Chapter 2
499 Words
Candy whipped her head around to stare at Sebastian.
"Seb, is... is what she said true?" she asked.
A flicker of panic flashed across Sebastian's eyes, but he quickly forced himself to look calm.
"Candy, don't listen to her nonsense! She's just a friend who came to me to vent about her troubles once."
At that, Candy's gaze snapped at me, immediately brimming with disgust and irritation.
"Dear "friend", I get that you might have grown dependent on someone who was nice to you, or even... built up wild fantasies about him. But get a grip, okay? Don't have a meltdown on a live stream."
The planted reporters in the audience immediately chimed in, jeering loudly.
"You can't take a sign language interpreter's word for anything! Put up real proof if you've got it!"
"Exactly! Who knows if you're putting on this whole act just to get famous? You're so desperate for clout it's sad!"
Countless stares, skeptical, mocking, judgmental, pricked at my skin like thousands of tiny needles.
Sebastian clamped down on my arm, trying to drag me off the stage by force.
I struggled against his grip, but it was useless. Despair crashed over me again, cold and heavy.
Just then, a deep, icy voice cut straight through the chaos in the room.
"Stop right there! Mr. Moore, let go of my client immediately!"
The crowd parted, and a strikingly handsome man stepped forward.
He held up his lawyer's badge for everyone to see, then stepped in front of me to shield me.
"Ms. Watson, I'm sorry I'm late."
"Gilbert." I stared at his solid, broad back, and every tight, frayed nerve in my body instantly eased.
Sebastian's face twisted into a scowl. "Lawyer Langford? This is a private matter between us. You have no right to butt in!"
Gilbert flicked a cold, dismissive glance over Sebastian and the deathly pale Cindy.
"Mr. Moore, you shared a survivor's childhood abuse trauma on a public livestream without their permission. You are already suspected of seriously violating citizens' personal information rights and right to privacy.
"We've already compiled and submitted evidence and leads proving Ms. Candy Rourke used unfair tactics to get her role in the relevant departments, and we're officially moving forward with legal action!"
The second those words left his mouth, the entire venue burst into an uproar.
Gasps and frantic chatter exploded through the audience.
Cindy's legs buckled under her, and she almost crumpled to the floor. Sebastian froze stock-still too, all the blood draining from his face in an instant.
Finally, Gilbert turned his sharp gaze to the reporters who had been yelling for evidence just moments earlier, his tone rock-solid and unyielding.
"You've all been asking why my client knows every last detail of this case, and questioning her motives, right?
"I'm officially informing all of you right now: she is far more than just a sign language interpreter.
"She is Shiloh Watson herself, the victim of the 619 Case all those years ago!"
- Writer
