Blurb：
When Giselle Tanner, an orphan, is brutally bullied by Tricia Fleming and left fighting for her life in the ICU, her grandfather seeks justice—only to face arrogant parents, a dismissive principal Louis Baxter, and a legal system corrupted by the Flemings’ connections. With no one to turn to, he clutches the mud-stained Medals of Honor left by his martyred son and daughter-in-law, ready to kneel at the military compound gates. Will the general who once called them heroes now answer why a martyr’s daughter has no protection? A gripping tale of sacrifice, injustice, and a grandfather’s unwavering fight for Giselle.
Content：
After my granddaughter is bullied by her classmates, the bully’s family not only refuses to apologize but behaves arrogantly as well.
Since they have connections in the city, the school doesn’t dare intervene. I turn to the police, but they only urge me to let it go.
The bully’s family even boasted that they have people in the court, daring me to sue them.
With every path to justice cut off, I have no choice but to take out the two Medals of Honor left behind after my son and daughter-in-law died in service, and kneel at the gates of the military compound.
Six years ago, when the general personally delivered those medals to our home, he’d said, “Your son and daughter-in-law gave their lives for the country. They are heroes, martyrs, and the pride of our nation.”
But now, I want to ask him again. Why is it that when a martyr’s daughter is bullied, no one protects her?
Chapter 1
My granddaughter, Giselle Tanner, was an orphan. For that reason alone, the school bullies made her their target.
Giselle had been dragged into the school restroom and beaten for seven hours straight. Now, she was fighting for her life in the intensive care unit.
The ringleader, Tricia Fleming, chewed her gum without a care. “Go ahead, sue me. I’m not scared. I know the law. Since I’m underage, the most they’ll do is me on the wrist. I’m not going to jail.” She spoke with ease, her face showing not the slightest trace of regret.
Her parents were just as dismissive. “Quit acting so petty. You just want more money, don’t you?” her father said with a sneer. “We’ll pay you. But you’re signing a statement saying your granddaughter’s injuries came from a fall and had nothing to do with my daughter.”
Then, he yanked a wad of cash from his bag and hurled it at my face. It was 100 thousand dollars in bills.
Tricia’s father laughed with contempt and added, “Your granddaughter gets a beating, and you walk away with 100 thousand dollars. There’s no easier way to make money than this.”
I looked at Giselle lying in the hospital bed, her body tangled in tubes. Beneath the loose gown were horrifying wounds—burns, cuts, and gashes layered one over another.
I couldn’t begin to imagine the despair she had endured in those seven hours. But to the Flemings, her suffering was nothing more than a bargaining chip, and its value was measured in money.
Overcome with rage, I lunged at Tricia’s father. However, he shoved me to the floor.
My blood pressure pills tumbled from my pocket, and with them fell two gold star medals.
I crawled over to gather them, but Tricia’s father crushed them under his shoe. He looked down at me with a sneer, saying, “Old geezer, if you’re not happy, then take us to court. My cousin is the presiding judge, so let’s see how far you’ll get.”
From the side, the principal, Louis Baxter, motioned for them to leave, telling them not to provoke the victim’s family further.
With that, Tricia and her father strutted away without shame.
I quickly picked up the two gold star medals—now stained with mud from where they had been trampled on.
A beat later, I looked at Giselle—still unconscious—and tears streamed down my cheeks.
Chapter 2
Louis helped me up from the floor and said with forced patience, “The Flemings have money and influence while you’re just an ordinary citizen. You can’t fight them.
“Just sign the statement, take the compensation, and let it go. If you keep pushing, you’ll only damage the school’s reputation. What impression will this leave on other parents?”
I was stunned. Giselle had been bullied, yet the principal’s immediate concern was the school’s image, not justice. I could hardly believe such words were coming from an educator.
Giselle had been hospitalized from the abuse, and now Louis spoke of compensation as if that could put an end to it.
Shouldn’t the bullies be punished?
When he saw that I wouldn’t give in, Louis’ patience snapped. “They were already willing to pay you. What more do you want? Do you really have to drive them to their deaths?”
Then, he coldly pulled a file from his briefcase and hurled it at me. “If you refuse to sign the statement, Giselle will no longer be welcome at this school.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. To protect the bullies, he was threatening to expel Giselle. But what gave him the right to?
“The Flemings have a judge in the family,” Louis added with a sneer. “The law is on their side, and you’ll never win in court. Besides, the school isn’t about to risk offending children of powerful families for the sake of one poor student.”
I held Giselle’s file and leaned against the cold wall of the corridor, an indescribable heaviness pressing down on me.
We had done nothing wrong. So, why were the victims the ones who had to suffer?
Chapter 3
After pulling myself together, I returned to Giselle’s hospital room.
When she woke up, she stayed curled beneath the blanket, unwilling to come out.
Seeing her trembling under the covers broke my heart. Without missing a beat, I approached her and pulled her into my arms.
Giselle pressed herself against me and sobbed. “Grandpa, it hurts so much. I feel awful. Tricia and the others beat me up and bullied me. They even said I was born to be picked on because I was an orphan.
“But I do have a mom and dad. Didn’t they promise they’d come home when I turned ten? I’m 15 now. Why haven’t they come back? Did I do something wrong? Don’t they want me anymore? Was it because I snuck ice cream home when I was little?
“Grandpa, can you tell Mom and Dad I know I was wrong? I’ll never eat ice cream again. I’ll be good. I miss them so much. If Mom and Dad were still here, they wouldn’t dare bully me.”
Her cries hit me like a punch to the gut, and my hand closed around the medals in my pocket.
Ever since the general had given them to me six years ago, I had kept them hidden away. I never dared let Giselle see them. If she ever learned that her parents had died in service, it would mean she was truly an orphan.
I clenched my teeth, fighting back the tears. How could I ever tell her that her parents were never coming home?
“Grandpa, you said only bad kids get punished. But I didn’t do anything wrong. Yet, they still came after me.”
As I swallowed the ache in my chest, I smoothed her hair and reassured her, “Elle, you’ve always been a good kid. They’re the bad ones, and people like that always pay the price.”
Giselle looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears and hope.
…
It took everything I had to soothe Giselle to sleep. Then, I went to the police station to report what had happened.
However, the officers’ response crushed me.
Tricia’s parents were the wealthiest in the city, with relatives serving as officials. Even the police were helpless against them.
One of the police officers sighed before giving me a look of sympathy. “The Flemings have relatives among the city’s top officials. They even have connections at the state level. You can’t go up against their family. It’s best to just let it go.”
With that, I left the station in despair. Even the police couldn’t do a thing about them, and the realization sent an icy chill through me.
Just then, my phone buzzed. When I opened the message and saw what it was, my chest tightened.
It was a video of Giselle being bullied.
Chapter 4
In the video, Giselle was backed into the corner by the bullies. They lined up, each taking a turn to slap her while she curled into herself and helplessly sobbed.
One of them shoved the phone in her face for a close-up, mocking, “Someone like her, with no mom or dad who cares, was born for us to mess with.”
My hand trembled as I held the phone. I couldn’t watch another second of it.
Along with the video came a taunting message from Tricia’s father. He wrote, “Enjoying the show, old geezer? If you don’t sign the statement, I’ll upload this online, and your granddaughter will be a laughingstock.”
Then, he sent another image. This time, it was one of a skinned rabbit.
Rabbits were Giselle’s favorite animal.
My whole body shook with fury as I replied, “Don’t you think this is too much?”
Tricia’s father shot back, “So what if I’m crossing the line? What can you do? I’ve got family in the courthouse. Around here, even murder gets swept under the rug, let alone assault.
“Your granddaughter is the one who’s screwed. She’ll spend her whole life living under the shadow of being bullied.”
When I tried to reply again, I realized he had already blocked me.
…
I reached out to various law firms, but every attorney told me the same thing—they couldn’t take the case and wouldn’t dare to either.
The Fleming family was exactly as Louis had said. They had powerful connections, with relatives in the courthouse pulling strings for them.
Was justice for Giselle truly out of reach?
…
Giselle’s mental state kept getting worse. Night after night, she struggled to fall asleep. Even when she did, nightmares would jolt her awake.
Through tears, she told me that she was too afraid to close her eyes. Every time she did, she relived the day Tricia and her friends tormented her.
It gutted me to hear Giselle say that. I pulled her into my arms, and she wept uncontrollably against me.
“Grandpa, I dreamed about Mom and Dad,” she said. “They took me to the amusement park, holding me as we played together. But before long, they got called away for a mission.
“They said the country needed them for a while, and once the job was done, they’d come back home. Grandpa… when will the country give them back to me?
“If Mom and Dad were here, nobody would ever pick on me just because I don’t have parents. Why don’t bad people ever get punished?”
I stared at Giselle’s pale face, completely at a loss for words. Right then, sorrow and helpless rage crashed over me like a tidal wave.
Chapter 5
The next day, I walked up to the courthouse with the legal papers I had drafted overnight. At this point, I had no other choice. This lawsuit was the last hope I had left.
But as soon as I stepped inside, I came face-to-face with Tricia’s father. He was chatting and laughing with a court official.
His expression darkened the instant he saw me. Without missing a beat, he ordered the security guards at the entrance to stop me. “This old man is crazy! Don’t let him through!” he yelled.
The guards immediately pinned me to the ground. No matter how much I resisted, I was powerless against them.
Tricia’s father stood over me, smug. Then, he flung the shredded remains of my papers into my face. “I told you, didn’t I? The ones in charge of this courthouse are all my relatives.
“This isn’t a place where you’ll ever find justice. You could sue me all you like, and it still wouldn’t matter. If you know what’s good for you, you’d sign the statement. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Their laughter cut straight into me, sharp and merciless. All I felt was utter humiliation and pain.
I sat alone outside the courthouse, consumed by a despair I had never known before.
Weren’t courts meant to stand for fairness and justice? Why had they become a sanctuary for the powerful?
Tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring my vision.
All I wanted was justice. Why was it so impossibly hard?
As I bent forward, the medals slipped from my pocket. They clattered against the stone steps before tumbling all the way down.
I gathered them up and blankly stared at the military compound across the street.
Six years ago, the general had told me that Giselle’s parents, Moses Tanner and Clara Kirk, were heroes who had fallen in the line of duty. He’d promised their child would be protected and that if trouble ever came, I should seek him out.
He even swore that no soldier’s family would ever have to suffer again after their loved ones had given their lives for the country.
With that in mind, I took a deep breath before limping my way toward the military compound.
…
Under the watchful gaze of the guards, I dropped to my knees at the gates. My hands trembled as I raised the two medals high above my head.
“Sir, can you tell me if these are really Medals of Honor? Were my son and daughter-in-law truly recognized as fallen heroes of this nation?” I asked. “If they were, then why is it that no one is willing to step in when their daughter is being bullied?”
The gold medals gleamed under the sunlight, and the red enamel at their centers shone with striking brilliance.
When the guards saw the words “Medal of Honor”, their expressions shifted at once. No one knew better than they did what those words meant. And now, I wasn’t holding just one, but two.
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