Chapter 5

“So there’s really no way to punish him?” Joanna gritted her teeth in frustration.

“There is. Jo, do you remember that senior from law school during our university days? The one who always drove his opponents absolutely crazy during debate competitions?”

Joanna’s eyes instantly lit up. “Luke O’Connor? He’s currently the youngest senior partner in the city, specializing in complex commercial and civil dispute cases. But his fees are very high, and he doesn’t just take on any case.”

“It’s fine. I have the money.”

The next morning, Luke O’Connor showed up right on time at Joanna’s apartment. He was wearing a dark gray suit and rimless glasses, his expression cold and stern.

“It’s been a while, Lea. Joanna has given me a rough overview of the situation over the phone, and I’ve reviewed the copy of the accident report from the traffic police.”

He pulled a document out of his briefcase and laid it flat on the coffee table.

“From the current official assessment, this is being treated as a standard traffic accident. The vehicle behind you rear-ended your car, causing a fuel leak and subsequent fire. As the driver, Shawn chose to rescue Willow Benson under emergency circumstances, given that she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and had sustained a head injury. Morally, he will be condemned. However, under current laws, it will be very difficult to hold him criminally liable.”

“Luke, if this were just about dividing up a property, I wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of calling you in. I need you to help me investigate a specific vehicle.”

Luke raised an eyebrow as I spoke.

“The stretch of highway where the accident occurred was experiencing a heavy downpour at the time. Our car was stopped between the emergency lane and the far-right lane. When the fuel leaked and caught fire, a heavy-duty truck was in the opposite lane. Because the road was slick from the rain and the driver was startled by the explosion on our side, the truck crashed into the central dividing barrier.

“The front of that truck was facing our car directly. The truck driver was trapped in his cab at the time, so he definitely witnessed the entire process. Furthermore, those kinds of long-haul trucks are always equipped with panoramic dashcams.”

Luke’s gaze shifted. He adjusted his glasses, pulled out a fountain pen, and began taking notes.

“If that footage can prove that Shawn had sufficient time to return and rescue you after carrying Willow out, but chose not to, and instead left the scene as the fire spread…”

“Then it constitutes intentional harm by omission or the offense of desertion,” I finished his sentence for him.

“It will be difficult to secure a conviction, but there are sufficient grounds to open an official investigation. More importantly, given Shawn’s special status, if this footage is handed over to internal affairs or used as evidence in a civil lawsuit, it will be sufficient to prove that he violated his duties in the face of danger and committed a major fault.

“When it comes to the property division for dissolving a common-law relationship, you can demand that he forfeit his entire shared stake in the house and claim massive emotional damages.” Luke looked at me, adjusting his glasses. “Did the traffic police retrieve the footage from that truck?”

“No, because that was treated as an independent accident. It was handled separately from our rear-end collision. The truck driver was severely injured and rushed to a different hospital. The footage should still be inside the truck or with the traffic police division handling that specific crash.”

Luke stood up and packed the documents back into his briefcase. “Leave it to me. Within forty-eight hours, I will have that videotape or a copy of the files in front of you.”

He walked to the door before turning back to look at me and adding, “Lea, a fracture is a terrible pain to endure, but I’ll make sure he pays for what he did.”

Joanna let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

“I told you Luke was reliable! Once we get that footage, I’d like to see how that bastard tries to argue his way out of this!”