After learning the full truth, Tristan rushed to the hospital to see the injured child.
But an hour earlier, unable to endure the torment of blindness and deafness, the child had jumped from the building and ended his life.
Tristan stood in silence for a long time before promising the grieving mother that he would make the monster responsible pay in full.
And he did it easily. With overwhelming evidence and his unmatched legal skill, the father was sentenced to life in prison.
The mother immediately paid an six digit legal fee and handed him a black card as an additional reward.
"Attorney Martinez, I know you're not the type to care about this, but please accept it—and keep this matter confidential. I don't want anyone else to know what happened."
Out of professional ethics, Tristan agreed.
Before leaving, he quietly slipped the black card into the woman's coat pocket.
When his assistant questioned him, Tristan merely waved his hand and said he had only done his job.
A drunken father beating his child into disability... it was a scene far too familiar. And in the end, that child had fallen into depression and died.
Tristan's expression darkened, and a chill crept down his spine.
My drunken ramblings from that night replayed over and over in his mind. The fear hit him all at once—the fear that I would end up like that child.
He unlocked his phone. He sent dozens of messages, but there wasn't a single reply. Every call went unanswered.
Cold sweat gathered at his forehead, and the corner of his mouth trembled.
The business trip was supposed to last two days, but he immediately booked a private jet home, leaving his assistant to handle the aftermath.
"Did you pack up the things I told you to buy?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Martinez. I've boxed all the premium medicated oils in the entire city."
"You really treat Miss Celine well. No matter where you go, you always buy something for her. By the way, Mr. Martinez—maybe try some yourself? The back of your neck is completely red..."
Tristan instinctively touched his neck, his pupils tightening.
He hurriedly opened the message thread. The photo he had sent that morning—his routine ‘reporting-in'—had captured that exact patch of redness behind his neck.
After brushing off his assistant with a few casual words, he boarded the plane home.
—
I sat steadily across from Maureen as she stared at the same photo, her face frozen in disbelief.
"How could this be? He treats you like you're his whole life."
So I finally told her everything—what had happened that night at the bar.
Her eyes instantly reddened, tears streaming down her cheeks in sympathy.
Ironically, I ended up being the one comforting her. But her reaction wasn't as dramatic as I expected.
"Jasmine... is not a simple woman."
Maureen then told me that some time ago, she and her husband had attended a charity auction where they happened to see Tristan. But they were too far away to call out to him.
The atmosphere was lively, he didn't notice them, and his attention was solely on the woman beside him.
When a mink fur coat came up for bidding, the woman gave a small nod. Immediately, Tristan began raising the price like a madman—up to three times the market value—refusing to back down.
"That woman was dressed to perfection. I actually thought it was you. I even recorded a video to show you later but got busy and forgot after the event."
Maureen played the video for me.
The woman in it... was Jasmine.
Their body language—every glance, every gesture—overflowed with intimacy.
My face gradually froze.
The mink coat Martinez had sent me through his assistant, though similar in appearance, paled in quality compared to the auction piece.
Maureen stared at the photo of the coat and scoffed, "He didn't want anyone noticing, so he thoughtfully bought you a knockoff."
"Besides... he seemed to forget you're allergic to animal fur."
It didn't matter anymore. At this point, I had no use for such cheap gestures.
Maureen and I talked for a long time, and slowly, the weight on my chest eased.
Under the warm glow of dusk, we said our goodbyes. Her husband waited for her not far away, looking at her with eyes full of tenderness.
That look... outshone even the fading sunlight.
I smiled faintly and drove home.
