" Exactly ! Who wouldn't be pissed off ? They make their living off this kind of heartless cash . How many innocent drivers have they screwed over ? " someone yelled . " Even if the so - called scammer's dead , she's still got family . We should force them to cough up every damn cent of that blood money ! " another voice screamed . " They should be humiliated , exposed for the trash they are . Let those scumbags learn their lesson ! " the mob roared . As the insults flew , a look of triumph washed over Declan's face , a satisfaction I'd never witnessed before . He'd handled countless cases before , big and small , but none had stirred up this kind of public fury . In that moment , he forgot that he'd been the one to distort the truth and smear the dead woman as a con artist . He forgot the reasons he'd become a lawyer in the first place - to chase justice . All he saw was an opportunity to be Sloane's white knight and to be worshipped as a defender of the innocent . He wanted the dead woman to be ruined , and he wanted me destroyed . Watching him like that made my mother go pale . She reached out and grabbed his sleeve . Declan , how can you say things like that ? " she asked . " Aren't you afraid your mother would be heartbroken if she heard you ? " Declan ripped his sleeve away and snapped , " Don't use my mother to guilt - trip me ! So what if she liked Thea ? That ioesn't change the damn facts . " le squared his shoulders . " I've made up my mind to divorce Thea . " I'm a lawyer , " he continued , his voice rising with self - righteous certainty . " My job is to uphold fairness and justice , and the court has already delivered a fair judgment . It's Thea who refuses to accept it . She's the one stirring up rouble . There should be zero sympathy for those who try to exploit the dead to shake people down for money , " he aid . " My mother is a woman who can distinguish right from wrong . I'm confident she would back my position . " He looked down at me with the smug certainty of a man who expected total victory . I took a steady breath and answered quietly , " Declan , are you really willing to trash a dead person's reputation and dignity just to shield Sloane ?" " It's not trashing . It's stating the damn facts ! " he proclaimed , completely convinced of his own righteousness . I nodded slowly , " Tine . State your facts . " " Mr. Ashford , " I said , " I only hope that one day you won't regret the garbage you're spewing today . " He snorted , looking at me like I was a total joke . " Regret ? " he said . " That word doesn't exist in my vocabulary . I will make wrongdoers regret their actions . " 13:08 Congratulatione Do 52204 Chapter 3 Turning to face the cameras , he pointed at me with undisguised contempt and announced to the crowd , " Look , Thea's still trying to threaten me . She's been defending that so - called scammer's honor in every single line she speaks . She's truly shameless . " Seizing the moment , Sloane chimed in , " You don't seem like a person who gets involved in other people's business , Thea . So why would you suddenly jump in to help someone who has zero connection to you ? Could it be that you two are in cahoots ? " " Otherwise , how else could she have been in exactly the right spot at the right time to get slammed by my car ? " she added , sounding shocked . " Could it be you orchestrated the whole thing , but it suddenly went sideways , and she actually got killed ? " " So that's why you've been clinging to me this entire time ? " she concluded . Her words landed like gasoline on a fire . The crowd , the livestream viewers , and the onlookers latched onto the idea . " That makes total sense ! " they yelled . " Why would she be so stubborn if it wasn't personal ? " Chapter 6 Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!