The trial was pretty intense, for real. Matteo's legal dream team, with Ava and Brian at the helm, literally jumped on every single loophole. They were throwing accusations left and right – malpractice against the Prosecutor, calling Dave a nasty manipulator, and even trying to pin an unethical conspiracy on Serena and her crew. They kept hammering home arguments about the recording being taken under extreme duress and the whole personal eavesdropping thing being illegal, trying to plant seeds of doubt in the Judge and jury's minds.But Prosecutor Harrison wasn't just sitting there. Nah, he hit back at every attack with straight-up undeniable facts. The testimonies from human trafficking victims that the police managed to save, forensic reports that totally backed up every single one of Serena's claims, and the biggest one – Matteo's own confession recording, played over and over with crystal clear context, wiped away all lingering doubts. Dave's calm testimony, paired with Milla an

"Oh my god, sir!" Milla burst out, her tone a mix of anger and mounting concern. "What the hell was that?! You got slapped?!" Milla pointed to Dave's cheek, which was faintly red, though there was no significant mark. "After everything we did, coming all this way, saving that woman from her pursuers, and she slapped you?! Why do your siblings never believe you?""They'll believe eventually," Dave cut in softly, raising a hand. He walked to the table, took a bottle of water, and drank slowly. His movements were calm, as if the slap had been nothing more than a casual greeting. "I know why she did that. And I did it on purpose."Milla stopped talking, her brows furrowed. "On purpose? You let yourself get slapped? What is wrong with you? What did you expect, being so blunt? Talking about 'powerful magic' to someone you just saved. Who's gonna believe that right away?!" She shook her head in disbelief. "Sometimes I just don't get you. You're too direct."Dave sighed. "I was blunt on purpo

Jessica applied the salve to other areas of her skin, watching in amazement as the hideous wounds and sores vanished one by one. The itching and pain that had been her constant companions were now gone without a trace. It felt like she had been reborn. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, tears welling up in her eyes. Her face, which she had always hidden, now slowly began to look smooth.The next morning, Lisa entered Jessica's room with a breakfast tray.Lisa placed the tray on the table. "Miss, your breakfast—" Her sentence trailed off. Her eyes narrowed, staring at Jessica's face. Something was different. Very different. The tiny sores around Jessica's temples, which had always been her primary concern, were now almost invisible. Only a slight, faint redness remained, which could easily be hidden with light makeup."Miss, your face..." Lisa stepped closer, her eyes scrutinizing. "The wound here..." She pointed to Jessica's temple. "It's much better."Jessica smiled, a genui

At the inn, Milla was still pouting. She paced back and forth among the half-packed suitcases, grumbling incessantly."You saw it yourself, sir, didn't you? Jessica's assistant! Lisa! She's so annoying!" Milla waved her hands in the air. "I tried to help, but she just kept being cynical. As if we're master criminals!"Dave merely smiled faintly, neatly folding his clothes into a suitcase. "She's just doing her job.""Normal, my foot?!" Milla exclaimed, her face flushing. "I can't even communicate with her without her immediately looking at me like I want to steal all of Jessica's jewelry! I told her you needed a few empty rooms for 'cleansing', and she instantly glared as if I wanted to destroy the entire mansion!""That is my goal, isn't it?" Dave retorted lightly. "To cleanse.""But not destroy!" Milla snorted. "You said you needed optimal sunlight, so we had to move to rarely used rooms. And she immediately got suspicious. Thinking we wanted to take over the mansion.""Be patient,"

Jessica looked at Dave, her eyes filled with new resolve. "I've thought about it," she said. "I want you to do the cleansing."Dave gave a slight nod. "Good.""But," Jessica continued, a little hesitant, "You won't be doing it like a shaman, right? With weird rituals, or bad smells?"Dave offered a small smile. A rare smile that Jessica had only seen a few times. "I'm not a shaman, Jessica." He reassured her. "I'm just using my abilities. My senses are how I feel energy." He added, "I'll be cleansing, not adding to the mess."Jessica let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to see strange rituals or creepy incantations. "Alright. So, when are you going to start?""Now," Dave said flatly. "We'll start with your room."Jessica nodded, then turned, walking towards the stairs. Lisa, who had been standing in the corner of the room with a sour expression, now trailed behind Jessica, not taking her eyes off Dave.Upon reaching Jessica's room, Dave stepped inside. He didn't touch anything. H