You Escaped Justice for 50 Years? Cute. I Became the Judge Chapter 04

You Escaped Justice for 50 Years? Cute. I Became the Judge Chapter 04

Victor knew exactly how to use his influence.

By the next morning, a full-scale campaign against me was already underway.

First, strangers online dug through every detail of my background and education. Then they began combing through every case I had ever decided.

One former litigant after another suddenly appeared in front of cameras, accusing me of ignoring justice and handing down reckless rulings.

The story spread faster than anything I had ever seen.

[She’s only thirty-six and she’s already a Superior Court judge. There’s no way she got there without trading sex for influence. She came from some dirt-poor Appalachian hollow, while plenty of kids from elite families have every advantage and still never make it onto the bench.]

[Women shouldn’t be judges in the first place. They’re more emotional than men, and they let personal feelings interfere with the law.]

[Just look at the Hawthorne case. Ethan is obviously innocent, but she refused to drop the murder charge against him.]

Someone even found my home address and spray-painted MURDERER across the front door.

By the time I rushed home, Grandma was curled up on the couch, clutching an old photograph as her entire body shook.

“I didn’t kill him. I didn’t.”

Her mental health had deteriorated badly over the years. Twenty years of abuse in prison, followed by decades of whispers and accusations in her hometown after her release, had left her trapped between the past and the present.

“Victor, why haven’t you come back yet? Where are you? I’m scared.”

I wrapped my arms around her, my nose stinging as tears welled in my eyes.

During her first year in prison, Grandma shared a cell with a convicted murderer who ran the cellblock. Because Grandma was small and frail, the woman and her followers bullied her relentlessly.

They kept her awake at night and took every meal tray she was given.

Back then, she had no idea Victor had framed her. She remained convinced that he would eventually come home, and that once he did, everyone would know she was innocent.

I gently rubbed her back.

“Don’t be scared, Grandma. How about I take you to see Grandpa?”

A spark returned to her dull, exhausted eyes.

“Yes. Let’s go find Victor.”

She smiled with the simple happiness of a child.

“As long as Victor is with me, no one will be able to hurt me. He promised he would protect me for the rest of my life.”

The truth was that Grandma had raised Victor.

He had been orphaned as a child, and she had found him with nowhere to go. Her family took him in, but she was the one who fed him, cared for him, and worked to keep him in school.

She was five years older than he was and looked after him like both an older sister and a mother.

Back then, Grandma had been the prettiest girl in the county, and men from all over the area had asked to marry her.

The moment Victor was accepted to college, he begged her to marry him. He took her to the county courthouse, married her in a simple civil ceremony, and filed their marriage certificate.

But once he left for college, he began to despise her lack of education.

He was embarrassed whenever she came to pick him up in her faded, worn clothes, completely forgetting that nearly every dollar the family had went toward his tuition and living expenses.

He could have filed for divorce. He could have walked away without a cent and left her the house and savings she had brought into their marriage.

Instead, to protect his reputation and Evelyn’s, he faked his death, framed Grandma for his murder, and disappeared with her home and her money.

Grandma finally fell asleep in my arms.

Mom brought over a blanket and covered her before looking at me anxiously.

“Do you really think this will work?”

I looked at Grandma, whose brow remained tightly furrowed even in sleep.

My voice had never been more certain.

“Don’t worry. It’s time to make him answer for the life he destroyed.”

The scandal online continued to grow.

To protect public confidence in the court, I was placed on temporary administrative leave, and another judge was assigned to oversee the remaining pretrial proceedings.

The murder case had first drawn attention because of its brutality. It became an even bigger story after allegations surfaced that the original judge had abused her authority.

That day, nine major news outlets carried the court-approved pool feed live. Viewers had been waiting online since early morning.

[Today’s hearing is probably just a formality, but getting to watch Mr. Hawthorne Sr. in court again makes it worth it.]

[Mr. Hawthorne Sr. was an icon to my father’s entire generation. People used to say he could turn even a death-penalty case into an acquittal.]

As expected, Victor personally appeared to defend Ethan when the trial proceedings began.

During the morning session, he dominated the final pretrial arguments, leaving the deputy district attorney with no effective response.

During the recess, reporters surrounded him outside the courtroom.

Victor smiled with complete confidence.

“I believe in the fairness of the law, but I believe even more strongly in my grandson Ethan’s innocence. The outcome of this case is already obvious.”

“Mr. Hawthorne Sr., celebrating before the jury has heard a single piece of evidence is a dangerous habit.”

I stepped into view wearing my judicial robe and holding a newly issued administrative order bearing the court’s seal.

“The judicial review panel found no misconduct in my handling of this case. Effective immediately, I will resume presiding over Ethan’s murder trial.”

“The police and the District Attorney’s Office have also submitted new evidence.”

I looked at Ethan, who was still sitting comfortably at the defense table.

“Ethan, you know the truth better than anyone. Are you really innocent?”