Chapter 1597: A fight for justice

"You are... fired," Cassandra stressed each syllable through the telephone. "I don’t want to see you here again."

"Miss Cassa—"

Without waiting for her lawyer’s response, she slammed the phone down. Her face was still streaked with lingering tears, her eyes swollen from crying. Still, she wanted to keep a brave front, even as her world continued to crumble with every passing second.

"Ki," she whispered. "Let’s do it your way."

Unlike her family—her helpless, reliant parents and her selfish grandfather—Cassandra knew she could only trust the one person who genuinely believed in her innocence. Someone who had never sought any benefit from helping her, only friendship.

Grace might do the job well. But at this point, Cassandra had no expectations. She simply knew that Kiara would be with her.

[If you’re still not convinced, then... we’ll keep looking, okay?]

Those were the words that stuck with her — we.

This fight wasn’t just Cassandra’s. It was Kiara’s, too.

"And... we’ll keep fighting from here on until the final verdict." She nodded to herself, swallowing all other emotions, holding on to just one reason: Kiara.

As long as Kiara was still fighting out there, then so would she.

---

Somewhere...

After grabbing a quick lunch, Kiara and Hugo made a trip to Grace’s office. Since Grace was out visiting a client, the two had to wait for her return.

"She has a lot of flowers in her office," Kiara commented quietly, watching Hugo as he stood near the display.

Hugo studied the flowers, even taking the liberty of checking the cards attached to them.

"I don’t think you should be reading those," she said, seeing that Hugo had gathered several cards to read.

"Why not?" he retorted, walking back to the couch to sit beside her. "Listen to this one."

Leaning back, he read aloud, "’To the most stunning and smartest woman I’ve ever known—I hope these flowers brighten your day.’"

Hugo grinned and held the card up for her to see. "Very romantic."

"..." Kiara pressed her lips into a thin line, staring at him. Then she snuck a glance at the card. Hugo quickly shoved it away and picked up another.

"’To Grace. I heard you signed another big client—congratulations.’"

He raised his brows, unimpressed, and checked the next one.

"’To Grace, I loved you the first time I laid eyes on you. Even now, I still love you. Every day, I long for you. I hope—this is disgusting.’"

He stopped mid-sentence, visibly irritated, and moved on to the next. But it was just as cringeworthy.

Kiara, sitting beside him, quietly observed his growing irritation.

"..." She pursed her lips, slightly curious. Is he and Attorney Grace... together?

To her, this looked suspiciously like jealousy.

It wouldn’t be surprising if Hugo and Grace were romantically involved. Maybe not officially, but with a mutual understanding. They looked good together, after all. And the way Hugo casually asked Grace to pick up the case showed how close they were.

Little did she know—it wasn’t jealousy that upset him.

It was the fact that these men were hitting on his future *aunt*.

How dare they?

But before Hugo could memorize all the names on the cards so he could "visit" them later, the door flew open.

"These fools—" Hugo stopped, nearly biting his tongue as Grace walked in.

She gave them a brief glance but didn’t stop. She strode to her desk, placing everything down except a thick folder.

"Hugo, put those cards back where you got them," she said casually, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other. Her commanding gaze lingered on him.

Hugo scowled at the cards. "If you don’t burn these, I will."

"..." Kiara stayed quiet, witnessing what felt like a minor couple spat. She watched as Hugo reluctantly stood and returned the cards to their place.

Grace turned her attention to Kiara. "I read your message about Cassandra Smith’s agreement. That was fast."

"Well, her plea for bail was denied," Kiara sighed. "That’s probably the last straw."

"I heard on the way here," Grace said with a nod. "Very well. Since I’m handling the case, I’ll give you updates as things progress. I might need a few details from you, especially those prior to Cassandra Smith’s arrest."

Kiara nodded quickly. "Anything you need. If I know it, I’ll share it."

"Good." Grace reached for the folder and slid it toward Kiara. "These are the case files so far. You’re not expected to analyze them, just get a better understanding of the situation. The trial hasn’t started yet, but there’s a good chance I’ll need you in court."

Grace didn’t beat around the bush.

Luckily, Kiara was trained to take in such information under pressure. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"But, Attorney, I have a concern," Kiara said, subtly glancing at Hugo as he sat down beside her. "Her lawyer already appealed the decision once, and again to the Limited Further Review. Can you still get her out before trial, or do we have to wait?"

After all, there were limited chances to appeal—once to the lower court, then a higher one. And honestly, Kiara had known from the beginning that reversing the judge’s decision on bail was nearly impossible.

Grace tilted her head. "You did your research."

"Heh... not really," Kiara muttered. "Just grew up in a household that’s really into law."

"I know." Grace shrugged. "But you’re right to be concerned. The first appeal was rejected, and for the second one, her lawyer tried attacking the police’s investigation, which the court dismissed."

She gestured toward the folder. "On my way here, I requested these files as her new lawyer to get a better look."

"So that’s why the second appeal failed," Hugo muttered, connecting the dots. "The lawyer questioned the police’s credibility."

"In some cases, that approach works," Grace replied sharply. "Not everyone with a badge does their job properly. But the detectives involved in this case did a thorough job. Check the report, and you’ll see—Miss Cassandra Smith had been under surveillance for months before her arrest."