Let me give you some free advice. Counselor to counselor, walk away from this. Ms. Moore’s case is dead in the water. The evidence against her is overwhelming. Her attorney knew it, which is why he withdrew. By taking this case, all you’re going to do is humiliate yourself and damage what little reputation you have left. If the evidence is so overwhelming, why are you worried about who represents her? I’m not worried. I’m being courteous.

I remember you from before. You had talent. I’d hate to see you throw away whatever you’ve built in these past years for a lost cause. Lucas studied Hail’s face, looking for any crack in the polished veneer. There wasn’t one. This was a man completely comfortable with his power, utterly confident in his victory.

I appreciate the concern, Lucas said. But I’m good. Your choice. But when this is over, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Hail picked up his briefcase. See you next Tuesday, Mr. Reed. Try to dress appropriately for court. Those work boots really aren’t suitable. He walked away, his team following like ducklings behind their mother. The courtroom was emptying now, people filing out, still talking about what they’d witnessed.

Lucas became aware of someone standing nearby, the young parillegal who’d been abandoned along with Evelyn. M Carter, right? he said. She nodded, looking miserable. I’m so sorry about all this. I had no idea Mr. Brighton was going to withdraw. If I’d known, I would have. It’s not your fault, Evelyn said gently. You didn’t know. I still feel terrible.

She hesitated. Look, I probably shouldn’t do this, but I’ve been working on this case for months. I know all the files, all the depositions. I know where everything is. Mr. Brighton took his name off, but he didn’t take me off. If you need help organizing materials or finding documents, I’m still officially assigned as parallegal support.

Lucas felt a surge of gratitude. That would be incredibly helpful. Are you sure you want to risk it? Helping us won’t make you popular with your firm. Miss Carter gave a small, bitter laugh. Mr. Reed, they had me working 80our weeks for 8 months, then left me to clean up their mess this morning without warning. I don’t care about being popular.

I care about doing the right thing. Plus, she added with a slight smile. I actually believe in Evelyn’s technology. What she’s trying to do matters. Thank you, Sarah. Evelyn said, “That means more than you know.” The three of them stood there for a moment, an unlikely team formed in chaos. A billionaire entrepreneur, a parallegal who’d been abandoned by her boss, and a carpenter who used to be a lawyer.

Lucas thought about his daughter, about the phone call he’d need to make, about the seven days of intense work ahead of them. But mostly, he thought about the feeling in his chest, the spark of something he hadn’t felt in 6 years. Purpose, direction, the sense that he was exactly where he needed to be, even if where he needed to be was terrifying.

“All right,” he said. “First things first, let me finish that witness stand professionally this time and file my paperwork. Then we meet. Where’s good my office? Evelyn said it’s 20 minutes from here. We have a conference room and Sarah’s right. There are boxes of files we’ll need to go through. Perfect.

Give me 2 hours. I need to handle the legal stuff and make a phone call. Your daughter? Evelyn asked. Lucas nodded. She’ll be getting out of school soon. I need to tell her I’m going to be working late. A lot of late nights, actually. Will she be okay with that? She’ll understand. She always does. He paused. I should warn you both.

I’m going to need to brush up on a lot. It’s been a while. I might not remember everything immediately. None of us are perfect, Evelyn said. We’ll figure it out together. Sarah nodded agreement. Besides, Mr. Hail’s team might have more people and resources, but we have something they don’t. What’s that? Lucas asked. We actually care about the truth.

It was naive, maybe. In the world of corporate litigation, truth was often less important than presentation, than strategy, than who had the better lawyers and deeper pockets. But standing there in the emptying courtroom, looking at two women who were choosing to fight despite impossible odds, Lucas found himself believing it.

Maybe caring about the truth mattered. Maybe it was enough. He’d find out soon enough. Judge Chen’s clerk appeared at the bench, beginning to organize papers for the next case. Lucas grabbed his toolbox, finished the last few cuts on the witness stand repair, and tested the wood. Solid now, stronger than it had been before.

He looked at the stand for a moment, thinking about metaphors, about things that looked broken but could be fixed with the right tools and enough care, about cracks that made things more interesting, not less valuable. 2 hours, he said to Evelyn and Sarah. I’ll see you then. He walked out of courtroom 6 through the marble halls of the Henderson County Courthouse, past the security station where the guards knew him by name because he’d fixed the door to their breakroom last month.

Past the administrative offices where he’d repaired desks and shelves and filing cabinets out into the June heat where he pulled out his phone and called his daughter. She answered on the second ring. Hey, Dad. How’s work? Hey, Nina Bean. Work’s good. Actually, something happened today. Something unexpected. You busy after school? Just homework.

Why? I need to tell you something and I want to hear what you think about it. That sounds ominous. Good ominous or bad ominous? Lucas smiled despite himself. 12 years old and already she could read him perfectly. Honestly, I’m not sure yet, but I think it might be good. Different anyway. Okay.

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