CHAPTER 1: CHAPTER 1: FIVE YEARS IN PRISON, SHE’S BACK

Jean Ellison didn’t expect to run into Justin Holden so soon.

It was still just the second day after her release from prison.

She needed to fight a court case and contacted a well-known local law firm, Keystone Law.

She had an appointment with a female lawyer, but was told that she was away on a business trip.

She wanted to obtain custody of Jesse from her cousin but couldn’t resolve the matter privately, thus they had to see each other in court.

It didn’t matter to Jean which lawyer she found to represent her, as long as they could secure a win.

But under no circumstances could it be the man standing before her, Justin Holden.

As she pushed the door open and saw him, she was stunned as her heart seemed to stop, feeling as if the blood in her veins had frozen.

She couldn’t breathe, and her chest held a heart that hadn’t felt such pain in a long time.

This Senior Counselor Holden before her was her daughter’s biological father.

Of course, he was unaware of this fact.

He didn’t even recognize who she was.

In the black and white minimalist-style office, Justin Holden sat at his desk, emanating an aura of elegant detachment, with clean short black hair, high brows, a chiseled face, and defined features.

His well-tailored dark suit accentuated his well-proportioned broad shoulders and long legs, making his physique appear even taller, with his long narrow black eyes beneath rimless glasses exuding a composed and restrained charm.

"I will take on your case from now on."

"If there are any subsequent issues, feel free to contact me, here is my business card."

His slender, distinct fingers lightly pressed a plain white business card, pushing it to the front of the table, with neatly trimmed nails casting a healthy pink hue.

He withdrew his fingers from the card, and another small hand reached over to pick up the card on the table.

It was a woman’s hand, slender, bony, with thin skin wrapped around the bones, and blue veins visible on the back of the hand.

The woman standing at the table with the card had long, slightly curled black hair softly draped in front of her chest, her voluminous hair partially covering her face.

Large, empty eyes were exposed, along with a high, delicate nose, with her full cherry lips slightly chapped, lip lines clearly visible, and lip color so pale it almost blended with her fair skin.

A white round-neck fitted short-sleeve shirt, light blue straight-leg jeans, white thin-soled canvas shoes, and a clean, faded backpack slung over her shoulder.

Justin Holden glanced at her a couple of times, noticing how mismatched her age was to her attire, probably because she had been in prison for a long time and hadn’t yet adjusted to life outside.

Skinny and delicate, with a pure face, if it weren’t for the paternity test in her hand, no one would believe she had a four-year-old daughter.

"I had an appointment with Lawyer Warner."

Jean placed the card back on the table silently, her voice slightly hoarse, the tremble detectable at the end if listened to carefully.

Justin Holden mistakenly thought she cared that he was a male lawyer; many women who served time in prison were very apprehensive of the opposite sex after release, feeling more secure around the same sex.

"If Lawyer Warner returns soon, I will reassign your case to her."

"I can wait."

She hurriedly expressed as he was halfway through his sentence.

What she didn’t expect was that he would stop speaking unexpectedly, raising his head to meet her eyes with a calm gaze.

In that instant, her fingers on the table edge curled up, hastily avoiding his gaze.

She had lost seventy pounds in prison, dropping from a two-hundred-pound person to just ninety pounds now, so it was no wonder he didn’t recognize her.

However, a person’s eyes can’t change with weight loss.

"Alright, when Lawyer Warner gets back, I’ll have her contact you immediately."

Justin Holden heard what she implied; she would rather wait, insisting on a female lawyer.

Dodging his gaze was a sign of inner fear.

He mistakenly thought she was afraid of a male lawyer, assuming it might be related to the crime she was imprisoned for.

As she was unwilling to bring it up, he wouldn’t ask more.

"Thank you."

Jean lowered her head, her long thick lashes naturally falling, unable to hide those always moist eyes, her voice particularly cold as she thanked him.

Justin Holden, catching a glimpse of her lowered head, paused his right hand hovering over the silver-gray mouse, the other hand on the table, fingers curling slightly, tapping lightly on the desktop.

Beneath the rimless glasses, his cold black eyes turned from a cursory glance to a focused gaze.

Feeling his scrutiny, Jean turned and walked away quickly, but before she had taken two steps, a low, calm male voice sounded again behind her.

"Your name is Jean Ellison?"

Jean’s back stiffened as she stood facing away from him, responding quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

She gently bit her lower lip, her palms damp, her breathing completely still, as if the air around her had solidified.

Wasn’t her name on the information sheet, hadn’t he seen it?

"Is there a problem with my name, Lawyer Holden?"

She managed to regain her composure, her voice steady.

Justin Holden looked at Jean standing by the door, and another woman’s shadow appeared in his mind, overlapping with her back view but never quite aligning.

He furrowed his brow, removed his glasses with one hand, massaging his temple with the other, and casually said, "This surname is quite rare in Kingswell City."

"My hometown is Pullen City, everyone in the village has the surname Ellison,"

Jean answered crisply, her footsteps gradually fading away.

She was right; there were many Ellisons across Pullen City, with at least twenty villages sharing the surname altogether.

Justin Holden closed his eyes briefly, picking up the rimless glasses on the table, and putting them back on.

He normally didn’t converse so much with clients; the discussions typically revolved solely around the case.

His attention to Jean was purely because her eyes resembled someone, Claire Caldwell, his first love.

Only the eyes were similar, while the face shape and body weren’t at all.

Claire Caldwell should still be serving time at Crestwell Women’s Penitentiary, having been sentenced to six years, now only in her fifth year.

It was he who served as the plaintiff’s lawyer, using legal statutes and evidence, personally sending her to prison, so how could he forget how many years she’d been sentenced?

She had a year left to serve, so how could she possibly appear here?

Jean couldn’t quite remember how she left Keystone Law, she walked quickly as if chased by a dangerous beast behind her.

The laces of her shoes came undone, causing her to trip and fall, but she quickly got up from the ground.

She didn’t stop to tie her shoes, letting the white laces get caked with dirt, stumbling away by leaning against the wall.

Each breath hurt terribly in her chest, her throat, nasal passages, and eyes filled with a sour sensation.

Scalding tears flowed in streams down her cheeks, running along her sharp chin to her slender neck, quickly soaking into her collarbone and wetting the thin collar of her top.

"Hello, Lawyer Warner, this is Jean Ellison. I contacted you before. I don’t want to change lawyers. Could you tell me when you’ll be back in the country?"

When the call connected, there was a brief pause, evidently trying to recall who she was.

"I’m uncertain when I’ll return, the soonest being half a year, I can’t handle your case."

"My colleague, Lawyer Justin Holden, is an outstanding lawyer, never having lost a case; you can completely trust him."

Hearing the dial tone as the call ended, Jean felt her heart plummet to the depths, she laughed at herself bitterly; of course, she "trusted" him.

Well, Justin Holden had never lost a case in his career, and even when personally sending his girlfriend to prison, he didn’t hesitate.

Her thoughts stretched back to the last time she saw Justin Holden in court four years ago.

She had been in handcuffs and shackles, looking haggard, with disheveled long hair, wearing a dark blue prison uniform, accompanied by armed officers.

Justin Holden attended as the plaintiff’s lawyer, impeccably dressed, with an indifferent expression, not showing a trace of emotion throughout, as if they were strangers.

By then, she already had their daughter Jesse inside her, unbeknownst to either of them, and fortunately unknown to him.

Regaining custody of Jesse from her cousin Jules Ellison was challenging, but at least there was a glimmer of hope.

If it was Justin Holden, Jean dared not to think; a top attorney like him would have countless ways to ensure she could never obtain custody of Jesse, even unto death.