Chapter 9
Hearing this, Gavin collapsed on the ground, tears streaming down his face.
He had spent his entire life building an empire only to watch James destroy it overnight.
Just as I reached the door, Alice suddenly screamed behind me.
“Charlotte! You think you’re special, don’t you?!”
“The only reason you got to where you are today is because your mother does research work, so you had the opportunity!”
“You think you can steal everything from me? Look at yourself – do you deserve it?”
I stopped and turned to look at Alice.
She stood there with a stiff neck, pointing at me angrily: “I’ve hated you since childhood! Why do you always have to be first!”
It’s impossible! You must be cheating!”
Hearing this. I began to remember.
Alice was probably a classmate from the next class over in elementary school. From then on, she kept targeting me.
but back then, she didn’t seem to be called Alice.
didn’t respond, but this only made Alice angrier.
What? Don’t dare to argue back? I’m right, aren’t I!”
I thought being adopted by the Hawke family would let me live better than you!”
But then! You appeared again! To steal my brother from me!”
Why! Why you?! You’re a damn bitch! You don’t deserve to live!”
I regret it, I really regret not killing you when I was practicing suturing on you!”
Alice.” I stared at her coldly. “You’re so pitiful.”
Your entire life has been crushed by others’ talents and your own insecurity.”
You’re truly pitiful.”
ifter saying this, I ignored her roaring behind me and quickly left.
The next day, an anonymous whistleblower posted a bombshell tweet accusing Hawke Group of organized crime.
Then Hawke Group’s stock price hit the limit down at opening, with market value evaporating by over billions of dollars.
Multiple banks announced freezing of Hawke Group related accounts.
>artners withdrew investments one after another, suppliers demanded early payment settlements, and employees began leaving in droves.
justice came quite quickly.
Due to sufficient evidence collected by federal investigators, Gavin Hawke himself was arrested two days before James and Alice’s trial.
When James heard this news, he had a breakdown and smashed the door.
Without Gavin’s support, he no longer had any chance of winning the case.
Two days later, the trial began.
I was summoned to testify.
Chapter 9
In court. James sat in the defendant’s seat with empty, lifeless eyes, as if he had aged ten years overnight.
Alice still held her chin up with a defiant look.
The entire trial lasted over three hours.
Finally, the judge announced the verdict: James and Alice were guilty of intentional assault and sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
Each was fined $75,000.
Hearing the verdict, James completely collapsed in his chair.
Alice exploded in disbelief. “Impossible! I don’t accept this!”
I watched all this quietly, feeling no emotion in my heart.
Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent.
When I walked out of the courthouse, reporters surrounded me: “Charlotte! What are your thoughts on today’s verdict?”
stopped and smiled slightly at the camera: “I believe in the justice system.”
Three months later, my hand fully recovered.
couldn’t wait to return to the laboratory, carefully picking up the test tube. My hand was steady, without the slightest tremor.
it this moment, I knew I was truly back!
fter Gavin’s imprisonment, the Hawke family fell into decline while Charlotte’s family gradually solidified their power. Her parents presented her with a new
narriage prospect-Jaxson.
learing Jaxson’s name, she froze for a moment.
ut the first person she actually met was Jaxson’s grandmother-the woman who had scrutinized her with stern authority at that banquet-who reached out to er directly.
When Charlotte walked out of that meeting room, her workplace had shifted from laboratory to hospital.
1 week later, she stood in the hospital corridor wearing a crisp white coat, taking a deep breath.
he precision and composure she’d honed in the lab now served her just as well in the operating room.
ifter marriage, she threw herself completely into the demanding hospital work. Each day brought exhausting yet fulfilling challenges. Under the surgical lights
er skills earned her colleagues’ respect.
Every successful patient rescue filled her with unprecedented satisfaction and achievement.
Before she knew it, six years had passed since she and Jaxson wed.
But life was never peaceful,
Caroline and her son’s occasional appearances at the hospital or apartment sent sharp pangs through Charlotte’s heart.
Whenever she watched Jaxson treat Collin with such patience, smiling so tenderly, she’d briefly question whether her choice had been right.
Yet she understood that her true worth didn’t depend on Jaxson’s feelings for her-it lay in how she controlled her own life and career,
