Chapter 1326:
His name was Huey Francis—a man in his early thirties, neatly dressed in a suit and carrying a professional briefcase. She had met him during her travels. He handled mainly civil disputes and had limited experience with criminal cases, but he was well regarded for his diligence and careful attention to detail.
“Melany,” Huey said as he sat beside her, glancing briefly toward the interrogation room. “I looked into the situation on my way here. Your friend caused serious injuries. If the report confirms it, this could be classified as intentional harm. But if we argue self-defense—or even excessive defense—we may still have a case.”
Melany nodded quickly. “He was protecting me from Carlos.”
“Were there any surveillance cameras at the scene?”
“Not inside my apartment, but my daughter—” She glanced toward the window, where Evelina was still asleep in the car outside.
Huey paused, considering carefully.
“If we can get a statement from your daughter, it might help support a self-defense claim—or excessive defense, at minimum,” he said, closing his notebook. “I’ll go speak with the officers now.”
Melany gave a small nod.
Huey stood and walked to the front desk.
𝗥𝗲𝘢𝘥 𝗳𝘳𝗈m 𝘺о𝘂r рh𝘰ոе o𝗻 𝗀𝘢lոo𝗏𝗲l𝘀.𝘤o𝘮
About twenty minutes later, he returned with a serious expression.
“They said that to establish excessive defense, we need to demonstrate that the threat was still ongoing when your friend intervened. If the danger had already passed by that point, any force used afterward won’t qualify as self-defense,” he explained.
Melany’s expression changed immediately. “What do they mean by ‘passed’? Carlos was still inside my home. He terrified my daughter—made her cry—he—”
“I understand,” Huey interrupted gently, lowering his voice. “But the law focuses on the precise moment the threat ceases. By the time your friend acted, Carlos was no longer actively threatening you—which makes it look more like retaliation than self-defense.”
Melany’s hands slowly curled into fists.
“There’s also this,” Huey added after a brief hesitation. “The investigators mentioned that Carlos already has a lawyer and isn’t willing to settle. If his injuries are classified as serious, your friend could be looking at prison time.”
“Then we take it to court,” Melany said firmly. “I refuse to believe we have no chance of winning.”
Huey looked at her steadily. “I know you have the resources—but you need to understand the reality. Carlos has suffered severe injuries. Both hands are fractured and three ribs are broken. That’s well beyond minor harm, and the judge won’t have much room to be lenient.”
The weight of it settled on Melany immediately. The likely outcome was clear—Deandre would be sentenced.
“There’s still a possibility we could reduce the sentence,” Huey added quietly.
“That won’t be necessary,” Melany said, shaking her head. “He won’t end up in jail.” She paused, then said softly, “You can go.”
That decision meant she wouldn’t interfere—and the unspoken debt between them would remain exactly as it was.
Inside the interrogation room, Deandre sat with his hands cuffed, his expression calm and unreadable.
Across from him, a young officer was taking notes. When he asked Deandre’s age, there was no response—only a steady, composed stare that made the officer’s pen pause mid-motion.
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