Here is the refined English translation, faithful to the emotional intensity and novel-like tone, without adding unnecessary words and without any forbidden symbols:
By the time I rushed to the hospital, my legs were already giving out.
My father lay on the bed with his eyes tightly shut. His face was mottled with bruises, his chest wrapped in thick bandages, and his leg shattered into a comminuted fracture, encased in a cast that made it look like a cold block of stone.
The moment my mother saw me, her tears fell instantly. She clutched my hand, voice shaking as she told me what had happened.
My father ended up like this… because of Caleb.
All because he wanted to protect his childhood sweetheart, who was pregnant. All because my father happened to glance at Heidi as he walked by.
Caleb hadn’t asked a single question, hadn’t confirmed anything. He attacked my father on the spot, calling him a pervert and claiming he had “frightened a pregnant woman.”
Hearing this felt like someone splitting me open with bare hands.
Looking at my father, barely clinging to life, I forced down my trembling and called the police.
Soon, the court date arrived.
That day, Caleb and Heidi walked into the courtroom hand in hand, as if they were attending a casual gathering.
When they saw me, there was no guilt on their faces, not even the faintest hint of unease. It was as if the person they had hurt wasn’t a living human being, but simply a piece of useless trash.
“Do we really have to make this such a big deal, Julia?”
Caleb stood behind me, his tone filled with impatience and judgment.
I didn’t look back. I only said coldly, “You forced me to this.”
Then I strode into the courtroom, refusing to look at their disgusting faces again.
The trial began.
Caleb immediately put on a righteous expression, his voice firm and clear, as though he were the victim.
“As far as I know, my father-in-law kept staring at my friend Heidi. He disrupted public order and frightened a pregnant woman. Had I not been present, who knows what he might have done. I was protecting the community. I would rather uphold justice than shield my own family.”
As he spoke, he placed Heidi behind him, guarding her like she was some priceless treasure.
Then he shot me an irritated look.
“You’re not at the hospital caring for a cripple, yet you come here to accuse me? This is a courtroom. We speak with evidence, not emotion. Withdraw the suit. If something happens to your family because of this, I won’t take responsibility.”
At that moment, I finally understood why she tried so hard to stop me from calling the police.
Even when I knelt and begged her, she refused to stand up for my father.
Because from beginning to end, she stood on Heidi’s side.
I clenched my teeth, pushing down my fury as I tried one last time to summon even a shred of humanity from him.
“My father treated you like his own son. He helped you with everything, supported your promotions, helped you chase your dreams. He gave you everything he could.”
“Now he lies half dead because of you. You are his son-in-law. Can you truly live with yourself?”
Caleb rolled his eyes, speaking with disdain.
“Law is impartial. I am righteous in this. I stand with truth, not with family. I am willing to testify that your father’s leg was already damaged before. It has nothing to do with me.”
He lied without even a flicker of emotion.
My hands trembled with anger as I submitted the surveillance footage I had saved.
It was the crucial evidence showing Heidi striking my father first.
But when the video played, the screen showed nothing but static.
The evidence had been switched.
Heidi cast me a cold glance, mouthing two words: “Idiot.”
The only people with access to the evidence were me… and Caleb.
I slammed my hands on the table and shot to my feet. “Caleb! You tampered with the evidence! Do you have any humanity left?”
Caleb didn’t panic. He simply squeezed Heidi’s hand under the table, soothing her as gently as if comforting a child.
“Heidi is kind. She didn’t want to escalate the situation. She wanted to give your family a chance. But you came here full of malice, daring to frame her.”
Then he handed over an audio recording.
