Turning Back to Emptiness

Chapter 5

Kevin's hand froze in the air as Hailey averted her gaze, pulling herself up with effort.

"Hailey…"

But she walked away without looking back, heading upstairs.

"Last night, Jane's lights were broken. I stayed to wait for the repairman with her, so…"

Hailey paused, then spoke softly, "That's your matter, Kevin. No need to explain it to me."

Her indifferent attitude stirred faint unease in Kevin, but he quickly dismissed it as a child throwing a tantrum.

"Have more of those limited-edition bags and clothes delivered in the next few days." After giving the instructions, Kevin left the house.

Hiding in the stairwell corner, Hailey heard every word. Leaning against the wall, she smiled faintly and put a finger to her lips at the maid on the second floor. Yet her reddened eyes betrayed the grief in her heart.

Hailey had assumed the police station incident was just Jane's scheme to frame her. She never imagined Jane harbored far more sinister intentions.

The video from that day was soon uploaded online, but selective editing obscured the truth. At first glance, it appeared Hailey had struck a victim to defend a molester.

Instantly, the video sparked fierce online outrage.

A: [How does someone like this qualify as a lawyer? These days, people will do anything for dirty money…]

B: [Like father, like daughter. Both are disgusting…]

C: [If she loves defending molesters so much, she'll learn her lesson when it happens to her.]

D: [Seconding the above—if I molested you, would you defend me too?]

E: [Anyone got photos of her dad? Or his address? Trash like this belongs in hell…]

Every time Hailey went online, she was bombarded with such comments. Some had even posted edited memorial photos of her.

Watching the constant stream of vitriol, she felt her heart wrench violently.

After seeing James's memorial photo for the umpteenth time, her composure finally shattered.

She slammed her laptop onto the floor. The crash drew attention from outside, and the door burst open to reveal Kevin, his breath still ragged.

After glancing at the broken pieces, Kevin coolly ordered someone to clean up the debris.

As he was about to close the door, Hailey demanded, "You know who's behind this, yet you won't stop them?"

"Hailey, they're exercising their legal rights. The video isn't fake, is it? I've said it before. If you'd gotten your father to confess sooner, things wouldn't have come to this."

After their heated argument, Hailey doubled down on finding evidence.

She couldn't believe there were no other witnesses, and soon word came from the police station.

With insufficient evidence for a molestation conviction, the police released him.

Hailey heard this as someone pushed her toward the door. "I told you I walked by but didn't record or see anything. Why's a girl like you working so hard to defend a p*****t?"

The person shoved Hailey out. Taken by surprise, she stumbled over something and fell backward.