Chapter 288: Sheldon's New Defense Strategy
"So let me be your defense attorney,"
the man said with a practiced smile.
"Why would I hire someone he already beat to defend me?"
Esther looked at the man skeptically.
"Can you find a lawyer who can definitely beat Detective Chuck?"
The man was inwardly displeased, but his expression remained calm as he posed the question.
"Can't you?"
Esther frowned.
"Even I, the top criminal defense attorney on the East Coast, couldn't do it. What makes you think anyone else can?"
the man said with practiced confidence.
That's right.
He was Harrison Powell, the premier criminal defense attorney on the East Coast who had defended the sculptor accused of murdering his wife.
Originally, he'd wanted to use the publicity from defeating Detective Chuck to write a bestselling book and boost his already impressive career. But Chuck had completely demolished him in court.
Not only had he lost—he'd been humiliated.
Even with his thick skin and damage control efforts, everyone knew how badly that case had hurt his reputation.
So he'd been keeping close tabs on any news involving Chuck.
However, he never rashly took on another case involving Chuck without extensive research and preparation first.
He'd felt the same way when he learned about Esther's case.
So even though he was among the first to know about it, he'd held back while other ambulance-chasing lawyers rushed in.
After careful analysis, believing he finally had an angle to beat Chuck this time, he decided to use the case as an opportunity to redeem himself.
"Don't you think that's ridiculous?"
Esther frowned. "You guys are the lawyers—he isn't! And you, supposedly the top criminal defense attorney on the East Coast, not only lost to him, but now you're sitting here confidently telling me that no lawyer can beat him. Like you're not even ashamed—like you're proud of it? And you still expect me to hire you?"
"..."
Even though Harrison Powell had grown accustomed to the humiliation Chuck had dealt him, his face still darkened.
"It's a fact. We don't need to run from it."
Harrison took a few seconds to compose himself before continuing calmly. "I've studied your case file. You also ended up in custody after crossing paths with him."
Esther understood the implication—'we're both Chuck's victims'—and her expression turned cold.
This was indeed her greatest source of pain now, even surpassing the torment of being a grown woman forced to live as a child, unable to have normal romantic relationships or marry.
"So we share common experiences and common goals,"
Harrison's voice softened. "Cooperation is the logical choice. You can hear the defense strategy I've designed specifically for your case.
Then compare it to what those other lawyers offered you, and you'll naturally make the right decision."
"I'm listening,"
Esther agreed.
She knew Detective Chuck was no ordinary person—couldn't be dealt with using conventional thinking. He wasn't even a lawyer, yet he'd almost single-handedly destroyed the East Coast's top criminal defense attorney.
Perhaps the title wasn't undeserved after all. Maybe Detective Chuck was simply that formidable.
"Good."
A smug smile crossed Harrison's lips when she agreed.
This time, he was confident he could beat Chuck... well, that was the ultimate goal. Not guaranteed, of course.
But that didn't matter. As long as Chuck didn't win decisively, as long as he could needle him even slightly, Harrison would consider it a personal victory.
And he was very confident about that.
Monica's Apartment
Everyone was discussing the most sensational case of the moment.
"There are really people with that condition?"
Joey exclaimed in amazement.
"Truth is stranger than fiction,"
Monica observed.
"It's only because Chuck was involved that anyone figured it out,"
Rachel pointed out. "Who else would be suspicious of someone who looks like a little girl?"
"..."
Joey paused, exchanged a meaningful glance with Monica, and smiled uncomfortably.
"Do you think the cop she was blackmailing, and what he did... is he actually guilty of anything?"
Suddenly, a discordant voice broke through the conversation.
The apartment fell silent.
Everyone turned to stare at Ross.
"Can you please just shut up!"
Monica's face darkened when she saw it was her brother again.
"What? What did I say?"
Ross, feeling uncomfortable under the weird looks, stubbornly defended himself. "I was just asking a question."
"You can only ask questions like that in front of us,"
Chandler joked. "Otherwise, if you googled that, the FBI would probably be knocking on your door within the hour."
"..."
Ross was speechless.
In America, searching for certain topics involving children is heavily monitored and flagged by law enforcement.
In their circle, everyone remembered when Sheldon and his friends had wanted to open a comic book store and thought about targeting the biggest comic-reading demographic: kids!
Their brilliant plan was to buy a van, park outside schools, use free candy to attract students, and then drive all the kids who wanted to buy comics back to their store. They'd make a killing!
Just as they were about to search online for specific operational details, Leonard had stopped them cold.
Because that kind of behavior—resembling child abduction—would immediately trigger FBI monitoring.
Ross's question was in the same dangerous territory.
"She's not actually a little girl..."
Ross regretted asking, but remained stubborn.
"But her appearance is..."
Rachel was about to continue criticizing Ross when Monica cut in, changing the subject. "Actually, this whole thing has had a big impact on Sheldon."
"How so?"
Joey thought of Peggy and immediately showed concern.
"Sheldon's been getting bullied at college lately. Some upperclassmen duct-taped him to the wall and gagged him."
Monica laughed. "Apparently he thought the other dorms were too noisy, so he went to the dean and got permission to be a dorm monitor.
Unfortunately, the other students completely ignored him. They even ripped up the official authorization letter from the dean."
"That's awful."
"I bet Chuck loved hearing about that."
While the others expressed sympathy for Sheldon, Ross immediately zeroed in on Chuck's likely reaction.
"No, not at all."
Monica rolled her eyes at Ross. "Chuck's not like that. He actually cares about Sheldon..."
"Hah."
"Sure he does."
Everyone burst out laughing. They nodded in agreement when Monica looked at them, but their expressions were clearly skeptical.
"I'm serious,"
Monica said helplessly. "After hearing about what happened to Sheldon, Chuck gave him some advice. He told him he doesn't need any special authorization letter from the dean. Just keep a copy of today's newspaper in his pocket.
When anyone tries to bully him, he just needs to show them the front-page picture of Esther, and all his problems will be solved."
"..."
Everyone was stunned.
"Wait... you can do that?"
Rachel exclaimed in disbelief. "Does that actually work?"
"Sheldon hasn't tried it yet, but we should know the results tomorrow,"
Monica grinned. "But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The news about that little girl turning out to be a villain is everywhere.
If Sheldon keeps that newspaper in his pocket as a warning to others, anyone who's seen the news will definitely think twice."
"What was Chuck thinking? How did he even come up with that?"
Everyone was completely baffled.
"Actually, it's not that original,"
Monica's lips twitched. "He said there's some playboy doctor named Mark Sloan who supposedly always carries a medical certificate proving he's sterile, so women can't try to baby-trap him. Chuck apparently got the idea from that."
Everyone: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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