He Won The Case, He Lost His Family Chapter 04

He Won The Case, He Lost His Family Chapter 04

The argument ended with Graham walking out on our marriage.

He moved into Sienna’s townhouse and began living openly with her and Derek as if they were already a family.

I tried to use Sienna’s courthouse confession to reopen the case, but without a recording or physical proof, it was only my word against hers.

At the same time, I was terrified Tessa would learn that our final appeal had failed.

I decided to keep our original flights and take her away until the attention died down.

I packed two suitcases, picked up her medications, and returned to the hospital. Graham was standing beside her bed when I arrived.

The television displayed footage from the previous day’s hearing.

“You’re an adult, Tessa,” he said without mercy. “Your mother’s indulgence doesn’t give you the right to manipulate people.”

“I know the two of you planned this together. Apologize to Sienna and Derek, or I’ll see both you and your mother charged for what you did.”

Tessa could barely breathe through her sobs. In front of someone determined not to believe her, no explanation had any value.

She opened her mouth anyway, but a man visiting another patient stopped in the doorway and stared at her.

“Wait. Weren’t you the girl from that sex-video scandal?”

he said. “You looked even better in person.”

His smile turned filthy. “Want to trade numbers and show me whether the video was real?”

Tessa and I froze.

She reacted first, snatching the phone I had hidden beneath my coat. Her fingers flew over the screen.

I did not know what she searched, but a burst of intimate sounds suddenly echoed through the quiet room.

She dropped the volume, yet the damage had already been done.

An anonymous account had uploaded a manipulated intimate video and paired it with heavily edited footage from school.

The captions portrayed Tessa, the victim, as a promiscuous liar who had tried to seduce Derek and framed him when he rejected her.

The post was going viral. The comments beneath it were more degrading than I could bear to read.

Users had exposed her full name, home address, phone number, and school records. Others had found the courtroom video.

[This hearing clip came from Mercer & Cole’s verified account. It had to be real.]

[Even her own father gave up on her. That told you everything you needed to know.]

[Graham was a decent man. Imagine having a daughter that shameless.]

[Sienna and her son were the real victims. Laurel and Tessa should both be behind bars.]

The video had been shared more than ten thousand times, and the numbers kept climbing.

Hartwell University had posted an official statement less than an hour earlier. It had withdrawn Tessa’s offer of admission, citing conduct concerns.

Former classmates and friends flooded her phone with questions, insults, and false concern.

The device shook violently in her hand. She lifted her face to me, her eyes full of pain and helpless terror.

“Mom, what am I supposed to do? What can I possibly do now?”

I moved to hold her, but Graham spoke first.

“This is the consequence of refusing to admit what you did.”

His gaze hardened. “I regret having a daughter like you.

“I’ve devoted my life to the law, and my only child has become the greatest stain on my name.”

Tessa stumbled back, staring at him in disbelief. When she saw nothing but contempt in his eyes, the strength that had held her together finally broke.

She screamed and hurled the phone against the wall.

“Why wouldn’t you believe me?” she cried.

“You took Derek to amusement parks. You made time to tutor him.

“You used your connections and a six-figure donation to get him into Hartwell.”

“But you won’t believe one word from me. I’m your daughter!”

Her voice rose as years of hurt poured out of her all at once.

“I did everything you asked. I studied until I could barely see straight, and I got into Hartwell because I thought it would make you proud.”

“I memorized case summaries at two in the morning. I watched every interview you gave.

“I planned my whole life around becoming someone you might finally notice.”

“Why was there only room in your heart for Derek? What else did I have to do before you believed me?”

For the first time, something in Graham’s face shifted. He parted his lips as if an answer had finally reached him.

Tessa did not wait for it.

She ran for the open window and climbed through before either of us understood what she meant to do.

Then she let go.