The side door of the courtroom slowly opened.
Under the watchful escort of two bailiffs, a thin young man with a sallow face and restless eyes was led inside.
The moment he appeared, a ripple ran through the gallery.
This man was Ryan Cole.
As soon as he stepped into the courtroom, his gaze darted around nervously, like a startled rat searching for an escape. When his eyes accidentally met Mark Donovan's warning stare from the audience, his body stiffened, and he immediately lowered his head.
The tension in the courtroom rose once again.
"Your Honor," Lucas Carter said calmly, breaking the silence,
"the defense requests to question the witness."
At the bench, Judge Sullivan struck the gavel lightly.
"Approved."
Before turning fully toward the witness stand, Lucas subtly shifted his position and lowered his voice toward Lily, who stood behind him.
"Lesson two," he said quietly.
"A lawyer doesn't win in court alone. The real battlefield starts long before the hearing."
Lily's fingers trembled slightly.
A rush of warmth crept up her spine, her cheeks flushing almost instantly.
Last night, she had stayed up until dawn, combing through every legally accessible detail related to Ryan Cole — financial records, public posts, timelines.
And she had found it.
His mother's sudden hospitalization the previous month.
Emergency cardiac surgery.
A crushing medical bill.
And then — perfectly timed — a $5,000 transfer from Mark Donovan, deposited the very next day.
When she handed the evidence to Lucas, her hands had been shaking.
Now, hearing his calm affirmation, all that exhaustion melted into something dangerously intoxicating.
Lucas had already turned back toward the witness stand.
"Ryan Cole," he said evenly,
"what is your relationship with Mark Donovan?"
"We… grew up together," Ryan replied hoarsely. "We're close."
"Did you make the extortion call to Ethan Walker?"
Ryan hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes."
"What did you use to disguise your voice?"
"Software."
"What software?"
"I… I don't remember."
"What phone model did you use?"
"I'm not sure."
The questions came one after another, precise and relentless.
Ryan's breathing grew uneven. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as his answers became slower, more confused, riddled with contradictions.
At that moment, the prosecutor — silent until now — suddenly stood.
Her gaze was sharp, her voice cold.
"Witness," she said,
"I remind you that providing false testimony in court constitutes perjury, a serious criminal offense."
She paused, letting the words sink in.
"Additionally, extortion and conspiracy carry separate felony charges."
Then her tone changed.
"However, the law also allows leniency for those who voluntarily confess and cooperate with the investigation."
Imprisonment.
Or mercy.
Ryan's face drained of color.
Lucas seized the moment and asked his next question, his tone almost casual.
"Ryan," he said,
"on October 29th last year — the day after you received that $5,000 transfer — wasn't your mother admitted to St. Mary's Medical Center due to acute heart failure?"
"Have you raised enough money for her surgery yet?"
The courtroom froze.
Ryan snapped his head up, staring at Lucas as if he'd seen a ghost.
No one outside his family knew that.
Fear swallowed him whole.
If he continued lying, this man would dismantle him completely.
"W–I'll talk!"
Ryan suddenly collapsed against the witness stand, sobbing uncontrollably.
"I'll tell everything!"
He pointed shakily toward Mark Donovan in the audience.
"It was him! He told me to do it!"
"He said Veronica Weiss had been ruined by Ethan Walker. He wanted money — said we'd scare Ethan into paying!"
"He bought the voice changer! He wrote the script! He said programmers were cowards and would definitely cave!"
Gasps rippled through the courtroom.
Ryan's voice cracked as he continued.
"When Ethan refused and said he'd call the police, Mark got angry. He said we might as well go all the way."
"He told Veronica to file a report and accuse Ethan of rape. Said once that happened, Ethan's life would be finished!"
The courtroom erupted.
Ryan wasn't done.
"Veronica knew everything from the start!"
"The three of us met at a café near Mark's place to rehearse our statements. We practiced how to cry, what to say, how to act scared!"
"She even said it was perfect — that it would force her boyfriend to give up on her completely!"
"Ah—!"
Veronica let out a broken scream.
Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into her seat, unconscious.
Mark Donovan's legs gave out. He curled inward, trembling uncontrollably.
Bailiffs rushed forward as chaos swept through the courtroom.
The live broadcast exploded.
Yet Lucas Carter remained still.
Cold.
Detached.
Watching the collapse of a lie he had already buried.
When order was barely restored, Lucas slowly raised his hand.
"Your Honor."
Judge Sullivan looked at him, visibly exhausted.
"I request a re-examination of the forensic injury assessment from the original trial."
A murmur swept through the room.
Lucas's gaze shifted briefly toward Zachary Kang, whose face had gone completely ashen.
"Because the evidence that convicted my client—"
He paused.
"—was fabricated."
The courtroom fell into dead silence.
"Yes," Lucas said calmly.
"It's fake."