The quiet hum of hospital monitors filled room 412 at Dallas General Hospital. The afternoon sun shone through the blinds, casting warm golden rays across the white bed sheets.
Margaret lay resting comfortably, her leg elevated with pillows, an IV drip hooked gently to her arm. Victoria sat in a chair beside the bed, holding her mother's soft, wrinkled hand.
Victoria: How are you feeling, Mom? Does the medicine help with the pain?
Margaret: The pain is much better now, sweetheart. The doctor said it was just a severe deep bone bruise, no broken bones.
Victoria: Thank God... I was so scared when I saw you hit the marble floor.
Margaret: I was scared too... but then I saw you leap through the air like a lioness protecting her cub.
Victoria: I spent five years in the Marines learning how to protect people, Mom. Did he really think I would let him hurt you and do nothing?
Margaret: You always had your father's spirit. But what about the wedding, Victoria? You loved him...
Victoria: I loved the man I thought he was, Mom. But today he showed me who he really was. A bully who hides behind his daddy's trust fund.
A gentle knock sounded at the door, and a tall man in a navy blue suit stepped into the hospital room, holding a leather briefcase.
Attorney Vance: Excuse me, Miss Victoria? Mrs. Margaret?
Victoria: Yes? Can I help you?
Attorney Vance: My name is Richard Vance. I am the senior partner at Vance & Associates Law Firm here in Dallas.
Victoria: Did Chad's family send you to offer a settlement?
Attorney Vance: Heavens no, Miss Victoria. In fact, quite the opposite. I was attending the wedding as a guest of your uncle.
Victoria: Oh... I see. I'm sorry you had to witness that disaster.
Attorney Vance: Disaster? Miss Victoria, what you did today was extraordinary. I saw Chad Montgomery shove your mother, and I saw you take down a felon with a single kick.
Margaret: Is Chad going to prison, lawyer?
Attorney Vance: That is precisely why I am here. I am offering my legal services to your family completely free of charge, pro bono.
Victoria: Free of charge? Why would you do that?
Attorney Vance: Because Chad's father, Arthur Montgomery, has been using his money to bully small business owners in Dallas for twenty years. It's time someone held that family accountable to the law.
Victoria: What are our options, Mr. Vance?
Attorney Vance: The district attorney has already filed formal felony charges for injury to an elderly person. On top of that, we are filing a civil lawsuit for physical assault, emotional distress, and medical damages.
Margaret: We don't want millions of dollars, sir... we just want peace.
Attorney Vance: The civil lawsuit will ensure that Chad Montgomery has a permanent criminal record and is legally barred from ever coming within five hundred yards of your family again.
Victoria looked at her mother, then back at the attorney, a strong, decisive smile spreading across her face.
Victoria: Sign us up, Mr. Vance. Let's show Dallas what happens when money tries to buy justice.