All Chapters of No Gods But Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

Julian Sterling's gaze landed on the two red oracle blocks on the desk.Carved into them was the Sterling family crest. They were the same two blocks he had once tampered with.For a moment, he said nothing. Then he rubbed his brow wearily and gave a bitter smile."Stop messing around, Caroline. You know how big this case is. If you don't take it, the Sterling family's mainland operations are finished."Celia's your sister. We're practically family. Why keep clinging to what happened three years ago?"I pinched the edge of the case file and did not look at him."Sterling is your name. I'm an Eckhart."My answer is still the same. I won't take the Sterling family's case."For one frozen second, the air went still.The smile faded from Julian Sterling's face inch by inch."Is the money not enough?"Name your price. Fifty million, eighty million. The Sterling family can afford it."I remember your mother's illness... cost a lot."The tip of my pen paused lightly.Julian's ey

Chapter 2

My eyes fixed on the little girl, and my fingers clenched without thought.If my baby had grown up safely, he would have been about her age by now.Celia's greeting drifted into my ears, but I did not catch a single word.Only after a long while did I force myself to look away."I said I won't take the Sterling case. Stop wasting your effort."Celia stepped forward and gripped my hand, tears falling in streams."Caroline, I know what happened before was my fault. I shouldn't have taken Julian from you."If you have any resentment, hit me, curse me, do whatever you want."But if the Sterling family collapses, Rosie is only three. Can you bear to watch her suffer with us?"Three.Julian and I had only broken up three years ago.I looked at Celia's tearful face.She really had changed over the years.When I first met her at the orphanage, she had been curled in a corner, timid and frightened, like a startled deer.I was the one who took her into high society, poured the best

Chapter 3

Even after taking double the usual dose of melatonin, I still tossed and turned until four in the morning.Since that day three years ago, insomnia had become routine.Even in my dreams, I saw those thugs chasing me again and again.The next day, my head throbbed so badly it felt split open, but I still forced myself to go to the firm.The moment I stepped through the door, my colleagues looked at me strangely.I frowned, not understanding.Lena Price came over, her face pale. She lowered her voice."Caroline, something happened."Early this morning, Sterling Group officially announced that you would be appearing as their defense counsel. They also said...""They said the victims were maliciously extorting them, and since Verity & Cross only takes righteous cases, your willingness to take theirs proves Sterling Group is innocent."Now people are calling you a soulless lawyer who only cares about money..."She handed me her phone. The screen was filled with abuse.Sterling G

Chapter 4

The scandal at Verity & Cross spread across the internet.The former gold-standard attorney had become a legal disgrace everyone wanted to condemn.I turned off my phone, ignored the insults and slander, and plunged into a mountain of testimony.The day Sterling Group's commercial fraud case opened, the sky was bright and clear.The courthouse was surrounded by media. The most closely watched case in Harbor City had finally begun.Sterling Group had hired Nolan Ashford from Candid Law, an old rival of mine.Before court, Julian's eyes burned with fanatical confidence."Caroline, I'm giving you one last chance. Withdraw the suit now while you still can."If you lower your head, I'll cover the three hundred million in damages from the Horizon case for you."Otherwise, after today, not only will your undefeated legend be shattered, you will also learn what it's like for a lawyer to rot in prison."I stared at his false face, the corner of my mouth lifting in mockery."Julian, t

Chapter 5

I looked straight ahead and met Julian's eyes.His jaw was clenched tight, his gaze full of fury.He had not calculated that I would truly risk my life.Ashford, across from me, was stunned too.But he quickly raised his hand toward the judge."Your Honor, plaintiff's counsel is severely injured. Her state of consciousness is in doubt."For the fairness of the proceeding, I request that this hearing be postponed.""Objection."My voice came out hoarse but swift.I knew exactly what they were planning.If court adjourned today, they would have countless ways to deal with me. They could even ensure I would never stand in a courtroom again."My mind is perfectly clear. Your Honor, please allow the hearing to proceed.""Order."The gavel struck hard, the sound echoing through the courtroom.The judge looked at me, a trace of emotion in his eyes.My white suit was almost soaked through with blood."Counsel, are you certain you do not need a postponement?"Enduring the teari

Chapter 6

The next second, the world spun.Amid the reporters' cries of alarm, everything went black. I collapsed completely.When I woke up, Harbor City had changed.The once-powerful Sterling family had completely crumbled.The six hundred million in compensation had nearly emptied their cash flow.Sterling's negative publicity would not stop. Their share price kept falling, and the shareholders wailed.The business empire Julian Sterling had once been so proud of had become something everyone avoided.The first thing I did after leaving the hospital was formally file suit against Julian Sterling and Lena Price.They thought that deleting access logs would bury the truth.They forgot that in the hands of a top technical expert, electronic records could be recovered.The IP address ultimately traced back to Lena's work computer.When the police arrived at the firm and cuffed Lena's wrists, she collapsed to the floor.The next time I saw Lena was through the bars at the detention cen

Chapter 7

Julian Sterling returned home in a daze.Investigation reports from his assistant lay scattered across the desk.The top sheet was Caroline Eckhart's prenatal record from three years ago.Eight weeks pregnant. Male fetus.That was the day Celia returned home.To give Celia status, he had held a grand banquet at the Sterling estate and had not answered a single call from Caroline all night.During the banquet, Celia had played with the Sterling family's ancestral oracle blocks like a curious child.That night, Celia cast nine blessed results in a row.The entire hall had been stunned. Everyone praised her as the daughter-in-law destined for the Sterling family.He had smiled with delight back then.Because those nine blessed casts were a miracle he had created with his own hands, weighting the blocks with lead in advance.Everything had gone smoothly.Everyone envied Celia. That young girl who used to hide behind others had been cherished so publicly for the first time.Wha

Chapter 8

In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the shrill ring of my phone.Half-asleep, I grabbed it from the nightstand.The screen lit up.Caller: Julian Sterling.I hung up without hesitation.The next second, the phone rang again.This time, I woke fully.The moment I answered, Julian's hoarse voice came through."Caroline... that child. Did we once... have a child?"My fingers clenched around the phone. I was about to hang up.Then several crisp slaps sounded from his end."I'm a bastard. I'm a bastard..."I'm sorry. I didn't know you... otherwise I wouldn't have."I didn't know Celia cut off your mother's card either... She said you had stopped it yourself, that you didn't want to owe the Sterling family anything anymore."Caroline, I really didn't know this was the truth..."I spoke calmly."Julian, are you saying this now because you want me to forgive you, or because you want to feel better about yourself?"Endless silence answered me.Finally, the call was d

Chapter 9

Three days later, Celia was suddenly arrested.Julian's people discovered that my mother's cause of death had not been heart failure.At the very last moment, Celia had gone to the hospital and covered my mother's mouth and nose with a pillow.She had been afraid my mother would survive.Afraid her revenge plan would fail.I stood in court, listening to the forensic expert describe those suffocating details, my entire body cold.On the day of sentencing, I did not wear a lawyer's robe.I sat at the plaintiff's table as the victim's family.I watched the gavel fall hard, sentencing Celia to life in prison.That clear sound felt like the final mark closing these absurd three years.When she was escorted out, Celia passed by me.She paused, her voice so faint it was almost inaudible."I'm sorry..."I did not raise my head.I did not even grant her a glance.When I walked out of the courthouse, the glare of the sun made me narrow my eyes.Julian stood at the bottom of the s

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