I Lost Our Child Chapter 30
Later, the company’s legal team sued them for defamation and invasion of privacy.
At first, their side was defiant.
But after the full interview footage and the confirmed outline were submitted as evidence, their tune changed quickly.
Ava didn’t come to the mediation.
Her mother sat across from us, her expression sour.
“It was all a misunderstanding. Why does it have to go to court?”
I looked at her.
“My full name and workplace were in that video.”
“When people started calling my office, that was not a misunderstanding.”
She slammed her bag on the table.
“Ava has already lost so much work because of you. What more do you want?”
The lawyer reminded her to watch her tone.
She still glared at me.
“You got divorced, you got some of Thatcher’s assets, and now you’ve been promoted.”
“You already have everything. Why can’t you just let her go?”
I suddenly remembered the first time I met her, in that café.
Back then, she had spoken as if giving an order, telling me to divorce Thatcher, as if my marriage could be taken away the moment her daughter wanted it.
And now it was the same.
In her eyes, as long as my life wasn’t bad, all the hurt I had suffered could simply be erased.
I looked at her and said slowly, “I was promoted because I went out into the field and earned it, over and over again.”
“The assets I received in the divorce are my legal right.”
“Neither of those is a reason for your daughter to avoid responsibility for what she did.”
I picked up the mediation proposal.
“The public apology stays up for thirty days.”
“You cover all legal costs.”
“You compensate my actual losses.”
“None of those terms are negotiable.”
She was about to say something else.
Leo, who had been silent the whole time, stopped her.
“Mom, stop.”
He looked much more worn than the last time I’d seen him.
“Ava was the one who had the manager revise the outline.”
“She was also the one who picked the interviewer.”
Mrs. Rossi looked at him in disbelief.
“Whose side are you on?”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
Leo closed his eyes briefly.
“We always thought Ava was the victim, that anyone who didn’t indulge her was hurting her.”
“But what she needs most right now is treatment, not someone else to take responsibility for her life.”
Mrs. Rossi shot to her feet.
“So even you won’t stand up for your sister anymore?”
Her voice echoed out the door.
No one answered her.
In the end, their side accepted every condition.
When I signed the papers, I didn’t feel excited.
I just felt lighter.
I wasn’t taking revenge on anyone.
I was only removing accusations that had never belonged to me.