Under the Veil of Night

After Alan stepped forward, the tide was completely turned to Jason's favor. Another stain was added to Ivan's name, making his reputation plummeted further. Ivan tried to divert the discussion back to Jason, but it turned to attack him from all directions.

Even without the judges telling him that he was the one who lost, the result was already apparent.

The court verdict was Jason was not wrong and it was Ivan who had to pay the penalty fee for falsely accusing the young man.

"The debate is over. Judges will be leaving the room."

The audiences stood up. Ivan was glaring towards Jason as if he wanted to bear a hole there. If only looks can kill, Jason would have died a few times over the course of the court.

'This is not over,' Ivan mouthed out.

Jason arched his eyebrows. He was not afraid of the threat that Ivan gave him. Whatever Ivan wanted to do, he would be prepared to welcome it.

'You can come at me anytime.'

The two of them glared towards each other before they walked back to the resting room. The first thing Jason saw was Laura sitting on the sofa, waiting patiently. Even though she has been spouting a lot of things bravely, right now, she looked like a little kitten.

"Are you alright, Laura?" Jason approached the girl and hugged her tenderly. "I'm sorry for asking you to be the witness."

"It's my decision," Laura flashed a smile. "Moreover, we win, right?"

"Yes," Jason smiled warmly. He pulled the girl up as he sat down before placing her on his lap, his hand held her waist firmly in place.

Clara chuckled when she saw these two acted close with one another. "You did great."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Clara. You're a great help for us," Jason expressed his thanks.

"You should give your thanks to your friend more than me," Clara smiled. "It's Kanae who tells me about Alan and the fact that he's willing to confess what Ivan did to him."

Jason flashed a smile. When Kanae handed him the information, she had secretly added that she made a personal visit to Alan. That visit should be enough to push Alan into switching his stance, allowing them to gain a precious witness. Even though Clara could make do with coercing the other party's witness, Alan became the perfect blow.

Laura's eyes widened. "Mrs. Clara, do you talk with my sister?"

"She sent me an email," Clara replied. She eyed Laura curiously. "Do you have some problem with your sister?"

"Umm, I just can't talk to her," Laura replied in a soft voice. After the hospital incident, she hadn't seen her sister again. This was already nearing the end of fall's season, so it has been a few months.

"I'll see what I can do to talk with her," Clara smiled wryly. She knew that it would be hard as she didn't know Kanae's phone number.

"There's no need. I'll be waiting for that by myself," Laura immediately rejected.

"If that's what you wish."

Laura eyed Clara, who was busy making a call, with curiosity. She didn't understand why Clara would gladly help her even though they didn't have any close relationship. Even before, Clara didn't ask for a payment when he helped her go against the Nali Family.

"If you're busy, we won't take more of your time, Mrs. Clara," Jason spoke up when Clara had finished making the call. "Thank you very much for helping us. Please tell me about the payment for your service."

"There's no need for that," Clara smiled.

"I insist. I'm not Kanae, so there's no need for you to help me for free. I'll pay in full for your service."

Clara sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you the details in your email, but don't make a call to me telling me that you regret it after you see the number."

"I won't," Jason chuckled.

Clara talked with the other witnesses before departing back home. She has more cases in the other city, so she had to catch a flight. Thankfully, the court ended faster than what they imagined.

"Do you want to eat first? I'll order some food in your favorite restaurant," Jason offered Laura.

"That's a good idea."

Inside the car, Laura made a phone call to Misae, telling the great news about the court. Honestly, Misae had seen the news report, so there was no need for Laura to tell her personally.

"Misae, we won the case!"

"I know! Congratulations," Misae replied. She hurriedly lowered the volume for the television that she watched. It was telling the exact same news that Laura told her.

"Your mother is amazing," Laura praised.

"That's my mom!" Misae replied proudly. "She's my goal. She has the nickname 'Queen of the Court' because almost every case that she handled is a winning case. Someday, I'll follow behind her steps and become even better in the court,"

She has always admired her mother, so she wanted to become like the other party.

"I'm sure you can. You're learning law seriously, right?"

"Well yeah, but I just found out that there are still some additional rules in each city. My head feels like it was being jammed by thousands of books all at once…"

As Misae was not that brilliant when it came to studies, she couldn't memorize them too fast. As a result, her mother became extremely strict to her, forcing her to memorize them under harsh teaching. It took her months before she could finish learning them all.

Laura chuckled. "I know you can, Misae. Don't rush, you still have 5 years."

One year of high school and four years of university. Misae nodded her head as she smiled. "I'll become a lawyer before I return back to the city."

"What about Mike?"

"Forget about that annoying man," Misae's mood turned sour when she recalled Mike. For the past month, Mike didn't call her even once, making her annoyed at the mention of his name.

"Should I tell him to give you a call?"

"No need, I'll just let him be," Misae replied, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Laura nodded her head. She saw that the car was already near the restaurant, so she bid her goodbye to Misae. Her eyes glimmered when she saw the restaurant's name.

"Remember, you're not only eating dessert."

"I know, but I'll still eat a lot of them."

Jason secretly made a mental note that he would limit the girl's sugar intake. Sometimes, she couldn't hold herself.

…

While Jason was enjoying a date with Laura, Ivan was making his way to his home. "I need your help to get back at Jason."

"Have you finally decided to accept my terms?"

"Yes," Ivan said through gritted teeth. He was desperate because this case has tarnished his name further. One way or another, the elder got wind about him using Wells Family's name to do personal deeds. They were rebuking him through the mail and whatsoever.

"Do you know that you might not live if you decide to take it?"

"I don't care," Ivan replied. "I'm the descendant of the core member in Wells Family, my gene is far superior than other people."

"Apparently, you're still lower than Jason."

"Shut up!" the mention of the word 'Jason' caused him to feel irked. All these years, he has always been overshadowed by his cousin in everything he did. Even after asking help here and there, he couldn't overcome the huge hurdle that Jason placed in front of him.

With someone so perfect like Jason, he always lost. This made him extremely annoyed and angry both at Jason and himself.

'You take everything from me…'

The position that belonged to him before Jason was born, the wealth that should be his, the connection he was supposed to make, and moreover, the reputation that he had longed for. Everything fell on the hand of Jason, not him.

One thing

At least, he would take one thing from Jason that was precious to him no matter what. If he couldn't take them back, he would just take things from his cousin that he protected so much.

"Alright, I'll lend you my men and give you the medicine," the voice from the other side continued. "In exchange, give me a bottle of your blood."

"Deal," Ivan replied. It was just blood, nothing precious for him.

"Good. Go back to your residence, they'll be there by the time you arrive."

Ivan smirked. "Alright."

He would be ready for the last gamble.. This time, he would not let Jason off unscathed.