As the end of the year approaches, my wife, Sylvia Small, who is five months into her pregnancy, accidentally falls into a lake. Our neighbor who is a police officer, Raven Weber, jumps in and rescues her. Unfortunately, she slips into a coma after her heroic feat.

As I rush over, I see that a crowd has gathered at the scene.

Sylvia is drenched from head to toe, wrapped up tightly in a blanket. Water droplets keep dripping from the tips of her hair.

"Are you alright, Sylvia?" I ask, drawing near.

The moment Sylvia sees me, she moves toward me and burrows herself into my arms. She clings to me like she is clinging for dear life.

"You're finally here, Zach!" she exclaims emotionally.

I frown and push her away. "Just say what you have to say. This suit is expensive. Don't dirty it," I said indifferently.

My words make Sylvia's eyes go wide with disbelief and shock. But that only lasts for a second before an anxious look replaces it.

She holds my arms firmly and says in a choked voice, "Officer Weber is in a coma because of me. Please transfer a sum of money to me so that I can thank her for saving my life."

I glance at Sylvia impatiently and reply, "What's that got to do with me? Why should I transfer you my money so that you can give it to her?"

Sylvia Small froze for a moment, clearly not expecting me to be so cold.

She reasoned, "Zach, Officer Weber is in this state because she was trying to save the baby and me! You know what her family has been going through. Her husband's business failed and left them buried in debt, and she has a 70-year-old mother who has been on medication for years.

"Now that this happened to her, what is her family supposed to do?"

I retorted, "None of that is my damn business! Don't call me for this kind of trivial nonsense again. I'm busy with work. I don't have time to entertain your drama!"

With an icy expression, I prepared to get in the car and head back to the firm.

Upon seeing that I was about to leave, Sylvia suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me. She clutched my leg with both hands while sobbing uncontrollably.

Her sudden move immediately drew a crowd of onlookers.

She cried out, "Are you really going to ignore the woman who saved your wife and child? She's a hero! We can't leave a hero's family high and dry!"

I remained unmoved and roughly shook off her hands.

She kept wailing, "You're being heartless, Zachary Lawton! If you donate money to them, won't it also help your law firm's reputation?"

My steps faltered.

She did have a point. But unfortunately, I didn't have any money.

I pulled out my phone and held it in front of her, waving it slightly. "Money? I don't have any of that right now. I've put all my savings into the stock market. With this bull market, I'm definitely going to make a fortune."

Sylvia stared wide-eyed at me with disbelief written all over her face. "Zachary, you said stock trading isn't reliable. You even said you'd never touch it! Are you lying to me just because you don't want to pay Officer Weber?"

Under her accusing gaze, I opened the trading app and handed it to her. "Look closely. I bought these yesterday."

She snatched the phone and checked it frantically over and over again. Her hands trembled, and her eyes grew redder by the second.

"If you can't give them any money now, what am I supposed to do? Are you really going to watch the person who saved me and our baby die?" Sylvia sobbed.

I turned and got into the car.

Sitting inside, I looked at her coldly and said, "She's a police officer. It's her duty to save civilians. Got it?"

I started to close the car door.

But Sylvia crawled forward on her knees and yanked on the door to stop me from closing it. Her eyes were filled with desperation and madness.

She pounded the ground with her hand while shouting, "Zachary! She was their family's only source of income. She's now in a vegetative state because she saved me. Are you going to stand by and watch as her family falls apart? What if she dies because they can't afford treatment?

"Are you lawyers always this heartless?"

Some people in the crowd pointed at me and started whispering among themselves. Others couldn't help wiping their eyes, feeling saddened by the scenario that Sylvia painted with her words.

I sat in the car and looked down at Sylvia with indifferent eyes.

Just then, the chime of a WhatsApp notification sounded from my phone.

I glanced at my phone. It was a message from my boss, Quintus Lowe, inviting me to go fishing and discuss an important case.

"My boss just invited me to go fishing. We're going to talk about a major case. I'm warning you. Stop causing trouble here!" I scolded.

With that, I pried her hands off the car door and shut it.

Sylvia tried to grab the door handle again, but I immediately locked the doors.

I shouted at my assistant, Harlan Warren. "Drive!"

Harlan sat in the driver's seat, looking painfully conflicted as he glanced at Sylvia, who was trembling with rage and slapping the window outside.

He was unsure what to do. "Zachary…"

I snapped impatiently, "Hurry up! Do you not want your performance bonus anymore?"

The car slowly started moving. However, Sylvia suddenly sprang to her feet and spread her arms wide. She stood in front of the car, blocking the hood just as the vehicle began to roll forward.

Harlan slammed the brakes in fright, and I lurched forward from the sudden inertia. I rolled down the window, ready to give her a piece of my mind.

She slapped the hood and screamed hysterically, "Zachary! To save me, Raven ended up in a vegetative state! If not for her, you'd already be mourning the loss of your wife and child!

"She saved our family. You can't just watch her die from not being able to afford treatment! Even if you don't have money, your parents do! Can't you borrow some from them?"

The crowd was moved by her words and stepped in front of the car as well.

A man pointed angrily at me and said, "Look at you. You're dressed all fancy and look like a well-learned chap. How can you treat the officer who saved your wife and kid like this?"

Another person chimed in, "I heard lawyers these days have no conscience, but I didn't expect one to be rotten to this degree."

I rolled the window back up and yelled at Harlan, "Can't you make a U-turn?"

Harlan restarted the engine to turn around and leave the scene.

Seeing this, Sylvia snatched a loudspeaker from a nearby police officer and blocked the car again.

"Zach, I know you hate trouble. You're afraid Raven's family will try to leech off us. If you must, then let's get a divorce and separate our assets. I'll take responsibility for everything related to Raven. I promise I won't drag you down.

"Zach, I'm begging you! I'll kneel if I have to!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she bowed deeply in front of the car.

Furious, I shoved the door open and got out. Then, I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

I was raging. "My boss asked to meet up with me! But because you were in my way and delayed me, someone else went in my place! You just ruined my chance at a promotion and a raise, you useless woman!"

A police officer rushed forward and shouted at me angrily. "How can you hit her? Do you want me to charge you with domestic violence?"

I shot the officer a disdainful glance. Who did he think he was to charge a lawyer? As if.

Sylvia held the officer back. The red handprint looked glaring against her pale face. She told him she was fine and turned back to pleading with me.

"Zach, is your promotion really more important than saving a family? If we get divorced, none of the responsibility will fall on you. I'll take the baby and help the woman who saved me. We're husband and wife. Are you really going to deny my request?"

Seeing that I remained unmoved, she clenched her fists and screamed hysterically, "What do you want, Zachary? You won't relent until I divorce you without anything to my name, huh? Is that what you want?"

Sylvia's words shocked the onlookers, and it caused an uproar in the crowd.

"I can't believe how cold-blooded this guy is. If not for that officer, his wife and unborn child would both be dead already. He doesn't want to be bogged down with a debt of gratitude. So, he wants his own wife to walk away with nothing!"

"And it seems he's a lawyer! Who would dare hire a heartless lawyer like him?"

"Exactly. He even hit his wife out of anger. This poor woman sure is unfortunate to have married a man like him."

Before I could speak, Sylvia placed both hands on her knees and slowly knelt down.

She looked up at me with pleading eyes and begged, "Zach, Raven saved my life! What's wrong with giving her and her family some money? Besides, I only want my half of our assets."

As her voice grew louder, her emotions spiraled out of control.

I let out a cold laugh and instructed Harlan, "Listen, go to the hospital and contact Raven's husband. Persuade him and let him know that if he wants to divorce his vegetative wife, I'm confident I can transfer all his debts to her. I'll even represent him for free."

Harlan froze. The onlookers all stared at me, wide-eyed.

Sylvia looked up at me in disbelief. Her eyes were filled with anger and disappointment.

Everyone present clenched their teeth and glared at me, as though I were some unforgivable sinner.

Sylvia suddenly shot to her feet and grabbed the lapels of my suit jacket.

"Zachary! Even if Raven is in a coma now, she saved me and our child! How can you do this?" she cried out.

I responded, "I'm making use of her final value! Who would dare ask a patient in a vegetative state to pay her debts? This lawsuit will be unprecedented. I'm destined to leave my mark on legal history!"

"You disgust me, Zachary. You aren't the man you used to be. You used to respect my wishes and listen to me!" Sylvia said.

Upon hearing that, I looked at her intently.

What she said was true. Previously, I had obeyed her every word. Everyone in our neighborhood knew I was a henpecked husband.

But now, all I wanted was fame.

"I'm a lawyer. This case will bring me both fame and fortune. Why would I give up this golden opportunity? I'm not a fool," I said.

Then, I glanced at Harlan, who was still standing to one side with a dazed expression.

"Don't just stand there. Go on!" I urged.

Harlan snapped out of it and nodded frantically. He walked over to the car.

Seeing how ruthless I had become, Sylvia trembled with fury. She was usually gentle and demure. But now, she suddenly jumped up and blocked Harlan with frigteningly bloodshot eyes.

She screamed, "Zachary! She's the neighbor you see day in and day out. She's your friend and also the one who saved your wife! She's in a vegetative state now, so her treatment will cost a fortune. What do you expect her family to do?

"Or are you just that reluctant to pay her even a single cent?"

I looked straight at her with my arms crossed and sneered. "Her husband will handle her affairs. He's the one who should support her elderly mother. Which law states that the person who was saved has the obligation to support their savior's family?"

Sylvia countered, "But out of basic humanity, shouldn't you at least give something?"

Her expression remained desperate and pleading, but every word she spoke was intended to guilt-trip me.

Then, she gave me her final ultimatum. "I'll ask you one last time. Will you give me the money or not?"

I didn't hesitate for a moment as I shouted, "None of this is my damn business!"