«I’m not signing it, Gabe,» Stella refused. Her voice trembled as she held back tears. «We bought that house together. The down payment was my money. I have a right to that house.»
Gabe’s face turned red with anger. The veins in his neck bulged. He hadn’t expected the usually quiet and obedient Stella to dare contradict him in front of his colleague.
«You wretched woman,» Gabe hissed, taking a step closer until his face was just inches from Stella’s, trying to physically intimidate her. «You want to play rough? You think that little bit of money you had back then means anything? I paid for the rest. You’re just a parasite, a leech.»
Gabe’s harsh words hung in the air. His furious eyes were suddenly distracted by the figure of an old man sitting quietly on the bench next to where Stella stood. The figure of an old man in worn clothes with a wooden cane who had been listening silently all along, but who was now looking at Gabe with a strange, cold gaze.
Gabe frowned, annoyed by the presence of a stranger spoiling the scene. He waved his hand at Mr. Kessler as if shooing away a beggar.
«Get out of here, old man! Don’t listen in on important people’s business. This is a private matter, not a free show,» Gabe yelled rudely.
Mr. Kessler remained unfazed, simply shifting the position of his cane calmly, and then smiling faintly. A smile full of mystery.
«Please, continue, son. I’m enjoying the show. It’s not often I get to see someone digging their own grave with their sharp tongue.»
Gabe stared, his eyes wide with offense. «What did you say? You decrepit old man who doesn’t know his place? Hey, security, where are you? How can a vagrant get into the courthouse waiting area? He’s just a nuisance.»
Gabe turned to Leo. «Leo, call security. Tell them to drag this old man out of here. His smell is distracting me.»
«Gabe!» Stella exclaimed spontaneously, unable to bear seeing Mr. Kessler humiliated like that. She took a step, shielding Mr. Kessler from her husband’s glare. «Don’t be rude to your elders. This man helped me on the bus earlier. He’s a good person, with far more class than you.»
Gabe burst out laughing at Stella’s defense. «Ah, so this is your new friend? A vagrant from the city bus. Ha ha ha. Oh, Stella, Stella, you’ve really sunk low. Divorced by a top lawyer, and now you’re seeking protection from a stinking beggar. Perfect. You two make a great pair, both equally pathetic.»
Leo also laughed mockingly, adjusting his tie with an arrogant gesture. «Just let it go, boss. It’s not worth stooping to deal with a senile old man. It’s a waste of time. Just force your wife to sign, and let’s get this over with.»
Gabe stopped laughing. His face turned fierce again as he glared at Stella, ignoring Mr. Kessler, who was still sitting calmly behind.
«Listen, Stella, my patience is gone. Sign now, or I swear that in that courtroom I will expose all your shameful secrets. I’ll make it so you can never show your face in this city again.»
Stella froze. Her tears streamed down her face. She felt so small in the face of Gabe’s power.
Behind Stella, Mr. Kessler slowly stood up. His movements were calm, but radiated a powerful aura of authority, a stark contrast to his worn clothes.
«Son.» Mr. Kessler’s voice was deep, resonant, and grave, making Gabe turn instinctively. «Are you sure you want to continue with this arrogance? I advise you to speak respectfully to your wife and to your elders, because in the legal world you boast about, ethics are paramount.»
Gabe glared at Mr. Kessler, his eyes burning. His emotions peaked at being lectured by someone of a lower class.
«Who do you think you are to give me advice? What do you know about the law? I’m Gabe Mendoza, a skilled attorney from the biggest firm in the city. You’re just dust under my shoe. Get out of my sight before I have the guard drag you away.»
Mr. Kessler just let out a long sigh, shaking his head slowly, as if looking at a spoiled, lost child. Gabe had no idea that the shout he had just unleashed was the biggest mistake of his life. He had just awakened the giant whose portrait he worshipped on his office wall, but whose real face he didn’t recognize.
The atmosphere in the courthouse lobby suddenly fell silent, as if all the air had been sucked out by the escalating tension. Gabe, his pride wounded by the old man’s rebuke, snorted rudely. His hand, holding a pen, pointed at Mr. Kessler’s face, trembling with suppressed rage, on the verge of exploding.
«Listen to me, old man,» Gabe growled, his eyes blazing with threat. «I don’t care who you are. If you open your mouth again, I’ll sue you for harassment. This is between me and my wife, who doesn’t know her place.»
Gabe turned his rage back to Stella. He grabbed her arm roughly, making her cry out in pain.
«Gabe, you’re hurting me!» Stella whimpered, trying to pull away from his grip.
«Sign it now!» Gabe shouted, forcing the blue folder against Stella’s chest. «Don’t expect some prince charming to come and save you. Realize your position, Stella. You are nothing without me.»
«Let her go!» the voice boomed.
It wasn’t from Stella, but from Mr. Kessler. This time, it wasn’t the voice of a frail, weak old man. The voice thundered with authority and a resonant dignity that would make anyone’s courage shrink.
Gabe was startled. He instinctively released his grip on Stella’s arm.
Mr. Kessler took a step forward. The sound of his wooden cane hitting the ceramic floor was sharp and piercing. He stood tall, his chest out, as if the weight of age that had stooped his back had vanished. His once dull old eyes now glared at Gabe with a gaze as sharp as an eagle’s zeroing in on its prey.
«Since when does Kessler and Partners hire street thugs as senior associates?» Mr. Kessler asked, his tone cold and measured.
Gabe froze. His eyes widened. The name of the law firm was pronounced with a very specific intonation, one that a common person wouldn’t know. Kessler and Partners was his workplace, one of the most prestigious law firms in the country.
«How do you know the name of my firm?» Gabe stammered. His arrogance was beginning to crumble.
Mr. Kessler didn’t answer. He slowly adjusted the collar of his worn plaid shirt. Then, with a calm but meaningful gesture, he ran his fingers through his white hair, pushing it back.
His face was now clearly visible under the lights of the courthouse lobby. The firm jawline, the aquiline nose, and the distinctive mole under his left eye were all clearly visible.
Leo, Gabe’s colleague standing behind him, suddenly went rigid. The briefcase he was holding slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor with a thud.
«Leo, what’s wrong with you?» Gabe turned, confused by his colleague’s sudden pale and ghost-like appearance.
Leo’s body was trembling violently. His eyes were fixed on Mr. Kessler’s face with a look of horror mixed with extraordinary awe.
«Boss,» Leo whispered, his voice choked, pointing at Mr. Kessler with a trembling finger. «Boss Gabe… look closely… look closely…»
«What am I looking at?» Gabe shouted, annoyed.
He turned back to look carefully at the old man in front of him. It was then that time seemed to stand still for Gabe. His eyes scanned the old face. His memory flew to a giant, six-foot-tall oil painting that hung majestically in the main lobby of Kessler and Partners.
It was the painting of the firm’s founder, the living legend of the legal world, the god of justice whose books were required reading for every law student in the country. The figure Gabe had always idolized, whose photo he kept on his desk for motivation, but whom he had never met in person because the legend had long since retired and withdrawn from public life.
The face before him, though older and thinner than in the painting, was the same face.
The blood drained from Gabe’s face instantly. His face, once red with anger, now turned as white as a sheet of paper. His legs felt weak, like jelly. Cold sweat, as large as beads of corn, began to form on his forehead. His heart, which had been pounding with emotion, now throbbed with sheer terror.
«Mr… Mr. Kessler?» Gabe whispered, his voice almost inaudible, swallowed by an overwhelming fear.
Mr. Kessler smiled faintly, but it wasn’t the kind smile from the bus. It was the cold smile of a supreme judge ready to deliver a death sentence.
«It seems your eyes aren’t completely blind, Gabe Mendoza,» Mr. Kessler said calmly, using Gabe’s full name with precision. «I thought you had forgotten the face of the founder of the place where you make your living.»
Gabe’s world collapsed in an instant. His knees trembled so badly that he had to grab the back of a chair to keep from falling. The scruffy-looking old man he had insulted as a vagrant, whom he had called smelly, whom he had tried to kick out like a dog, was Professor Arthur Kessler, the sole owner of the law firm where he worked.
The person who held absolute control over his career and his future.
Stella, standing beside Mr. Kessler, watched the drastic change in confusion. She saw her husband, who moments ago was as fierce as a lion, now shrink into a terrified mouse.
«Gabe, what’s wrong?» Stella asked innocently, not understanding the situation.
Gabe couldn’t answer. His tongue was paralyzed, his throat tight.
Leo, being the first to react, immediately bowed deeply, almost at a ninety-degree angle to Mr. Kessler. His posture was filled with exaggerated fear and respect.
«I’m so sorry, Professor! I didn’t recognize you in those clothes. Please forgive my rudeness, Professor. I was just brought here by Gabe. I don’t know anything!» Leo stammered in a panic, trying to immediately wash his hands of the situation to save himself.
Mr. Kessler didn’t glance at Leo. His gaze remained fixed on Gabe, who was still petrified with his mouth agape.
«You said your wife is an embarrassment because she takes the bus?» Mr. Kessler asked, his voice soft but piercing. «I also took the bus today. Does that mean I’m an embarrassment to you as well?»
Gabe shook his head weakly. Tears of fear began to well up in his eyes. «No, no, Professor, no, that’s not what I meant. I swear I didn’t know it was you. I swear, Professor, if I had known it…»
«If you had known it was me, you would have kissed my feet. Is that it?» Mr. Kessler interrupted sharply. «But because you thought I was a poor person, you felt you had the right to trample on me. Is that the mentality of the lawyers I’ve trained at my firm?»
Mr. Kessler’s voice rose at the end of the sentence, echoing in the room.
Gabe felt as if he had been struck by lightning on a clear day. If Professor Kessler testified against him, it would all be over. There wasn’t a judge in the country who would dare to contradict the credibility of an Arthur Kessler. Not only would he lose the divorce hearing, but Gabe’s career as a lawyer would also be shattered. His name would be blacklisted throughout the entire legal community.
«Professor, please, don’t do this.» Gabe suddenly dropped to his knees on the cold lobby floor, his pride completely destroyed. He hugged Mr. Kessler’s legs, sobbing uncontrollably. «I’m begging you, Professor. My career? My future? Don’t destroy me, Professor. I’ll withdraw the petition. I’ll cancel the divorce. I’ll go back to Stella. Please, Professor.»
The scene was truly pathetic and, at the same time, satisfying for anyone watching. Gabe, who had arrived like a king just moments ago, was now begging at the feet of the person he had insulted.
Stella looked away. She couldn’t bear to watch, but she also felt disgusted by her husband’s insincerity. Gabe was pleading not out of love for his wife, but out of fear of becoming poor and losing his position.
Mr. Kessler looked down coldly at Gabe, groveling at his feet. He was unmoved. He slowly shifted his foot, breaking free from Gabe’s grasp.
«It’s too late for theatrics, Gabe,» Mr. Kessler said coldly. «You’re begging not because you regret hurting your wife, but because you’re afraid of losing your world. Your wife deserves her freedom today. She deserves to be free from a leech like you.»
«Get up. Don’t humiliate yourself further. We’re going to finish this in front of the judge like a man, as a man responsible for his actions should.»
Mr. Kessler then turned to Stella, extending his wrinkled but steady hand.
«Come on, Stella. Let’s go inside. Don’t be afraid. Justice is on your side.»
Stella took the offered hand, her eyes filled with tears of emotion. She walked into the hearing room with her head held high, accompanied by the legal legend. Meanwhile, Gabe, with faltering steps and an empty soul, dragged his feet behind them into the courtroom, which was about to become the tomb of his own arrogance.
Hearing Room Number Three felt much colder and more oppressive than usual. The faded white walls and rows of long wooden benches were silent witnesses to the tension hanging in the air.
At the petitioner’s table, Gabe sat slumped over. His proud, straight posture was gone. His face was pale. His eyes stared blankly at the still empty judge’s bench. Cold sweat continued to beat on his temples, even though the room’s air conditioning was humming loudly.
Beside him, Leo, the usually smooth-talking and cunning lawyer, now sat as stiff as a wax figure about to melt. He didn’t even dare to open his briefcase. Leo knew very well that both of their careers were on the line in this room. Facing Stella might have been easy, but facing the shadow of the giant behind her was suicide.
On the other side, at the respondent’s table, Stella sat calmly. Her hands were folded in her lap. Next to her sat the figure of Mr. Kessler. Although he was only wearing a worn plaid shirt and faded dress pants, the aura of dignity he radiated made the simple wooden chair feel like a king’s throne. Mr. Kessler sat upright, both hands resting on his wooden cane. His eyes were closed for a moment, as if he were meditating, waiting for the battle to begin.
The bailiff called the court to order. The side door opened. Three judges in black robes and white ties entered the room. Everyone present stood up.
The presiding judge, a middle-aged man with thick glasses and a stern face, walked to the center chair. However, as his eyes scanned the room before sitting down, he suddenly paused. The presiding judge’s eyes locked onto the figure of the old man at the respondent’s table.
He squinted, making sure he wasn’t mistaken. A second later, his stern face changed to an expression of shock, mixed with extraordinary respect. He recognized him. It was his former dissertation advisor, a retired Supreme Court justice whose integrity was internationally renowned.