Estre frowned as she looked up from herptop. “What’s up?”


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    Jesse hesitated, sensing that she might have opened a can of worms by bringing up the topic. But


    Estre was waiting for an answer, so Jesse had no choice but to spill the beans. “Jason got into a fight


    with Gayst night and shattered both Gay’s legs.”


    Estre’s expression darkened. Just moments ago, Jason was here and didn’t breathe a word about it.


    Estre’s brow furrowed, and Jesseined, “It’s a bitte to do that, isn’t it?”


    She then nced at Isaac, “Isaac, what’s with you? Why aren’t you calling me ‘Dad’ anymore? Call me


    ‘Dad’, sweetie.”


    Isaac shook his head at her, “It’s not Dad, it’s Jesse.”


    Jesse’s patience wore thin, and she turned to Estre, “What’s going on here? Howe overnight


    this kid’s whole demeanor has changed?”


    Estre wasn’t pleased either, “Who knows what kind of trick Jason yed on him. They spent some


    time together, and now the kid’s acting like Jason’s his new dad.”


    Jesse let out a frustrated sigh, “Damn, seems like there’s nopeting with blood ties.”


    Estre retorted, “What blood ties could Isaac possibly share with him? Isaac’s mine and


    mine alone.”


    Jesse nodded in agreement, “Of course, he’s all yours.”


    Still, the inexplicable closeness between Isaac and Jason left Estre feeling helpless. But with a


    mountain of work to get through, including helping Serene dig into a seven-year-old fire incident,


    Estre had no time to dwell on Jason. She took advantage of Jesse entertaining Isaac, and got back


    to organizing her case files. She was determined to resolve thend and water pollution issue at


    Glimmering Lake, and to expose theplicit Gctic Enterprises, along with any higher-ups who had


    been covering for them.


    It was going to be tough, no question about it.


    Later that afternoon, not long after Jesse left with Isaac, Bryce showed up. Noticing Isaac wasn’t there,


    he seemed a bit down, “Has my boy gone home?”


    Estre replied, “Jesse just took him back.”


    Now, Estre had also grown ustomed to Bryce referring to Isaac as his son and Jesse treating


    Isaac like one.


    08:38


    As Estre limped over to pour Bryce some water, he quickly stepped in to take the jug from her hands.


    They sat down on the couch with their water, and Bryce’s expression became somber.


    Before Estre could ask what was on his mind, Bryce spoke up, “I made a trip to the resort. All


    surveince footage rted to that fire from years ago has been wiped. I asked the manager, and got


    the brush-off-too much time has passed, and they don’t remember. They imed it was just an


    electrical ident.


    Bryce’s words hung in the air, and Estre’s gaze sharpened, “An ident? Convenient how the


    surveince is gone too. Too convenient if you ask me.”


    Had the resort’s surveince been intact, their excuse might have held some water. But as it stood,


    Estre wasn’t buying it.


    Bryce continued, “They said it was identally deleted by security.” He paused, then added, “E, this


    case might have more to it than meets the eye.”


    Back then, the government chalked it up to an electrical fault, and without further suspicion-after all,


    even Jason couldn’t find the cause-it seemed likely to be an ident.


    Revisiting the case now, Bryce could see it was full of holes.


    Estre probed, “When was the footage deleted? Did the resort give you a specific timeline?”


    Bryce shook his head, “They yed dumb, kept saying they didn’t know.”


    Leaning back against the sofa, Estre let out a slow breath, “It seems there’s something fishy about


    this. We’ll have to dig deeper.”


    Bryce suggested, “I’ll talk to Jason, see if he looked into it back in the day, maybe he’ll have some


    leads.”


    “That could work,” Estre agreed.


    After discussing the case and Isaac’s situation, Bryce received a work call and had to head back to the


    office.


    In the days that followed, Jason dropped by twice a day, Kristin also came to visit several times, and


    both Serene and Holly made appearances. Since Estre had made a deal with Serene, Serene hardly


    mentioned Jason in front of her anymore, which was a relief for Estre.


    Holly remained her usual amiable self, getting along with everyone.


    Estre, who had suffered a minor fracture, was discharged from the hospital after a week once the


    swelling in her leg had gone down and the pain had lessened.


    Logan insisted that, as she was injured in the line of duty, Keegan should be her driver,


    00.00


    taking her to and from the office every day.


    Though she was advised to rest more, Estre was reluctant to stay idle, and the office was swamped


    with cases, especially Estre’s own high-profile ones. Reluctantly, they let her return to work, albeit


    with her injury.


    That evening, after a long day, Estre arrived home to find that Autumn had already put Isaac to bed.


    As Estre moved to head upstairs, Autumn stopped her, “Estre, hold on a minute. There’s


    something I need to discuss with you.”


    Estre turned and settled back into the living room. The maid brought over a cup of lemonade, and


    with a grave tone, Autumn broached the subject, “Estre, I’ve heard your current case is quite


    complex, is that right?” She was referring to the environmental pollution case involving Gctic


    Enterprises at the Glimmering Lake factory.


    Estre looked up with a smile, “Mom, since when have you taken an interest in my work?” Autumn


    replied, “Estre, I’ve heard that case involves some high-ranking officials, and there’s a lot of pressure


    from the courts. They say the higher-ups are pushing for a quick resolution to close the case.”


    Before Estre could respond, Autumn continued, “You’ve juste back, and the case is so wide-


    ranging. Perhaps you could find an excuse to pass it on, or better yet, wrap it up quickly without digging


    any deeper.”


    That afternoon, while getting facials with a few otherdies, Autumn had learned that the case reached


    far and wide. Even the judges and jurors responsible for the case were receiving threats. Justst


    night, a young juror narrowly escaped a hit-and-run. Fearing for her daughter’s safety, Autumn urged


    Estre to step away from the case.


    Listening to Autumn’s concerns, Estre chuckled softly, “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fin


    Even if Autumn didn’t voice her worries, Estre was well aware of the recent buzz, understanding the


    complexity of the case she was handling. After all, the factory’s inspections and the annual regtory


    approvals hinted at involvement from various official quarters.


    Estre had also caught wind of rumors suggesting that she was a fresh returnee looking to cement her


    position by clinging tenaciously to this case. Estre didn’t take these whispers to heart, confident in


    her purpose and her actions.


    The residents of Glimmering Lake were suffering; with pollution causing sickness, developmental


    issues in children, and even deformities, she couldn’t be swayed by gossip or dissuaded by pressure


    from the powers that be.


    “You’re so stubborn, my child. Why won’t you ever listen to me just once?” Autumn pleaded, her


    anxiety evident.


    08-28


    The


    orvold family did hold a certain prestige in Ravenwood and had their connections, but when it came to


    a showdown with the real heavyweights, they didn’t have the clout. All Autumn desired was a quiet life,


    free from turmoil and entanglements,