37:Vandalism

The officials exchanged a glance, their interest piqued. They listened intently as Evan played back the recordings, the sound of raised voices and violent outbursts filling the room. The officials' expressions hardened as they absorbed the chilling evidence.

After a few moments of silence, Court Official 1 spoke in a grave voice.

"This is deeply troubling, Mr. Evan. We will need to review these recordings as part of our investigation."

Evan nodded in relief.

He felt a glimmer of hope as he watched the officials take notes and discuss the next steps in their inquiry.

As the meeting drew to a close, Evan couldn't help but feel a sense of validation. Finally, his years of suffering were coming to an end.

The two reviewed the documents and added some notes.

They pitied the guy while also appreciating the fact that even after such a rough childhood he was now standing out.

The official one named Josh, nudged his specs and spoke, "Evan...I have a suggestion.".

Their work was to analyze and investigate things to rely on in court.

But cases of high importance generally had to be taken into consideration and the upcoming case was of nationwide importance.

"The upcoming case is tough, we already reviewed the case. Miss Suri is a top-class celebrity and her lawyer might be one of the best so your chances of winning are quite low. And the fault lies with your parents so you are bound to be implicated unless you have justification to break it won't be easy."

"The second date of the case is on the 16th of February and today is already the 29th of January. Please hurry and file a case about your parents with proof even if you don't get a hearing date before the 10th, you can showcase this in that hiring to break free."

Evan noted everything in mind.

Directly showcase all these in the hearing during Suri's case but doing so might seem deliberate and arouse suspicion though it didn't matter cause he had a health and medical certificate from a psychiatrist.

He planned to hire a lawyer but it was taking time both due to cost and his rigidity to find a suitable guy with a good character.

After some discussion, the two left, leaving him a great headache...

...…

On the other hand, things started to become quite hectic.

With the coming of the Suri case, the faded news slowly started getting highlighted.

All this started with Suri drawing a tweet about her thanking them for support and promising to punish the evil doers, then thanking everyone for helping her that day.

The defused spark was finally lit again.

News channels started broadcasting the news all over again.

Evan, Henna, and Migol were once again highlighted again with Suri Barret.

Conspiracy theories started relaying again.

Videos on Vtube went viral and many people washed their feet in the rowing water garnering thousands of views.

While some are depicted as evil and cruel, some depict her as a Goddess.

Sadly, a web series was released that gained immense popularity.

In a web series by Suri Barret named The Shy Away Girl, she was applauded for her superb acting.

A story about a shy girl with mild autism who slowly recovered to becoming a top-class model.

Her acting was top-notch and flawless further solidifying her image of an A-listed celebrity.

And she was shooting this Web series during the incident.

Her image as a national crush started gaining popularity and her reputation started increasing.

Everything was going well for her but on the other hand, things took a downhill for Evan.

As the days passed, Evan's once-thriving Teabox cafe began to experience a downturn. Negative reviews flooded in, accusing Evan of being unfilial and cruel, painting him in a negative light. Some even claimed that he had fabricated the allegations against his parents for personal gain as it was he who asked his parents to do this.

Meanwhile, his parents whom he named as asshole number 1 and asshole number 2 wasted no time in using the opportunity to vilify their son in the media.

They painted themselves as innocent victims of the case.

News outlets picked up the story, sensationalizing the drama and fueling public outrage.

...…..

On 31st January…

Ignoring everything, Evan decided to immerse himself in work. He picked up Maria early in the morning, a few hours before the work hour.

As Evan and Maria approached Teabox cafe, barbaric sounds against the quiet street. The familiar sight of his shop should have been comforting, but Evan's heart plunged when he saw a group of people destroying the storefront. There was a group of hooded figures who were breaking the windows while others drew graffiti on walls.

"Ahh—-"Maria gasped in shock, clutching Evan's arm. "Evan, what do we do?" she whispered, her eyes wide with concern.

"Record their activities first."He ordered Maria and then after a moment sneaked in slowly.

Sadly, he was cut…

"He is here…"

"Should we beat him?"

"No, that woman behind had a camera…"

Evan's eyes stirred and he screamed. With his fighting level, he didn't fear the group of things and screamed.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Did your mother build this shop or your father? Who gave you the right to damage it?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he charged towards the defacer, his voice booming with anger.

"Shit!"

"Fuck! Run.."

Startled, the bastards turned to flee, but Evan's swift pace allowed him to catch one of them by surprise.

SWISH!

Like lightning, he appeared behind one, and extending his hand he grabbed the neck.

With a burst of speed, he attacked and toppled the closest vandal to the ground, pinning him down firmly.

"You think you can destroy my shop and get away with it?" Evan growled, his grip tightening on the vandal's shirt collar.

The ma. struggled futilely under Evan's firm hold, fear evident in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry! It was just a prank!" he stammered, his voice trembling.

"Prank or not, you've crossed the line," Evan replied, his tone unwavering. "You and your friends are going to pay for this."

"You will either be paying for this fucking damage or land in jail for years."

"No….please I ap…"While speaking, he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it.

"KHUMM!"

Seeing a layer of dust, Evan reacted quickly, closing his eyes.

The man below pushed and turned around to run but just then, two arms wrapped around his neck, and his waist was pinned by Evan's legs.

Despite the pain, Evan's shouted"You dare.."

Saying this, he twisted and choked the man, throwing him out of breath and then knocking him out.

The others ran away….

In truth, Evan wanted those fuckers to stay as none of them even had a beginner fighting level.

Maria, standing a few steps away scared shitless by the violence dialed the police as Evan held the vandal down.

Then Maria approached him cautiously, her expression a mix of relief and concern. "Are you okay, Evan?" she asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Evan nodded, his eyes fixed on the young boy of his age whom he knocked out.

"I am fine but it seems our shop isn't…"Evan swallowed his saliva and spoke helplessly.

"It seems, we need to close it for a few days."