had been the chains and darkness she could never escape, then Latham was the light guiding her forward.

Dorothea squeezed his hand, holding on tight. She wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.