Chapter 58
Just as the knife was about to strike Yasmine, she yanked someone else in front of her as a human shield.
That “someone” was Jenny.
Jenny’s face went completely pale. She shook like a leaf, tears streaming down her cheeks as she froze in fear. The man lunged at her with the knife, and she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for pain.
But it never came.
Instead, gasps of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
Jenny slowly opened her eyes and what she saw left her stunned.
Charlotte had thrown herself into the fray. She was unarmed, yet now locked in a fight with the attacker.
The man, wild–eyed and frenzied, swung the knife wildly in all directions, completely unhinged. Charlotte dodged each strike with sharp, quick movements, but not without cost. The blade slashed across her arm, and blood instantly soaked through the sleeve of her white blouse. “You wanna die that bad?!” the man roared, charging at her again.
Gritting her teeth, Charlotte pivoted just in time, grabbing the wrist of his knife hand and twisting it hard.
A loud snap followed by a blood–curdling scream rang out.
The attacker dropped the knife.
Without missing a beat, Charlotte kicked the blade across the room. A male colleague scrambled to pick it up and remove it from reach.
Now that the man was disarmed, he was no match for Charlotte. She struck him with a series of clean, rapid punches, forcing cries of pain from him. Then, without hesitation, she landed a powerful kick to his head.
The man stumbled, dazed and disoriented, barely able to find his footing. Before he could recover, Charlotte spun, landed a flurry of kicks, and slammed him to the ground with a flawless over–the–shoulder throw.
Everyone stared, stunned.
No one had expected the calm, soft–spoken attorney to fight like a trained fighter.
Just as the attacker lay defeated on the floor, the police and paramedics arrived. The man was quickly taken into custody. Paramedics lifted the blood–soaked Max onto a stretcher and rushed him to the hospital.
Only then did the rest of the firm dare to step forward and speak.
They weren’t celebrating survival. Fear and shock hung thick in the air.
Jenny, her face streaked with tears, could barely speak. “Miss Riley… I thought I was going to die… If it weren’t for you, I–I wouldn’t be here right now. Thank you, thank you so much…”
Yvonne’s face was ashen. “In ten years of practicing law, I’ve never seen anything like this… Being a lawyer is becoming a high–risk job.”
Yasmine was still shaking. “Is… is Max going to make it?”
Yvonne answered sharply, “He’ll be okay.”
A few of the male associates, finally snapping out of their daze, turned to Charlotte in admiration.
“Miss Riley, that was insane. I didn’t know you had that kind of skill. You were incredible.”
“Seriously, thank you for saving everyone.”
Calling you quiet was the biggest misunderstanding of my life.”
Charlotte didn’t respond to the praise.
She walked straight up to Yasmine, her expression hard.
“Miss Carter,” she said coldly, “were you trying to use Jenny as a human shield just now?”
Yasmine couldn’t meet her eyes. She stammered, “I–I panicked. It was self–defense…”
Everyone had seen it. And now, hearing her excuse, their faces twisted with disgust.
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Yasmine felt the weight of their judgment. But in her mind, it made sense. If she hadn’t pushed Jenny in front of her, she would be the one bleeding out right now. Wasn’t that just survival human instinct?
“Some excuse for self–defense,” Charlotte said coldly, her voice devoid of warmth. “And you call yourself a lawyer? You should know better than anyone that you can’t use someone else’s life to protect your own.”
It was a basic point of law. Anyone with even the slightest legal training should know.
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