Chapter 256: I Can Do It Too!
"That's great!"
Chandler clapped his hands and joked, "Detective Chuck has taken it on, and the Willens family reunion is as good as done!"
"What should we do now?"
Tim and Shelly looked at Chuck expectantly.
"First, sue this radio host, Max Henson,"
Chuck said. "Creative commentary isn't carte blanche, and it's certainly not a license to attack and bully victims for ratings."
"Right now, I just want my daughter Jamie back,"
the young mother Shelly said worriedly.
"Don't worry, it won't affect anything,"
Chuck explained. "On the contrary, it will help in finding Jamie.
First, suing a celebrity like that will have a media impact, drawing attention to the news of Jamie's abduction.
Second, suing the radio host will get us enough compensation to provide the most effective help in finding Jamie.
We can also use the money to give her a better life after we find her.
Finally, don't you want to sue the radio host?"
"Yes!"
"We want to! That guy is inhuman! So vicious!
Although our friends advised us not to listen to him and that most rational people wouldn't believe him,
he has his own fans who not only believe him but also harass us with phone calls and insults.
Losing Jamie has already caused us enough pain, and now we have to face all sorts of vicious phone calls and curses from his fans every day.
I'm already having a nervous breakdown, and Shelly is on the verge of collapse.
I woke up the night before last and saw her standing alone in Jamie's room, holding a rope… If I hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"Jesus!"
The six old friends gasped in unison upon hearing this.
They knew such a blow and attack would be hard to accept, but they never imagined it could actually drive someone to contemplate suicide.
"See?"
Chandler scoffed. "That's the viciousness of that guy. He spews insults, making a fortune and building fame, but he doesn't care about other people's lives."
"Isn't that how society works?"
Chuck said calmly, then looked at Shelly. "You want to die?"
"I…I can't take it anymore,"
Shelly cried. "You can't imagine how I feel, sob…"
"We certainly can't fully imagine how you feel,"
Chuck nodded. "But we know that once you do it, you'll regret it.
Because after you die, in this radio host's narrative, it will either be suicide out of guilt or suicide out of shame.
In short, it won't be that he drove you to suicide.
And then, most of the people who believed you will start to wonder if you really killed your daughter.
Now, do you want to remain a suspect and die, or live on to embrace the Jamie you've found, and slap this vicious radio host in the face, making him pay for it?"
"I want to embrace Jamie!"
Shelly cried. "But can Jamie really be found?"
"Nothing in this world is 100% certain,"
Chuck said bluntly. "I can only say that I'll do my best, and there's a 95% chance we can find Jamie."
"95%?"
Compared to Shelly's desire for 100%, her slightly more rational husband, Tim, was overjoyed by this probability.
It practically meant Chuck was very confident he could find their daughter!
"So, do we agree to sue this radio host, Max Henson?"
Chuck looked at Tim and Shelly.
"Yes!"
"I'll listen to you, I trust you!"
Tim and Shelly looked at Chuck's expressionless face, and at that moment, they found that expressionless face surprisingly vivid and reassuring.
"Okay, I'll find you a lawyer now."
Chuck immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.
"A lawyer?"
Everyone looked over curiously.
"Don't worry, he's not some ambulance chaser,"
Chuck explained seriously. "It's Harvey Specter, the star attorney at the prestigious New York law firm Pearson Hardman, known for never losing a case.
And most importantly, he's one of the few top lawyers who still retains a shred of conscience."
He didn't elaborate further, despite the renewed curiosity from the group.
"Should I say I'm honored?"
The call connected, and Harvey, the sharp-dressed lawyer, overheard the last sentence and couldn't help but tease him.
"You should be honored,"
Chuck said bluntly. "After all, to have come this far and still retain a shred of conscience is a miracle in the legal profession."
"You should really come to our bar association gala and say that in front of all the lawyers,"
Harvey laughed. "What can I help you with?"
Since the case of Amy's kidnapping by the billionaire, he hadn't spoken to Chuck.
However, he had studied Chuck carefully and knew that Chuck wasn't the type to call him casually; he must have a case to help with.
Although he outwardly dismissed Chuck's assessment with a joking tone, he was secretly pleased.
After all, this was recognition from Chuck Wolfe!
Chuck explained the situation.
Harvey immediately said, "This case is difficult. The biggest problem is freedom of speech.
This is a right explicitly granted to the people by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the other party is a radio host."
"Does freedom of speech mean you can slander and insult others at will?"
Tim retorted angrily. "If we could, we would also like to have our voices heard, but we have no platform to do so.
Isn't so-called freedom of speech just that whoever controls the microphone can speak recklessly?
And the vast majority of us, even if we possess the truth and the facts, are directly silenced.
Do we, the majority, truly have freedom of speech?"
"You're right... but unfortunately, that's reality."
Harvey's voice lowered slightly on the other end of the phone.
Let alone the media, even within the legal profession, if possible, he wished lawyers would be a profession purely dedicated to upholding justice.
But the reality is that lawyers merely serve the wealthy, endlessly prolonging litigation time and costs, so that even under the premise of truly fair law, the vast majority of people simply don't have the means to wait for a just judgment.
Moreover, the law is interpreted by people.
If lawyers are like this, don't judges also serve the wealthy?
No matter how enlightened an individual is, how can they possibly fight against the entire system?
So lawyers like him, even if they have a conscience and want to truly achieve legal fairness and justice, after recognizing reality, will only yield to it and make the best of things.
Unlike other lawyers who completely compromise for money, he had a few principles. He was unwilling to do anything too egregious and was willing to help vulnerable groups to the best of his ability.
"Can't you handle it?"
Chuck ignored Harvey's inner conflict and asked the key question directly.
"..."
On the other end of the phone, Harvey, although he knew it was a challenge, still said, "It is indeed difficult, but I am Harvey Specter! According to Detective Chuck's certification, I'm a miracle worker! I'll take this case!"
"Want to hear what this bastard has to say?"
Chandler interjected, "I specifically compiled his broadcast schedule and bookmarked it."
"Listen on the way."
Chuck stood up, "The prosecution is Harvey's responsibility. We'll go to Pittsburgh first, contact the local police and media, hold a press conference, and announce that anyone with information about Jamie, once confirmed, will receive a $100,000 reward!"
"$100,000? We don't have that much money."
Tim said worriedly.
"Remember you're going to sue Max Henson?"
Chuck reminded him. "Once you win the case, you'll have the money. Until then, I'll front it for you.
Based on what you've said, there are only two possibilities.
One is that your daughter Jamie was deliberately targeted and stolen.
The other is that someone took your daughter Jamie on impulse.
The former is simple; we just need to investigate who had the motive.
The latter is a bit more troublesome because it's an unpredictable crime of opportunity.
But it's okay.
There are two possible outcomes for this kind of opportunistic crime.
One is that the perpetrator thought Jamie was cute and wanted to adopt her.
In this case, we just need to investigate childless families near that grocery store, and which families in the neighborhood suddenly have an extra child.
The other possibility is worse; the perpetrator wants to sell her."
At this point, the young mother, Shelly, covered her mouth and started crying again. She had gotten up, but she couldn't stand anymore and collapsed onto the sofa. The young father, Tim, also looked devastated.
"Don't worry too much,"
Chuck reassured them. "I'll cooperate with the local police and thoroughly investigate the local black market. I'm sure they'll cooperate.
In either case, a public reward will speed things up and push the outcome in our favor.
If she was taken by a family desperate for a child, their neighbors will likely report it to the police once they know about the high reward.
And if it's the black market, a two-year-old girl wouldn't fetch $100,000.
They'll probably come forward with the reward themselves, pretending to be good Samaritans, before we even have to pay them a visit.
But we have to act quickly!
We've already lost too much time, and the longer it goes on, the more unpredictable things become."
"We'll listen to you!"
Tim helped his wife to her feet, his eyes resolute.
Although the couple had been focused on finding their daughter Jamie, they were just ordinary people and had no idea how to do it.
They went to the police, who seemed helpful, but the results were utterly disheartening.
Now, after Chuck's explanation, the couple had, for the first time, a clearer understanding of how to find their daughter.
If they were still capable of joking, they would have pointed at Chuck and said, "Now that's what a professional looks like!"
Unfortunately, they couldn't laugh.
But they understood the meaning.
"I'll go with you,"
Chandler volunteered. "They came to me first, and this is about exposing that bastard's true colors. I want to be part of this!"
"Sure,"
Chuck glanced at him and nodded.
Time was of the essence.
Chuck immediately drove the three of them, speeding towards Pittsburgh.
On the way,
Chuck had Tim and Shelly contact the local detective in charge of the case. The detective was taken aback when he heard Chuck was coming, but then welcomed him enthusiastically.
"Prepare a press conference. We'll announce the news as soon as we arrive..."
After giving his instructions, Chuck began inquiring about the local underworld.
The detective hesitated for a moment, but still told the truth.
Everyone in the area knew each other.
Especially in the United States, the lines between law enforcement and organized crime are often blurred. There are undercover cops who infiltrate criminal organizations, and there are criminals who bribe officers to become dirty cops.
There's also the concept of "blue code" corruption, where groups of officers form cliques, collecting protection money from all gangs while providing protection and assistance to those who can afford to pay for their crimes.
If Jamie was indeed kidnapped by a black market supply chain, investigating each link in the chain wouldn't be difficult.
It's just that no one is willing to push for Tim and Shelly until Chuck gets involved.
The detective in charge of the case is merely going through the motions, not daring to consider the possibility that Jamie was truly kidnapped and sold by the black market.
Under these circumstances, 13 days without any news is perfectly normal.
After a while, it will definitely become another cold case gathering dust in the archives.
Just after hanging up with the detective, Harvey called: "Did you listen to Max Henson's show?"
"Not yet,"
Chuck shook his head.
"Listen now!"
said Harvey. "We'll talk after you've listened."
"Okay,"
Chuck agreed, glancing at Chandler in the passenger seat.
Chandler nodded, then looked back at Tim and Shelly, hesitantly asking, "Why don't you listen to some music first?"
"It's fine, you guys listen,"
Shelly said through gritted teeth. "I can endure it for another chance to hug Jamie."
Seeing this, Chandler directly clicked on the Max Henson show he had bookmarked.
"Welcome to the Max Henson Morning Show. I recently heard a story about a young mother in Pittsburgh named Shelly Willens who claimed to have taken her two-year-old daughter, Jamie, to the supermarket, and in the blink of an eye, Jamie disappeared.
The police searched high and low but couldn't find this mysterious kidnapper. Why?
Honestly, couldn't they see the obvious answer?
It's clear Shelly is lying!
Friends, she killed her own daughter!
Do you know why I know?
Because I heard she went to the supermarket to buy birth control, and that she had already had a late-term abortion!
Think about it, would someone like that really love their own child?
Believe it or not, I don't!
Therefore, her claim of 'kidnapping' without any evidence simply didn't happen!
Instead, she killed her child… again!
Is this logic hard to understand?
Case closed!
God, I feel like I could be a detective! After all, even some stoic guy can do it, why can't I?
What do you think?"
(End of Chapter)
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