Public opinion exploded faster than anyone expected.
Online tabloids swarmed like vultures sensing fresh carrion.
Within hours, they tore into Lucas's background, slapping labels on him such as:
"Bankrupt lawyer."
"Zero courtroom experience."
"Walking career failure."
The rating for Carter & Associates — a two-person law firm — crashed from three stars to one.
The comments section turned into a digital wasteland of insults and mockery.
In a luxury apartment in Midtown ManhattanVeronica, wrapped in a silk robe and lounging in Zack Hayes's arms, scrolled through her phone while laughing into his chest.
"Hah! Zack, look at this loser. Lucas Carter — who the hell does he think he is?"
She snorted. "He really filed for post-conviction review? What a joke."
Zack glanced over, smirking with contempt.
"A nobody attorney in a dying firm? What trouble could he cause? Ethan probably gave him the last money he had."
Veronica's smile faltered.
"Do you think he… might actually have something on us?"
"What evidence?" Zack scoffed, grabbing her backside with a squeeze.
"You think he'd dare release your chats? That'd kill him professionally. Recordings? Impossible."
He kissed her neck.
"Relax, babe. This is guaranteed. He wants attention, but all he'll get is being roasted off the internet."
Veronica exhaled in relief — and then got an idea.
With a practiced motion, she opened her burner account and began typing:
Today, I saw the news again. That monster is trying to overturn the verdict.
Why is this happening to me? Why won't he stop hurting me?
Attorney Lucas Carter — do you have a conscience?
Or did you sell your soul to defend a rapist?
I'm terrified… so terrified…
She attached a selfie — teary-eyed, angled just right to highlight her fragility.
The comments erupted instantly.
"Veronica, we're with you!"
"That lawyer is trash! Dox him!"
"Someone drop his office address — we'll 'pay him a visit'!"
Another tidal wave of hate swept across the internet.
New York State Court of Appeals – Criminal Review PanelSenior Judge Samuel Quinn, early fifties, gray at the temples, adjusted his reading glasses as he flipped through Lucas's petition for review.
He did what he always did: jump straight to the conclusion.
"We request overturning both lower court rulings and a full acquittal for the defendant, Ethan Walker."
Judge Quinn's brow twitched.
Bold claim.
He skimmed the arguments. Most were standard: "insufficient evidence," "unreliable testimony," "procedural flaws."
He saw petitions like this every month — and rejected most of them.
He reached for his pen to write DENIED…
…and then his eyes caught a paragraph.
A dense, technical legal argument.
Lucas cited the Federal Exclusionary Doctrine, specifically the lesser-used provisions regarding coerced verbal evidence obtained through inducement by private parties.
Judge Quinn paused.
This was rare.
Difficult.
Obscure.
Hardly any defense attorney invoked it — fewer wielded it accurately.
But Lucas not only cited it… he aimed it with surgeon-level precision:
He classified Veronica and Zack's manipulation as illicit coercion, striking directly at the admissibility of the prosecution's core confession — the very foundation of the conviction.
If the confession falls…
The entire case collapses.
Judge Quinn leaned back slowly.
He had seen sloppy lawyers.
Arrogant lawyers.
Hopelessly incompetent ones.
But this?
This felt like the work of a rising predator.
"…Interesting."
He picked up his office phone.
"Linda, pull the full case file for Ethan Walker. Everything. Now."
The Internet Erupts Again — 8:00 PMA bombshell drops.
Dr. Lawrence Doyle, the country's top legal scholar, a renowned professor at Columbia Law, uploads a new video.
He appears on screen in a tailored suit, backed by shelves of thick legal volumes.
His tone is sober.
"Tonight, we discuss the Ethan Walker case."
"Regarding the petition filed by Attorney Lucas Carter —
I must be honest: overturning a finalized conviction is exceptionally difficult."
He breaks down the original judgment:
Victim's testimony
Medical report
Ethan's presence in her apartment
"The chain of evidence, as it stands, is self-consistent."
"There is only one real path to overturning the verdict:
producing entirely new, decisive evidence capable of destroying the chain of evidence.
Such as a proven history of false accusations…
Or recordings showing a consensual relationship."
"Without that, the odds of success are nearly zero."
Millions of likes.
Thousands of shares.
The internet seizes his words like ammunition.
"See?! Even Dr. Doyle says Lucas is delusional!"
"He's a clown!"
"What a career suicide!"
Carter & AssociatesLily stood frozen, staring at her phone.
Her idol — her hero — had just declared their chances "near zero."
"Boss… why are you still smiling…" she whispered, panicked.
Lucas took the phone, watched the video silently, handed it back.
He didn't even flinch.
"Dr. Doyle is an authority," Lily said shakily. "If he says it's impossible… aren't we being reckless?"
Lucas walked to the window, hands in his pockets, gaze lost in the New York skyline.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then:
"He's right."
He turned his head slightly.
"But he hasn't seen the case file."
A beat.
"And you did.
You saw all three pieces of evidence."
His voice turned razor-sharp.
"Or did law school teach you nothing?"