Chapter 4

The day of the trial came around in no time.

I was dressed to impress, sitting in the plaintiff's seat.

Jessica sat beside me, cool and collected as ever.

Across from me, Richard was sitting alone in the defendant's seat.

He looked like a ghost, with an ashen face and sunken eyes, like he hadn't slept in days.

David and Emily didn't show up.

I was glad, because I didn't want to see them either.

The judge was a middle-aged woman, her face all business.

The whole process played out just like those courtroom dramas on TV.

First, they verified everyone's identity, then the judge read out the courtroom rules.

Then Jessica started laying out my case.

Her voice was clear and strong as she spelled out, one after another, everything I'd given up and all the pain I'd suffered over the past 32 years.

She started with how I moved to a city I'd never known, just to be with Richard, leaving my old life behind.

Then she talked about how I gave birth to David, worked day and night until my health fell apart.

She brought up how I took care of his sick parents, staying by their side until their last days.

And how I pinched every penny, always gave them the best, and never kept anything for myself.

Every item she read out reopened something in me.

Every word landed on Richard like a slap across the face.

His head sank lower and lower, his shoulders trembling.

I couldn't tell if he was ashamed or just pissed off.

Maybe it was both.

When Jessica laid out how Richard had shamelessly taken advantage of my free labor for 32 years, knowing full well we were never even married, the gallery started buzzing with whispers.

I could feel the eyes in that room, some full of sympathy, some full of contempt, some burning with anger.

And every single one of those looks was aimed straight at Richard.

Richard couldn't hold it in any longer, and his head jerked up.

"I didn't do it!" he shouted, his voice raw. "I swear, I never meant for this to happen. Back then, I honestly thought we'd gotten married. After so many years, it just slipped my mind!"

The judge rapped her gavel.

"Mr. Evans, please remain silent," she said, her voice cold and commanding.

Richard's lawyer stood up, a young man who looked barely into his thirties.

He started making excuses for Richard.

"Your Honor, my client admits that not registering the marriage was an oversight, but he genuinely cares about the plaintiff and this family," he said.

"He's given her money for living expenses every month, and that shows he's been taking care of this family," he added.

Jessica shot back right away.

"Let me ask defense counsel something. Have you ever seen a housekeeper who takes home seven hundred dollars a month and still cooks every meal, does every chore, and looks after four people? That's below minimum wage in this city," she said.

The young lawyer's face flushed bright red.

"That... that's living expenses, not a salary! They lived together as a couple, that's a relationship, not a job!" he blurted out, scrambling for words.

"If this was really about love, then why did your client blow up and flat out refuse to get the marriage license when my client tried to protect her own rights.

"Why did he throw harsh words at her on top of it?"

Jessica kept pressing, not giving him a moment to catch his breath.

"If this was really about love, then why did your client's son and daughter-in-law accuse her of stirring up drama and just wanting their money, after she spent half her life working herself to the bone for this family?

"For 32 years, my client had no savings, no property, and not even a real job. She gave everything she had to this so-called family.

"And now that she's past fifty, she finds herself with nothing, not even legal standing in that family. So tell me, is this what you call love?"

Jessica's words landed like a hammer, every syllable ringing out in the courtroom.

The whole place went dead silent.

Richard's head dropped even lower, like he couldn't bear to face anyone.

I looked at his slumped figure, and there wasn't a trace of satisfaction in me, only a sadness with no bottom to it.

The judge turned to Richard.

"Mr. Evans, do you have any objections or comments regarding the plaintiff's request for compensation for labor and emotional distress?" she asked.

Richard looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

"I don't agree," he rasped, his voice hoarse. "I don't have that kind of money. My parents left me that house. It was mine before we ever got together, and she has nothing to do with it."

"Your Honor," Jessica stood up, her voice steady. "We've already verified everything. The three-bedroom place under Mr. Evans's name was acquired before they started living together.

"But after they moved in together, his company gave him a one-bedroom apartment. That apartment counts as joint property accumulated during their partnership."

Richard whipped his head around to stare at me, his eyes wide with shock and anger.

He thought I had no idea about that one-bedroom apartment.

He'd been keeping it from me the whole time, renting it out without my knowledge.

And he never gave me a single dollar from the rent.

"You investigated me?" Richard asked, pointing at me, his hand trembling.

I didn't even look at him, and my eyes stayed steady on the judge.

"Yes, Your Honor. I haven't seen a single dollar from the rent on that apartment all these years. I believe that money should count as joint property and be divided as shared assets," I said, my voice unwavering.

Richard's face turned a deep, sick red, like he'd been punched in the gut.

He had spent all those years thinking I was the type to swallow every hardship without a word, and now I was sharp and ruthless, and the shock on his face said he couldn't believe it.

Next up was the lawyers' back-and-forth.

Richard's lawyer kept going on about "love" and "family," trying to blur the lines and distract from the real issues.

But Jessica countered every point with solid legal arguments and real-life facts, completely dismantling his case.

In the end, the judge wrapped things up and said she'd announce the verdict another day.

By the time I stepped out of the courthouse, the sky had turned overcast.

Richard came running after me.

"Helen!" he called out.

I stopped in my tracks, but didn't turn around.

"Do you really have to go this far?" Richard pleaded, his voice shaking. "That apartment was supposed to be for David! Are you really going to take away even your own son's share?"

I turned around, my gaze icy as I stared him down.

"David? When you and Emily ganged up on me with him, did he ever once treat me like his mother?" I shot back, my voice cold.

"When he said I was just making trouble and making him lose face, did he ever care about how I felt?" I pressed, not letting up.

"When he texted me, only caring about whether someone was there to cook for him, did he ever see me as someone who deserved respect?" I finished, my heart numb.

My barrage of questions left Richard completely speechless.

"Richard, remember this. Everything that has happened, you brought on yourself.

"I never wanted to take anything that wasn't mine. I'm just reclaiming what's rightfully mine.

"If you'd thought things through, maybe you wouldn't have pushed me away and called me 'crazy' back then," I finished, my voice icy.

With that, I turned away and walked straight to Jessica's car, not sparing him another glance.

I caught Richard in the rearview mirror, standing alone at the courthouse entrance.

He looked like a ridiculous silhouette, a lonely shadow abandoned by the times.

My phone rang.

It was a number I didn't recognize.

I hesitated for a second, but picked up anyway.

"Hello? Is this Helen Carter?"

On the other end, a woman's voice came through, choked with tears.

"I'm... I'm Emily's mother," she said, her voice trembling.

I was stunned.

"Helen, I'm begging you. Cut them some slack and don't make things so hard for their family.

"Emily told me everything. She said some cruel things and upset you, and she admits it was her fault.

"She knows she messed up, and she even went home and let David have it.

"Please, they're still so young. Don't let them be stuck with a debt that size.

"If the court rules against them, their whole lives will be ruined!" she cried.

Emily's mom was crying so hard on the phone, she was practically gasping for air between sobs.

I gripped my phone, unable to say a single word.

It came to close to half a million dollars.

For an ordinary family, that was a mountain.

But what about those 32 years of my youth and my sweat? Did all of that mean nothing?

Should all my pain and heartbreak just be swept under the rug, like they never even happened?

"Listen to me, please. Richard's no good, we all know it," Emily's mom said.

"But if you really care about David, don't do this to him.

"If you push them this far, how will David ever call you Mom again?" Her voice was thin with desperation.

Her words went into the softest part of me and stayed there.

David.

My son.

Was I really going to take it that far, far enough that David and I could never be mother and son again?

I hung up, my mind a tangled mess.

Jessica could tell I was torn up inside.

"Ms. Carter, don't let your heart waver," she said, her voice calm and firm. "The law is on your side. You're fighting for what you deserve, and you aren't pushing anyone into anything.

"And have you ever thought about what would have happened if you hadn't won that lottery, if you didn't have that 2 million dollars behind you? What would the rest of your life have looked like?"

Her words hit me like a jolt, making my whole body tremble.

She was right.

Without that money, Richard would have thrown me out on the street, I would have been broke with nowhere to go, and my son and his wife would have seen me as nothing but dead weight.

Who would have felt sorry for me then, and who would have stood up and said one fair word on my behalf?

I took a deep breath, and the uncertainty in my eyes slowly turned into resolve.

"Thank you, Jessica.

"I understand now.

"We have to fight this to the very end."