"When can we start?"

"How about now?"

"I need to finish repairing this witness stand, file my paperwork, and then we should sit down."

"You can walk me through everything."

"The case."

"The technology."

"What really happened with Meridian."

"I have files in my car."

"Boxes of them."

"Everything Brighton had."

"Good."

"We're going to need all of it."

Lucas paused before speaking again.

"Evelyn... I need you to understand something."

"I'm not doing this because I think we'll definitely win."

"The odds are against us."

"But I am doing this because I believe you deserve a real defense."

"And because sometimes standing up is more important than winning."

Evelyn smiled faintly.

"I'll take that."

"And call me Evelyn."

"Lucas."

They shook hands again.

A proper introduction this time.

Across the courtroom, Richard Hail packed his briefcase while his team gathered around him.

He caught Lucas's eye and smiled.

It wasn't a friendly smile.

It was the smile of a predator who had just spotted easy prey.

"Mr. Reed," Hail called across the room.

"A word?"

Lucas walked over, aware that Evelyn followed a step behind.

Up close, Richard Hail was even more imposing.

Tall.

Perfectly groomed.

Radiating the confidence of three decades of courtroom victories.

"That was quite a performance," Hail said.

"Very dramatic."

"The janitor becomes a lawyer."

"I'm sure the press will love it."

Lucas remained expressionless.

"This isn't about the press."

"No?"

"Then what is it about?"

"Recapturing your former glory?"

"Proving something to yourself?"

His smile widened.

"Or maybe you actually believe you can win."

Lucas answered quietly.

"Maybe I just believe everyone deserves a fair fight."

"How noble."

Hail's tone made it obvious he considered nobility a weakness.

"Let me offer you some free advice."

"Counselor to counselor."

"Walk away."

"Ms. Moore's case is dead in the water."

"The evidence against her is overwhelming."

"Her previous attorney knew it."

"That's why he withdrew."

"By taking this case, all you'll accomplish is humiliating yourself and destroying whatever reputation you still have."

Lucas studied him calmly.

"If the evidence is truly overwhelming..."

"Why are you so concerned about who's representing her?"

"I'm not concerned."

"I'm being courteous."

"I remember you from before."

"You had talent."

"I'd hate to see you throw away whatever you've built over the last six years for a hopeless cause."

Lucas searched Hail's face for even the smallest crack beneath the polished confidence.

There wasn't one.

This was a man entirely comfortable with power.

Entirely convinced of victory.

"I appreciate your concern," Lucas replied.

"But I'm fine."

Hail picked up his briefcase.

"Your choice."

"But when this is over..."

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

He turned to leave.

Then glanced back over his shoulder.

"See you next Tuesday, Mr. Reed."

"And try to dress appropriately for court."

"Those work boots really aren't suitable."

His legal team followed behind him like ducklings trailing their mother.

The courtroom slowly emptied.

People gathered their belongings while continuing animated conversations about what they had just witnessed.

Lucas became aware of someone standing nearby.

The young paralegal.

"Ms. Carter, right?"

She nodded, looking exhausted.

"I'm so sorry about all this."

"I had no idea Mr. Brighton planned to withdraw."

"If I'd known..."

Evelyn gently interrupted.

"It's not your fault."

"You didn't know."

"I still feel terrible."

Sarah hesitated before lowering her voice.

"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 the case..."

"But he didn't take me off."

"If you need help organizing documents or locating evidence, I'm still officially assigned as paralegal support."

Lucas felt genuine relief.

"That would be incredibly helpful."

"Are you sure you want to risk it?"

"Helping us won't exactly make you popular at your firm."

Sarah gave a small, bitter laugh.

"Mr. Reed..."

"They worked me eighty hours a week for eight months."

"And then left me to clean up their mess this morning without any warning."

"I don't care about being popular."

"I care about doing the right thing."

She glanced toward Evelyn.

"And besides..."

"I actually believe in her technology."

"What she's trying to accomplish matters."

Evelyn smiled warmly.

"Thank you, Sarah."

"That means more than you know."

For a brief moment, the three of them stood together.

An unlikely team brought together by chaos.

A billionaire entrepreneur.

A paralegal abandoned by her own boss.

And a carpenter who used to be a lawyer.

Lucas thought about his daughter.

About the phone call he needed to make.

About the seven exhausting days waiting ahead.

But more than anything else...

He thought about the feeling growing inside his chest.

A spark he hadn't felt in six years.

Purpose.

Direction.

The strange certainty that he was exactly where he was supposed to be...

Even if that place terrified him.

"All right," he finally said.

"First things first."

"Let me finish repairing that witness stand properly."

"Then I'll file my paperwork."

"After that, we meet."

"Where?"

"My office," Evelyn replied.

"It's about twenty minutes from here."

"We have a conference room."

"And Sarah's right."

"There are boxes of files waiting for us."

"Perfect."

"Give me two hours."

"I need to take care of the legal paperwork..."

"And make one 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 hesitated.

"I should warn both of you."

"I'm going to need to brush up on a lot."

"It's been a while."

"I may not remember everything right away."

Evelyn smiled.

"None of us are perfect."

"We'll figure it out together."

Sarah nodded.

"Besides..."

"Mr. Hail's team may have more lawyers."

"More money."

"More resources."

"But we have something they don't."

Lucas looked at her.

"What's that?"

Sarah answered without hesitation.

"We actually care about the truth."

Maybe it sounded naïve.

In corporate litigation, truth often mattered less than presentation.

Less than strategy.

Less than expensive lawyers and deeper pockets.

But standing there in the nearly empty courtroom, looking at two women willing to fight despite impossible odds...

Lucas found himself believing it.

Maybe caring about the truth did matter.

Maybe...

It would be enough.

He would find out soon enough.

Judge Chen's clerk appeared behind the bench, preparing the courtroom for the next case.

Lucas picked up his toolbox.

He finished the final cuts on the witness stand and tested the repaired wood.

Solid.

Stronger than before.

He looked at it for a moment.

Thinking about broken things.

About how the right tools and enough care could make them whole again.

About how cracks didn't always make something weaker.

Sometimes...

They made it stronger.

He turned back toward Evelyn and Sarah.

"Two hours."

"I'll see you then."

Lucas walked out of Courtroom Six and into the marble halls of the Henderson County Courthouse.

Past the security station, where the guards greeted him by name because he had repaired the breakroom door only a month earlier.

Past the administrative offices, where he had fixed desks, shelves, and filing cabinets.

Finally, he stepped into the warm June sunlight.

He pulled out his phone.

And called his daughter.

She answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Dad."

"How's work?"

Lucas couldn't help smiling.

"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."

A brief pause.

"That sounds ominous."

"Good ominous or bad ominous?"

Lucas smiled despite himself.

Twelve years old, and already she could read him perfectly.

Lucas smiled.

"Honestly... I'm not sure yet."

"But I think it might be good."

"Different, anyway."

"Okay."

"Wanna meet at Jeppe's?"

"I could go for pizza."

"Jeppe's at four."

"My treat."

Nina laughed.

"Everything's your treat, Dad."

"You're the adult."

"Fair point."

"See you at four."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

He ended the call and stood quietly in the courthouse parking lot, looking up at the building.

Six years.

Six years of fixing broken things.

Cleaning offices.

Remaining invisible.

Six years of carefully constructed peace.

Now he was about to shatter that peace completely.

Lucas thought about Richard Hail's confidence.

About the mountain of evidence waiting for him.

About standing against an army of corporate attorneys with virtually unlimited resources while he was rusty, out of practice, and representing a client the world already assumed was guilty.

Then he thought about Evelyn.

About the look on her face when her attorney abandoned her.

About the way she had sat alone in that courtroom.

About the words she had spoken.

"Meridian Solutions wants my technology."

"They can't replicate it themselves, so they're using lawsuits and intimidation to take it."

Lucas had spent five years defending corporations exactly like Meridian.

He knew their playbook.

In some cases...