Family members were allowed to watch. Irene had to be there, too, since she was the one who filed the lawsuit against Jennifer. She was one of the plaintiffs.

Miriam said, "Teresa, you really shouldn’t go sit in on the hearing. Don’t get into a direct confrontation with Jonathan’s mom."

But Teresa was determined to go. She wasn’t going to be afraid of Irene anymore. If Irene tried to mess with her again, she’d give it right back.

Benny sighed. He’d just gotten back, and he had a big case to deal with. "I need to tell Jonathan. We’re running out of time. He needs to get his mom back here."

Meanwhile, at a bar, Donald was drunk out of his mind. Ever since his final divorce from Jennifer, he’d been on a downward spiral. He stopped showing up at work, spent all day drinking himself, then stumbled home and passed out.

His phone stayed silent. He didn’t reach out to anyone. There wasn’t really anyone left to call, anyway.

The bar owner walked over to Donald. "Hey, buddy, it’s midnight. We’re closing up. You should head out, too."

Donald pulled out his wallet to pay, but all he found was a couple of coins. "Sorry, I’m broke," he said.

"Just transfer it, then. Don’t tell me you’re out of money on your card, either," the bar owner joked.

Turns out, the bar owner was spot on. These days, Donald’s money only went out, never came in. He’d burned through all his cash a long time ago.

"I’ll call my wife for help," Donald muttered, then caught himself. "Oh, right. I don’t even have a wife anymore." He gave a bitter laugh. "Pretty pathetic, right? I’ve lost everything. My home is gone."

The bar owner drummed his fingers on the table, getting impatient. "You think you’ve got it bad? I’ve got it worse. I barely make any money, and now I’ve got someone like you running up a tab."

"You drank two-thousand-dollars worth. If you can’t pay, get someone from your family to come settle it."

Donald fell silent, not knowing who to call. The only family he had left now was Cheryl.

Cheryl had just gotten her baby to sleep when her phone rang, and she was caught off guard by Donald’s drunken voice. "Donald, why did you drink so much? Did something happen?" she asked.

"Jennifer’s in jail. If I don’t drink, what else can I even do? I can’t do anything," Donald slurred hopelessly.

"What? Jennifer’s in jail? Tell me what happened!" Cheryl exclaimed, her voice rising in shock.

Donald tried to explain what happened to Jennifer, but his words were slurred and broken. Cheryl sighed. "Look, you two are divorced now. As her ex-husband, her business really isn’t your concern anymore."

"How could I ever be as heartless as you? I wish I could, but I just can’t," Donald said with a bitter laugh.

Before Donald could even finish speaking, the bar owner snatched his phone and told Cheryl to come over and pay the bill.

Donald had only been ordering pricey drinks. He ran up a two-thousand-dollar tab. Cheryl didn’t have enough money in her WhatsApp account, so she had no choice but to reach out to Jonathan.

At first, Jonathan assumed Cheryl was the one who’d gotten drunk and couldn’t pay. His tone was icy. "I’m not even your real brother. Don’t come running to me for everything. Go bother Donald."

"Jonathan, it’s not me. It’s Donald who’s drunk," Cheryl whimpered, her voice shaky with tears. "He’s been drinking every day and not even going to work. I heard Jennifer’s about to be sentenced. Is that really true?"

Jonathan fell silent. His silence said it all. "Send me his location," he finally said.

When Jonathan found Donald, he was sprawled out drunk on the couch, totally out of it.

Jonathan paid off the two-thousand-dollar tab, then asked for a bottle of water and dumped it right on Donald’s face.