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Autumn reluctantly agreed to Jason’s proposal for a Saturday get-together with a forced smile, despite her reluctance. “Sure, Saturday it is.”

And just like that, plans were made.

No sooner had Jason left than Estrella noted Autumn’s discontent. “I’ve told you before not to make promises you can’t keep. Now you’ve gotten yourself into a pickle.”

Over the past few weeks, each time Jason dropped them off, Estrella never invited him inside, despite his inquiries about when he might come in for a visit. Estrella always deftly changed the subject. It wasn’t the right time.

But this time, Autumn had done the inviting herself, and Estrella felt it wasn’t her place to comment. She didn’t make the invitation anyway.

Hearing Estrella’s words, Autumn sulked, “How was I to know Jason would be so presumptuous?”

Estrella replied matter-of-factly, “He’s never been one for pleasantries.” With that, Estrella retreated to her bedroom.

Not long ago, her father had suggested that Isaac should start sleeping in his own room to foster independence and give Estrella a break. Estrella couldn’t bear the separation, so mother and son continued to share a room. Upon entering, Estrella found the nanny had already bathed Isaac and tucked him into bed.

The nanny whispered with a smile, “Miss, little saac is such an angel. Slept through his bath just like you used to.”

“Thanks, Judy,” Estrella said, approaching the crib and gently stroking Isaac’s peaceful

face.

After a brief chat with Judy, Estrella took her own shower and finished up some work before finally settling into the large bed next to Isaac’s.

Come Friday, the day of the third hearing for the Glimmering Lake case, Estrella woke up early, had breakfast with Isaac, and then drove to the courthouse. Upon her arrival, Jason was already there.

The roadblock incident involving Estrella and Keegan, along with the alarming number of Glimmering Lake villagers falling ill, had captured public interest, drawing a sizable crowd of onlookers to the courtroom.

As Estrella stepped out of her car, Jason approached her, tucking away a stray lock of her hair and straightening her coat’s collar. “Just do your best and don’t stress,” he encouraged.

Estrella appreciated his acknowledgment of her hard work. After a brief exchange with

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Jason, Estrella entered the courthouse.

Some Glimmering Lake villagers had arrived, and seeing them, Estrella’s mind shifted completely to her work, pushing thoughts of Jason aside.

with the judge and ChemiSphere’s attorneys taking their places. The villagers seethed with anger

especially after the company’s attempts to pacify them with

Estrella, inquiring about new evidence. Estrella stood up from her position representing the plaintiffs, “Your Honor, in addition to more

an employee’s testimony, cursing the failed

the new evidence, leaving

out her case, “The new evidence reveals that although ChemiSphere purchased

it is clear that ChemiSphere has not used or operated the machine for sewage treatment since its purchase. The high operational costs meant that Chemisphere only acquired this

“Your Honor, while it’s true that the equipment was acquired from another company, it’s not the obsolete product the

conglomerate, is nearly new and fully meets national emission standards. It has been operational since acquisition, and we welcome any inspection by

of its near-new condition, one must question whether it was ever properly utilized by its previous owner, or was it merely a showpiece like at

assumptions are baseless and slanderous

the equipment. Surely, counsel, you’re well aware of the operational costs and consumption of

rifled through her briefcase and pulled out a set of graphs and charts, which illustrated the power consumption history of ChemiSphere. With

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research, it’s evident that ChemiSphere’s power usage doesn’t even come close to half of what’s typical

for ChemiSphere simply cannot support the operation of that wastewater processor, let alone the entire factory’s activities, as well as the processor itself. If there’s any doubt about this assertion, we could compare it with the recent energy figures from Big Breeze’s new

in question was a relic from years past-an antiquated behemoth that was not only costly to run but

and surreptitiously filled their wastewater discharge channels with concrete grout, hastily constructing an alternate channel. This new

has been analyzed, and the report confirms it’s fresh grout, poured in the last two months. Excluding the sealed segment, the pollution levels in the accessible parts of the channel are consistent with one another. “We can now state with certainty that for the past decade, ChemiSphere has been discharging untreated wastewater directly into Glimmering Lake, leading

photographs documenting ChemiSphere’s workers filling in the discharge channel overnight. There are even villagers who’ve been hospitalized due to severe poisoning. We implore the court to deliver justice for the people of

Lake.”

the new evidence from Estrella, a murmur arose from the gallery. A villager stood up, his voice breaking through the courtroom’s tense silence, “I was one of the workers ChemiSphere hired to plug the old channel and dig

also confirm that the machines

made countless trips to Glimmering Lake, and she had even taken the initiative to ensure the villagers had access to clean water and food. Her dedication and

judge, listening to the villagers’ testimony, struck his gavel, bringing a semblance of order, “Please, everyone

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fell over

of the offense, including the loss of fertile land and the pollution of a vital waterway, we hereby sentence the legal representative of ChemiSphere, Jace, to 10 years of imprisonment. Additionally, Jace is to cover medical expenses of 600,000 yuan per villager severely afflicted by the contamination, with additional compensation of 60,000

to his lawyer in a panic, “Say something! Aren’t you supposed to be the best? How could you let us lose to this young woman? I can’t go to jail. I have a

of!”

their indignation, “Your family’s lives matter, but what about ours? Don’t we count for anything?”

register their anger, clung to his lawyer, “Do something! What good is hiring you if you can’t

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