Pampered By My Three Brothers: The Return Of The Neglected Heiress - Chapter 1618

Chapter 1618: Reasonable doubt

Grace never planned to celebrate her birthday with a client, but since she’d already spent a lot on these birthday dinners, letting it go without at least eating felt like a waste. Besides, Hugo was with them. That alone explained everything.

“Grace, you’re the best!” Hugo exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up while stuffing his mouth with food. “Best ever! Don’t change, Grace. Don’t.”

Grace rolled her eyes and shook her head. Her gaze shifted to Cassandra and Kiara, who barely touched their meals as they kept smiling at each other. At this point, Grace was convinced they were best friends.

They looked like they were excited to gossip about boys, she thought, chuckling to herself as she took a bite of her steak.

“Hmm!” Hugo suddenly choked. The three of them just stared as he clung to life.

A flicker of worry crossed Cassandra’s face, but seeing Grace and Kiara watch like it was a show made her bite her tongue.

Hugo pounded his chest and finally reached for a glass of water. The struggle was brief but painfully awkward. When he managed to clear his throat, he exhaled in relief.

“That was close!” he huffed, beaming at the ladies. “The food’s great.”

That’s all he’s going to say? Cassandra wondered, glancing between Kiara and Grace. He’s not going to mention how they just sat and watched while he nearly died?

“Sometimes, I don’t doubt that you survived the war,” Grace said, while Kiara nodded in agreement.

“I’m amazing, that’s why.” Hugo grinned, ready to dig in again. But now that his initial hunger was somewhat sated, his curiosity took over. “By the way, Grace, I know you have your ways, but how did you get her bail?”

Now that he mentioned it, the other two women turned their focus to Grace. Their eyes brimmed with curiosity. Not that they were ungrateful — they were just dying to know how she pulled it off. At this point, it seemed impossible.

Grace raised an eyebrow and looked between the two until her gaze settled on Cassandra.

“I forced the judge to take his hands off the case,” she said after a beat, drawing confused frowns from all three.

“You asked him to step down…?” Cassandra whispered. “How?”

“Conflict of interest,” Grace shrugged.

She straightened her back. “Your previous lawyer focused on the investigation, which isn’t a bad idea. But only if he was sure there were major flaws in it. Problem is, the police followed protocol and everything in the book. They knew exactly who they were after, and they were not playing this time.”

“But what your lawyer didn’t consider the judge,” she continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “So, I paid him an early visit and told him to recuse himself. Otherwise, I’d escalate the case to a higher court — which, of course, he wouldn’t want, because it would get messy. Not when they simply want to retire peacefully.”

“Grace?” Hugo narrowed his eyes. “What did you do? How did you make him step down?”

“Like I said — conflict of interest,” she repeated. “He’s a friend of someone from Senator Smith’s rival party list. That’s enough.”

“He’s just a member,” Cassandra muttered. “Is that really a conflict of interest?”

“His friend might just be a member, but it’s still the rival party of your grandfather’s. It’s easy to twist that into a narrative if we want to play dirty.”

Silence settled around the table as they stared at her.

“So… did he get influenced by the rival party?” Hugo asked cautiously. “He was, right?”

Grace smirked at Hugo, who always seemed to see the world in just two shades — black and white, good and bad.

“No,” she replied. “But like I said — he would be, if we played dirty. And I don’t mind doing that sometimes.”

More silence followed.

Even Cassandra and Kiara were speechless, staring at Grace. It shouldn’t surprise them. She was a lawyer — one who clearly knew how to wield the law to her advantage.

Still, it was surprising. None of them had expected this.

Then again, none of them had realized just how fierce Grace’s field was.

“So, with the judge stepping down, I had the case reevaluated — along with his original ruling,” Grace continued casually. “After a lot of persuasion, the new judge agreed that Cassandra Smith wasn’t a flight risk. The prosecution argued she was leaving the country the day of the arrest, but she wasn’t fleeing. She didn’t know she was going to be arrested.”

Grace tilted her head toward Cassandra. “You were attending a conference, right?”

No? both Cassandra and Kiara thought at once.

Cassandra had been leaving for good — running from everything after calling off her engagement, trying to find herself again.

“Their faces are saying that’s a lie,” Hugo muttered, earning a sharp look from Grace.

“Doesn’t matter, Hugo. As long as it’s believable and creates reasonable doubt, that’s all we need,” Grace replied, unfazed. “Cassandra is part of the medical community, and her name’s listed as a delegate. There was a mental health conference the day after her arrest, and the invitation was in her luggage. That’s enough to discredit the prosecution’s argument.”

She shrugged again, not a hint of remorse in her voice or demeanor. “So, even if the new judge didn’t want to, he had to reconsider. Because there’s reasonable doubt. And that’s all we needed to change the decision.”

The other three just stared at her — stunned. Torn between awe and fear over what Grace was capable of.

Was it questionable? Yes.

But there were people who played far dirtier just to win.

Thinking about it, Cassandra felt a sense of relief — deeper than anything she’d felt with her own family.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I mean it — really.”

“I know.” Grace nodded, then glanced between them. “Anyway, I’d love to dive deeper into the case now, but I think you’d all appreciate a bit of peace. Let’s meet again tomorrow and talk more then. Sound good?”

Kiara and Cassandra exchanged a look before nodding with small smiles.