Justice Has a Minimum Spend

Dad's foreman is withholding his wages, leaving him no choice but to travel into the city to find a lawyer and file a lawsuit. Unfamiliar with how elevators work, he stubbornly climbs 20 flights of stairs before walking into the law firm, clutching a crumpled contract. "Clem, can you take a look at this? My boss owes us 120 grand. What should I do?" As the founder of Hawthorne Law Partners, Clement Hawthorne has fought cases for countless stray cats and dogs. Yet, right now, all he cares about is helping his law firm's newest intern, Reina Ellington, revise her graduation thesis. "120 grand isn't even enough to cover my retainer fee. I'm sorry, but I can't take this case." His cold, dismissive words cause Dad's back, which is already bent under the weight of steel and concrete, to slump even further. "I-In that case, I'll get out of your hair…" He slowly gathers his documents and stuffs them back into his canvas bag. When he turns to leave, even his footsteps carry a cautious, apologetic air. My nose stings, and tears well up in my eyes. I rise from my seat, ready to storm over and demand an explanation from Clement. However, Dad grasps my hand. "I'm fine, Cece. Clem has his principles. Don't hold it against him." The tears I've been keeping at bay finally spill over. I stand rooted to the spot, watching Dad's hunched figure shuffle toward the door, one agonizing step at a time. The moment the door closes behind him, I suddenly realize I no longer want to be part of Clement's family. Chapter 1 I watched Dad's despondent figure as he walked away, and fire ignited in my chest, incinerating the last shred of my sanity. I stormed back into the office, snatched the research papers off the desk, and tore them to shreds. "Have you lost your mind?" Clement Hawthorne shot to his feet. "Why won't you take Dad's case? Do you have any idea how long he's been waiting outside?" "I'm busy. I don't have time to entertain your antics." "You're busy? Busy grading your intern's thesis? But you don't have time to even take a look at Dad's contract?" I sneered, the sarcasm in my voice reaching its peak. "I run a law firm, not a nonprofit." Clement's voice turned cold. "Do you have any idea what my billable hour is? I'd be losing money if I took your father's case!" "But he's your father-in-law!" I bellowed. "So what?" he asked quietly. "Everyone is equal before the law. Am I supposed to break the rules just because he's family? If I take this case, what will the other lawyers at the firm think of me tomorrow? How am I supposed to survive in this industry going forward?" "Clement… do you even remember why you decided to study law in the first place?" Clement froze. I instinctively backed away, staring at him as though he was a complete stranger. At some point, the man who used to comb through labor laws to help children of migrant workers, fight tooth and nail to file case numbers for stray cats, and make my heart flutter countless times had disappeared. "We have to be realistic, Celeste. We can't keep living in the past." I ignored his indifference and stubbornly asked, "Realistic to the point of turning your back on your own family?" "Can you be reasonable for once?" He yanked at his tie in frustration. "I have too many cases on my plate right now. I genuinely don't have the time to deal with your dad's mess." He didn't have the time? I stared at the research papers on the desk, which were covered in his meticulous annotations, and suddenly lost all desire to argue with him. "Let's get a divorce, Clement." He stiffened. His tie slipped from his fingers and hit the floor. "W-What did you just say, Celeste?" "I said, if this is how it's going to be, let's get a divorce." As soon as my words landed, I surprisingly didn't feel as much pain as I had imagined. If anything, it felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I calmly walked out of his office. … Dad hadn't gone far. Unwilling to throw in the towel, he went from one law firm to another in the office building, asking from door to door. "Excuse me, do you take cases?" However, as soon as the lawyers heard that the defendant was Ben Lindwood—a notorious deadbeat—all of them waved their hands and turned him down. Baking in the blistering 104-degree Fahrenheit heat, he looked both pitiable and heartbreaking. I roughly wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes and hurried after him. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll figure something out." Dad was caught off guard when he saw me. He hurriedly raised his hand to shield me from the glaring sun. "It's boiling out here. Why did you come after me? I merely came to try my luck. It's no big deal." Try his luck. He had taken a six-hour bus ride and climbed all those stairs just to try his luck? I parted my lips and was about to tell him about the divorce when his phone rang. "Am I speaking with Mr. Blackwood? This is Sam Smith. Mr. Hawthorne has assigned me to handle your case." After hanging up, a smile instantly blossomed on Dad's weathered face. "Cece, did you hear that? Clem sent someone to help me! I told you, he's not a bad person; he's just too busy!" The moment the words left his mouth, my phone buzzed. Clement's message read, "I've assigned Mr. Smith to handle your dad's case. Don't bring up the divorce so casually again." I froze for a moment. When I lifted my head, I noticed Dad grinning from ear to ear as he pulled out two bunches of baby bananas from his bag. "Your mom went to the garden early this morning and picked these herself. She specifically chose the short, plump ones. They're thin-skinned and sweet. Take them home and eat them with Clem. Whatever you do, don't fight..." Tears welled up in my eyes again. I hugged the two hands of bananas tightly to my chest. "Don't worry, Dad. Once the lawsuit's over…" Once Clement and I were divorced… "I won't let anyone walk all over you again." Chapter 2 Three days later, I deliberately took the day off from work to accompany Dad to court for the lawsuit. "Once I get my wages back, the first thing I'll do is buy your mom a few new outfits. I can also help Uncle Daniel out so he can buy Iris a laptop for her college applications." The thought of getting his money back visibly lifted the old man's spirits, and he babbled on the entire ride. Yet, the moment we arrived at the courthouse, Mr. Smith, who had contacted Dad the night before, seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. No matter how many times we tried, we couldn't reach him. "Did he get the time wrong?" Dad sat in the plaintiff's seat, anxiously picking at the thick calluses on his hands. "Clem was the one who contacted Mr. Smith, Cece. Why don't you call Clem and ask him?" However, before I could dial Clement's number, the door was pushed open. The person who walked in wasn't Mr. Smith, but Ben's newly hired lawyer—the intern Clement had been staying late at the office to mentor and help with her thesis, Reina Ellington. Right then, Mr. Smith finally answered the phone. "I'm so sorry, Celeste. Mr. Hawthorne suddenly sent me out of town to handle a case, so I can't take Mr. Blackwood's case at the moment." As soon as he hung up on me, Reina's voice echoed through the courtroom. "Your Honor, I'm an attorney with Hawthorne Law Partners and the legal representative for the defendant, Ben Lindwood. We can proceed with the hearing." "Hawthorne Law Partners, legal representative for the defendant..." Those words completely crushed the hope in Dad's heart. "Hawthorne Law Partners... Isn't that Clem's law firm, Cece? W-What's the meaning of this?" My heart felt as if a sledgehammer had struck it. It never crossed my mind that Clement would go back on his word at the last minute, let alone that Reina would turn Dad from the plaintiff into the defendant. "The defense hereby files a counterclaim in the labor dispute case brought by the plaintiff, Ben Lindwood, against David Blackwood. "The grounds for the counterclaim are as follows—first of all, during his tenure, the defendant, David, led his team in carrying out construction in violation of regulations, resulting in substandard project quality and causing the plaintiff direct economic losses." Reina stated mercilessly, "Secondly, throughout the construction process, the defendant used inferior materials in place of those specified in the contract and substituted substandard building materials, seriously violating the terms of the contract. Thirdly…" The hearing lasted two hours. We didn't have a lawyer, and not a single witness dared to speak up for Dad. Even my appeals were deliberately interrupted. He was stranded up there all on his own, stammering as he tried to explain himself. The more anxious he became, the harder it was for him to make himself understood. Slowly, the judge's expression shifted from sympathy to impatience. In the end, we lost. By the time the dust settled, the original 120 grand had ballooned to four times that amount, and Dad was ordered to pay Ben for emotional distress. When we emerged from the courtroom, Dad clutched the ruling with trembling hands. "It's going to be okay, Dad... I'll figure something out." I held his hand as my nose stung. Just then, a black Mercedes pulled up in front of us. When Clement climbed out of his car, Dad's dim eyes abruptly flared back to life. He hurriedly greeted him, clutching the ruling. "Clem, you're here! Are you here to help me—" Clement, however, walked right past us. He popped open his umbrella and stopped in front of Reina. "Great work today. You must be exhausted. I made reservations at your favorite fine-dining restaurant to celebrate your victory!" Reina smiled and slipped her arm through his. "I couldn't have pulled off that counterclaim without your help, Professor Hawthorne!" "You were exceptional to begin with. I merely put the cherry on top." The couple chatted and laughed as they walked down the steps, as if no one else existed around them. My fingernails dug deep into my palms as I called out to Clement, "Clement Hawthorne, are you deaf? Did you not hear Dad?" The air instantly froze. Ben walked out of the courthouse, his gaze shifting between Clement and Dad. "Mr. Hawthorne, is this your father-in-law?" Clement didn't even bat an eye. "I don't know him." Ben's expression visibly relaxed. He turned around and glared at Dad menacingly. "Did you hear that, old man? The big-shot attorney doesn't even know you, yet you have the nerve to pretend you're his father-in-law. Why don't you take a good look in the mirror and see who you are?" Dad's face turned beet red. His lips trembled, yet he couldn't make a sound. "Clement Hawthorne, you bloody bastard!" I bellowed. However, he only halted for a fraction of a second. The moment Reina said, "Professor Hawthorne, I'm hungry," he started his Mercedes and sped off without the slightest hesitation. Dad stood rooted to the spot, clutching the ruling in his hands. His body swayed as though he could collapse at any moment. "Dad?" I ran over to support him. "Dad, what's wrong?" He looked at me with tears glistening in his cloudy eyes, though he refused to let them fall. "Cece… did I embarrass you?" My tears burst forth. "N-No, of course not, Dad…" "In that case… why won't my son-in-law acknowledge me?" Even after I took him back to his hometown, I still couldn't answer him. For the first time in my life, I hated myself for being so powerless, and I hated myself for marrying the wrong man. Chapter 3 "What the hell was that all about today, Clement?" When I returned home, I thought Clement would feel guilty about what happened and apologize to me. Yet, as soon as the words left my mouth, he came at me with an absurd question. "What was your problem? You allowed a damn construction worker to call out my name in public. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?" "So, that gives you the right to lie to me, deliberately stand Dad up, and cause him to lose the lawsuit and owe 500 grand?" I chuckled, though my eyes were already stinging with tears. Clement's composure cracked for a split second before he regained it. "I did assign Mr. Smith to the case," he admitted. "However, I didn't expect Reina to take Ben's case. "There were already people at the law firm who had it in for her. If she lost this case, her chances of being offered a permanent position would be in jeopardy." Even though I had already realized how important Reina was to him, his words still brought tears to my eyes. "So, that gives you the right to twist the truth, fabricate evidence, and frame Dad?" "My job is to win cases." Clement rose to his feet and looked down at me condescendingly. "No matter what kind of person Ben is, he's still a client of our firm. That account is worth millions annually in legal retainers. What does your father bring to the table?" He scoffed and kicked over my bag. It contained the baby bananas I hadn't even had a chance to eat. "This trash?" Trash? Did he seriously just refer to Dad's hard-cultivated bananas as trash? As it turned out, a person's heart really could change in the blink of an eye. Back when we first arrived in Silverstream to make a living, Mom and Dad, who were still back home, had cut down countless banana trees, carried countless bricks, and sent us bundles of hard-earned money, all so we could have our first home here. However, the man standing before me was no longer the man I had once loved. I felt as though a complete stranger was standing in front of me. "Don't look at me like that." He yanked off his tie in frustration. "Worst-case scenario, I'll get the bank to help your dad handle the compensation. 500 grand isn't a lot. I'll help him pay it off in installments—" I couldn't hold it in anymore and slapped him across the face. The living room fell dead silent for three seconds. Clutching his cheek, he stared at me in disbelief. "How dare you slap me?" I trembled with anger, glaring at him with red-rimmed eyes. "Get out!" I spat out. "Fine, Celeste. Stay home and reflect on your behavior." Clement slammed the door and stormed out with his cheek swollen from the slap. I, on the other hand, sank to the floor and cried through the night in the living room. … Early the next morning, I received an urgent call from Mom. "This is bad, Cece. Ben's men came to collect the debt and pushed your dad into a heart attack! He's currently in the ICU!" Mom almost cried herself hoarse. Something inside my head snapped. With trembling hands, I called Clement. "Dad had a heart attack, and he's in critical condition, Clement. He can't be transferred to another hospital. Can you please ask that cardiac surgeon friend of yours to come to the countryside with me and perform his surgery?" "Hold on." His voice was disturbingly calm. "Are you listening to me, Clement? This is the last time I'll ever ask you for anything!" "I'm listening, but Dr. Brown isn't available right now." "He isn't available? What's that supposed to mean?" I was on the verge of unraveling. "He's busy with something else." "What could possibly be more important than Dad's life? Do you even have a conscience, Clement Hawthorne?" The line went silent for a couple of seconds before I heard Reina's voice. "Professor Hawthorne, hurry up and wrap tamales with us!" "I'll ask Dr. Brown tomorrow. I have something else to take care of, so I'm hanging up now." On the cab ride home, I stared at the words "Call Ended" on my screen, feeling ice-cold all over. I wondered if he was truly going to be so heartless to me. Half an hour later, Reina's post popped up on my screen. "I accidentally ate too many tamales and got a stomachache. "Professor Hawthorne immediately had one of his doctor friends bring me some medicine, and he even arranged free full-body checkups for Mom and Dad. Professor Hawthorne really is the best teacher in the entire world. No one else even comes close!" So, that was what he meant when he said he had something else to take care of. He'd been busy spending the evening with Reina and her family. I clutched my phone and guffawed until tears streamed down my face. In the end, I had no choice but to scroll through my contacts and dial a number. "Ms. Sterling, can I ask you for a favor?" Chapter 4 That night, two different teams of doctors cycled through the operating room. Mom held me and fainted from crying multiple times. Dad's condition finally stabilized when day broke. Yet, Clement never once set foot in the hospital to see him. "Cece, where's Clem? Did he not come back with you?" Dad came to on the third day. Noticing how haggard I looked, his eyes filled with heartache. "It's okay, Dad." I forced a smile. "I won't allow something like this to happen again, and I won't let anyone hurt you or Mom again." After hearing that, Mom and Dad fell silent for a long while before patting me on the shoulder. "Go ahead and do what you want to do. We'll support whatever decision you make." After stepping out of the hospital room, I called Clement again. "What is it?" "Mom and Dad want to see you. Plus, there's something I need to talk to you about." His voice was raspy, as though he hadn't slept all night. "Tomorrow won't do. Reina's defending her thesis tomorrow. I need to help her go over her paper and run through a mock defense. I don't have time to deal with your family's petty problems." I tightened my grip on my phone, my voice trembling slightly. "Say that again?" "Whatever it is can wait until tomorrow. I still have to proofread her thesis, so I'm hanging up now." Ever since Reina came into the picture, I had lost count of how many times things like this had happened. His dismissiveness and his broken promises had nearly exhausted the love and trust Clement and I had built over nearly ten years of marriage. This was the final straw. I genuinely didn't want to put up with him anymore. I tilted my head back to blink away the tears in my eyes and said, "Fine. Have it your way. Let's talk about everything tomorrow." … The following day, I caught the earliest bus back to Silverstream. I headed straight to Reina's college with the slides I had stayed up all night putting together. Reina confidently presented the paper Clement had helped her revise on stage. Clement sat in the audience. His eyes didn't leave her for a second. Drinking in this scene, I let out a derisive chuckle. Then, I pushed the door open and walked in. "I hear you're the law school's top graduate this year, Ms. Ellington. In that case, can you tell me how I should handle this case? "My husband has cheated on me, and I want him to leave the marriage with nothing to his name. My husband, who is also your mentor, and I are getting a divorce because another woman has come between us." My tone was calm as my gaze slowly swept across everyone in the room. "Ms. Ellington, or any of the teachers and professors present, can you give me some advice?"