Chapter 3

The storm hit faster than I could have imagined.

The next morning, my best friend's frantic phone call woke me up.

"Harper! You're trending all over Twitter! What happened?!"

Groggy, I opened the app. Trending near the top was the hashtag: #CorruptLawyerFreeConsultationScam.

Clicking inside, I saw an expertly cut video.

The editing was insidious. It clipped the moment I said the chances of winning were slim, cutting out my detailed explanation about insufficient evidence.

Paired with mournful background music, it practically branded the words "Greedy Heartless Lawyer" onto my forehead.

Brenda appeared bare-faced in that same faded red coat, clutching her bewildered little girl and sobbing uncontrollably.

"She told me my case couldn't be won... hinted that I needed to pay under the table to grease the wheels... Where are a single mother and child supposed to get that kind of money?!"

She accused me of "despising the poor," "using free advice as bait to fish for bribes," "treating poor people's cases like trash," "lacking professional ethics," and being a "disgrace to the legal community."

Not a single word about that ridiculous wager agreement. She deliberately emphasized my refusal to guarantee a win, framing it as laziness due to a lack of bribes.

The video was crafted with toxic precision. Set against her modest kitchen, her child’s innocent, wide eyes served as the ultimate tear-jerker.

Clueless internet users instantly erupted in outrage.

[My God! Are lawyers really this scummy now? Trying to scam people who barely have pennies?]

[Nothing is more expensive than free stuff, truth!]

[This legal parasite should be disbarred immediately!]

[She looks pretty young in her photo, how can she be so rotten inside?]

[Obviously playing the long game—gain their trust first, then rip them off!]

[Bullying a single mother and her kid? Burn in hell!]

[Doxx her! Make her socially extinct!]

A tidal wave of vile abuse flooded in. My Ins, Twitter mentions, and the public inquiry page on my firm's website were completely overrun.

Worse, people started doxxing me.

My personal cell blew up with calls from unknown numbers, spewing disgusting insults the second I picked up.

The law firm's front desk lines were paralyzed.

Even my parents, living quietly back in their small hometown, received harassing calls asking how they could raise such an evil monster.

I sat in my room, staring at the endless stream of venomous curses flashing across my screen, a deep chill sinking into my bones.

I only wanted to use my skills to help ordinary folks like my parents—people who didn't understand the law and couldn't afford an attorney.

How did it turn into this?