- 2 days ago
The Wife He Framed Came Back For Justice
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00:00and the city's reigning judicial god.
00:01He is America's youngest and most ruthless federal judge.
00:05She hung from a helicopter for three days, Declan!
00:10While you were sitting here knitting that stupid scarf for Piper!
00:15Years ago, my parents died in that high-profile crash.
00:19No lawyer in New York dared to touch the case.
00:22Only Declan did.
00:23He fought like hell, pushed past the pressure, and won.
00:26He gave me back the one thing grief had stolen, justice.
00:30That was how I fell in love with him.
00:31To marry him, I gave up everything.
00:34I spent five years clawing my way up from a junior associate to a top litter dater,
00:38just to stand beside him as an equal.
00:40But he never gave me an answer,
00:42until the night a furious plaintiff came at him with a knife.
00:45I stepped in without thinking.
00:46The blade tore into my arm, 52 stitches.
00:49After that, Declan finally looked at me.
00:51A sitting judge and a trial attorney can't work in the same jurisdiction.
00:54If you really want me, transfer to L.A.
00:56Stay there for three years, build your weight,
00:58then maybe we can try to bring you back.
01:00I said yes, because I loved him.
01:02Because I thought it was the price I had to pay to be with him.
01:05So I went to Los Angeles,
01:07and Declan kept sending me the hardest cases through mutual friends.
01:11Survive these, and you'll make it back to New York sooner.
01:13I believed him.
01:15I took everything.
01:17The first case.
01:18A murder victim tied to a syndicate.
01:20They snatched me, left me hanging over the Pacific for three days.
01:24Just as the criminals were about to cut the rope,
01:27the Amid police saved me.
01:35The second case involved a battered woman.
01:38Right before the ruling, the client turned on me in open court,
01:41accusing me of seducing her husband and sabotaging the marriage.
01:45I came within inches of being disbarred.
01:47By the ninth case, a client fed me bad intel,
01:50lured me into the Golden Triangle,
01:51and left me to be tortured for ten days.
01:54The hospital issued ten critical condition notices while I was recovering.
01:57Through all of it, Declan never sent a single message of concern.
02:01Not one.
02:01I told myself he was just busy.
02:04He was a judge.
02:05He didn't know how to say he cared.
02:07Finally, the Judicial Review Board approved my transfer back to New York.
02:10They even cleared an exception so Declan and I could work in the same courthouse.
02:13I was so happy.
02:14I thought the nightmare was over.
02:15I thought I had finally paid the price for my happiness.
02:18I wanted to surprise him, so I went straight to his office.
02:20And that was when I heard the truth through the frosted glass.
02:23Piper, alter the case file on your laptop in the middle of the night.
02:26That's why Mara got fed the wrong intel and ended up trapped in the Golden Triangle.
02:31And what about the domestic violence case?
02:34Piper insisted on getting involved,
02:36flew the client's kid back to New York behind everyone's back,
02:39and the woman panicked in court.
02:42Mara nearly lost her career because of Piper's mess and the helicopter case.
02:47Were you worrying if Mara would die?
02:49It wasn't bad luck.
02:50It wasn't random.
02:52No, you were busy knitting Piper, that stupid scarf.
02:56Piper Quinn, the junior associate.
02:59She had altered files.
03:01She had sabotaged my cases.
03:03She had left me to die in the Golden Triangle.
03:05And Declan knew.
03:11It's not Piper's fault.
03:13She's young.
03:14She just started handling cases.
03:16She doesn't understand how serious the consequences can be.
03:19Even if she screws up, I'll still back her up no matter what.
03:23Mara is strong.
03:24She can survive a few rough cases.
03:26It's not Piper's fault.
03:28I owe her.
03:28If it weren't for my mistake back in her custody ruling,
03:31she should have been with her mother, not that abusive drunk.
03:33I'm responsible for her.
03:35Everything I had suffered in Los Angeles.
03:37Every drop of blood.
03:39Every time I had hung from a helicopter or been tortured in a jungle,
03:42telling myself, it's for Deccan.
03:44It's to go home to him.
03:46It had all been a lie.
03:47Someone had been making sure I suffered.
03:49Piper.
03:49And Declan had been letting it happen.
04:05Mr. Cole?
04:06Mara?
04:07You're back.
04:09I'd like to apply to take over the overseas fugitive case.
04:13You can't.
04:14Declan Ward is lead counsel on that matter.
04:16The two of you can't touch the same case.
04:18That's the rule.
04:19I'm divorcing him.
04:21Fine.
04:22But the case has to be handled overseas first.
04:25Trials in a month.
04:26You'll be there.
04:27Understood.
04:28I'm divorcing Declan.
04:30Start the paperwork.
04:32Keep it completely sealed.
04:34I sent those words to the most unforgiving divorce attorney in the city.
04:38The Mara Marser who loved Declan Wald is dead.
04:41This version of me, I'm back for blood.
04:52Mara, when did you get back?
04:54Why didn't you tell me?
04:55Not a single trace of joy.
04:56If I de-told you, how would I have heard what you were saying in there?
04:59So the woman you've been cheating on me with is Piper.
05:03What are you going to do to her?
05:04Not I'm sorry.
05:05Not let me explain.
05:06Not even a flicker of shame.
05:08His mind went straight to protecting his little mistress.
05:11Find a day.
05:12We'll go file the divorce papers.
05:15Piper was the first case I ever handled.
05:17There's nothing going on between us.
05:20Don't do this, Mara.
05:28Mr. Ward!
05:29Help!
05:33Let go of her!
05:34What you're doing now guarantees a straight ten-year sentence.
05:39Like I fucking care.
05:41I've got nothing left anyway.
05:46My daughter was raped.
05:48And that little bitch of a lawyer stood and said the bastard was not guilty.
05:52The day the verdict came out, my daughter killed herself.
05:56She'll die for my girl.
06:08You want Piper Quinn?
06:09Fine.
06:11I'll give you the real one.
06:18The girl you're holding is just a junior intern who fetched the coffee.
06:22She is the lead attorney.
06:24She is the one who orchestrated the defense and destroyed your daughter's case.
06:28You want the real monster?
06:29She's right here.
06:31He was lying.
06:33He was looking the grieving father in the eye and framing his own wife for a case she had
06:37nothing to do with just to save his mistress.
06:40Beclyn, no.
06:42Take her!
06:42She's the one you want!
07:01Mara!
07:02Mara!
07:06Mara!
07:08Mara!
07:16He looked from Piper's tear-stained face to my unmoving body on the floor.
07:20Then he stayed exactly where he was.
07:21I had doctors. Piper only had him. That was the math his brain performed.
07:26But the moment of my eyes, the phantom sensation of his hand shoving me into the blade played on
07:30a loop in my skull. The screen was already flooded with breaking news alerts. From courtroom to
07:36hero, Judge Declan risks life to rescue young female lawyer in NYC. The comments were a shrine
07:42to his bravery. But a smaller, more vicious subcept of the internet had done something worse.
07:47Someone had grabbed a blurry screenshot of my face from the security footage and posted it,
07:51misidentifying me as Piper Quinn. Strangers were already sending death threats to my phone,
07:55cursing me by name for defending a rapist. I didn't care. Not yet.
08:00Murderer! You killed that poor girl!
08:14I'm not Piper Quinn!
08:17Liar! Bitch like you who defend rapists should burn in hell!
08:29Declan! Tell them! Tell them I'm not Piper!
08:39Don't try to wrinkle out of what you did. You are Piper Quinn now.
08:47He was handing me over to the mob to take her place.
09:13How are you feeling?
09:17I stared at him, wondering if I had married a monster or a ghost.
09:24I shouldn't have done that. I know. I didn't want you taking Piper's heat, but she just started at the
09:29firm two months ago.
09:32She needed a clean record if she wanted a permanent offer. I didn't have another choice.
09:38Another choice? You let a mob attack your wife to protect your mistress' resume?
09:48Is this your famous fairness, Judge Ward?
09:56Piper needed a path forward. You started out as a junior lawyer once, too. You should understand the hustle.
10:02I don't understand. And I don't intend to.
10:06Just don't lose your head over anything else.
10:08My sister's bullying case goes to trial in a week.
10:11A year ago, my little sister was brutally shoved from a fifth floor land by her classmates and left in
10:16the ICU.
10:17I had filed suit. One more week. And justice would be served.
10:22I'll see you at home.
10:35Mara, you're back. You could have at least texted.
10:41I need to announce myself when I come back to my own home now?
10:46Well, there's just one problem.
10:49You don't have a bedroom anymore.
10:52She had turned my master bedroom into a dog room.
10:56A cold, ugly feeling crawled up my spine.
11:05Empty. Completely empty.
11:13Who said you could touch my things?
11:17Oh, that?
11:19Declan told me junior associates have to hustle.
11:21So I gave your vintage jewelry to some clients.
11:25What's the big deal?
11:37Taking someone else's belongings is theft.
11:42Declan gave them to me.
11:44Actually, maybe the better question is,
11:46don't you want to know who I gave your dead parents keepsakes to?
11:49Get on your knees and beg, and I might tell you.
11:54Get out.
11:55Right on cue, the front door opened.
11:58Declan walked in, dropped his briefcase, and rushed forward to catch her.
12:01I didn't bother explaining.
12:03I turned, walked into the guest room, and shut the door.
12:06Over the next few days, my cases collapsed.
12:09Motions were denied.
12:10Witnesses vanished.
12:12Why are you sabotaging my motions?
12:14Why are my witnesses disappearing?
12:16Why did you lay your hands on Piper?
12:18She went too far.
12:20That doesn't give you the right to treat her like that.
12:23Go to her law firm.
12:25Get on your knees and apologize to her.
12:28For what?
12:30Your sister's case is mine to decide.
12:33If you don't do this, don't expect me to rule in her favor.
12:41Fine.
12:51Isn't that the MRSA woman?
12:52Heard she viciously slapped a junior lawyer.
12:55Crazy bitch.
13:00Declan, look at the crowd.
13:02They're filming.
13:03She's your wife.
13:06If I don't make this ugly enough, she'll hurt Piper again.
13:12Piper is my line.
13:1798, 99, 100.
13:20All right, Mara.
13:21I forgive you.
13:31Hot pot in a movie tonight?
13:36Sure.
13:43Don't touch me.
13:45You're handling Piper's harassment defense tomorrow.
13:48I'll be in the gallery.
13:49You're going to win.
13:50No!
13:51I don't defend the woman sleeping with my husband.
13:53Once this case is over, I'll make sure your sister wins hers.
13:56You were screaming thief!
13:58I was your landlord.
13:59I thought you were in danger.
14:00I called 911.
14:01We have the camera footage.
14:03The case was lost.
14:07Did you throw this on purpose?
14:09The evidence was rotten.
14:12Piper lied.
14:13I was lying.
14:15That night, he really tried to...
14:17Declan, you have to believe me.
14:19You've never been harassed by men who won't take no for an answer.
14:22You don't understand.
14:23It's okay.
14:24Since she doesn't get it, let her go through it himself.
14:35Take Mrs. Ward to that private club in Manhattan.
14:37Tell those men there's no need to go easy on her.
14:44If you had any sense left, you'd know Piper is lying.
14:47Let me out!
14:53The next 48 hours blurred into torn clothes, bruised skin, and strangers spitting insults
14:58at me on a concrete floor.
15:03But today was my sister's hearing.
15:05I had to be there.
15:07Miss, hospital?
15:10No.
15:12Courthouse, be quick.
15:21Mara, do you honestly think showing up looking like a streetwalker will earn sympathy?
15:31Your Honor, I'm asking for a fair ruling.
15:35The defense has no rebuttal, Your Honor.
15:38Don't worry.
15:39I have it under control.
15:44Judgment for the defense.
15:47Wait!
15:48What?
15:48The evidence was clear.
15:52I object!
15:54I will be appealing immediately!
16:00Objection denied.
16:02Miss Quinn, excellent job.
16:04Guess what?
16:05I'm walking away clean.
16:07So what?
16:08Judge Ward just said I'm innocent.
16:12And guess what?
16:14I've got her locker room pics.
16:16I'm posting them right now.
16:17Now, let's see how famous your dead sister gets.
16:28Get control of yourself.
16:29This is a courtroom.
16:30My sister was bullied.
16:32The proof is right there.
16:33Because your girlfriend needed a win?
16:35I am your wife, Declan!
16:36This is what you owe Piper.
16:38You tanked her case.
16:40Try behaving like someone who understands justice.
16:42Thank you, Judge Ward.
16:44My client wants to take me to dinner.
16:46You should come.
16:50Ms. Mercer, your sister has refused all treatment and is fighting the medical staff.
17:00Mara, the woman who came with Declan told me they posted the photos.
17:04I don't want any of it.
17:08Promise me you'll leave him.
17:10After the funeral, my divorce attorney texted, it's done.
17:13The decree is signed.
17:14Piper and I stopped by the hospital.
17:15She looks stable.
17:16Piper needs wins.
17:17Her dream is to make senior attorney.
17:19I know.
17:19Mara, are you still angry?
17:21Three days from now, Piper's firm is holding an awards dinner.
17:23Bring flowers for her at my place.
17:25Fine.
17:26Are you sure you want these attached?
17:27Yes.
17:28Enjoy the gift I've prepared for you, too.
17:33This was only the beginning.
17:35Next, I would settle every last debt, one by one.
17:45A lavish bouquet had just been delivered straight to the stage at Piper's awards dinner.
17:49Tucked among the pristine white blooms were dozens of intimate, private photographs of him and Piper.
17:55The second the bouquet hit the stage, the ballroom erupted.
17:58Piper became the center of every flashing camera and whispered scandal.
18:03What do you mean Mara Mercer asked you to do it?
18:06It really was Mrs. Mercer.
18:07I have the messages.
18:09Here, look.
18:14I know Mara hates me, but how could she humiliate me like that in front of everyone?
18:20Those pictures are everywhere now.
18:21I can't stay in the legal world after this.
18:25I'll resign tomorrow.
18:28Declan, I want you and Mara to be happy.
18:30I really do.
18:32I'm the one who should leave New York.
18:34Please, just don't miss me.
18:37No, you're not leaving.
18:39I'll make Mara answer for this.
18:41I'll have her on her knees apologizing to you.
18:44Mara!
18:45What is wrong with you?
18:46Piper is just a young associate trying to build career, and you're trying to ruin her life!
18:55Fine.
18:56Stay in there forever if you want.
19:03Three days passed.
19:04He tried the door again, still locked.
19:07Has she come out at all?
19:08No, sir.
19:09Has she eaten?
19:10Sir, you told us no one was to bring Mrs. Ward any food, and she hasn't eaten anything.
19:16Without my permission, she doesn't get so much as a cracker.
19:20Anyone who disobeys can pack up and leave.
19:22He didn't stay home after that.
19:24He was too busy cleaning up Piper's mess.
19:27Her firm had already moved to let her go, handing her termination papers themselves.
19:45At the end of that week, he finally took a key and went to my room himself.
19:56Mara, are you ready to stop this now?
19:58Well, he had thought he was starving me into obedience.
20:04I hadn't been here at all.
20:10Deccan!
20:11Mara had me kidnapped!
20:12Please come!
20:19These days, I woke up more often than I slept.
20:23I threw myself back into work.
20:25I wanted to walk back into New York with a case so massive that not even Deccan's gavel
20:30could crush it.
20:31I told Vincent Cole over a secure line,
20:33That's everything on my end.
20:35Good.
20:36Very good, actually.
20:37Are you settling in all right over there?
20:39I'm fine.
20:41Deccan called me.
20:42He wanted to know where you are.
20:44Do you want me to tell him?
20:45No.
20:45Please keep it from him.
20:47In two weeks, I will be back in the country.
20:49He can see me then.
20:50In court.
20:52One more thing.
20:53The client on this case is well connected.
20:56I arranged dinner.
20:57He may be able to help with your sister's appeal.
21:00That night, I went to meet a client Vincent had mentioned.
21:03To my surprise, it was Ronan Pierce.
21:06My ex-boyfriend.
21:10Sorry, I think I've got the wrong table.
21:13You don't.
21:14I'm the client.
21:16The night you got married, I sent you a gift.
21:19The city-wide fireworks.
21:21I always wondered if you liked them.
21:22Six years ago, I had ended it to stay in New York and raise my teenage sister while he
21:26went overseas to take over his family's business empire.
21:28Deccan and I are divorced.
21:30I know.
21:31In fact, I had fireworks set off tonight in New York, too.
21:35Check the trending tags later.
21:37Piper Quinn's missing.
21:38Before she vanished, she called Declan and told him you had her kidnapped.
21:41Would you like to send your ex a little gift?
21:48Declan was tearing the city apart.
21:50An anonymous email hit the police department with Piper's location, Velvet Room, an underground
21:55private club.
22:05Where's Piper Quinn?
22:06Which room is she in?
22:07Uh, room 308, sir.
22:08End of the hall, left side.
22:13This is insane, Piper.
22:15He's tearing the whole city apart looking for you, and here you are getting drunk.
22:19You really played him like a dog.
22:21He thinks Mara had you kidnapped.
22:28He won't stay mad.
22:30Declan cares about me more than he cares about himself.
22:33Besides, all I wanted was for him to hate Mara enough to divorce her.
22:37Give it a few more days, I'll mess myself up a little, go home crying, and dump the whole
22:41thing on Mara.
22:42He never questions it.
22:46Why did you pin your disappearance on Mara?
22:49Yes, so what if I did?
22:51I hate her.
22:52I want you away from her.
22:54Divorce her.
22:56I'm not divorcing Mara.
22:58I've always seen you as a younger sister.
23:01No.
23:03You don't mean that.
23:04Stop this, Piper.
23:05I don't have time to keep cleaning up after you.
23:16Tell Mara I need her in New York tomorrow night.
23:18I have something to say.
23:20Declan, calm down.
23:21Mara isn't in L.A.
23:23She left the country two weeks ago.
23:25You didn't know?
23:29What?
23:30She uprooted her life for you, and you don't even know what country she's in.
23:34You want to know where she went?
23:36You just never bothered to look.
23:38Where is she?
23:39Tell me where she went.
23:40I'm going to find her.
23:41Go after her?
23:42What about your docket?
23:44Leave her alone for once.
23:49It's cold.
23:50You should go home.
23:51Are you still mad at me?
23:54Drive me home tonight.
23:55If I'd been given to my mother back then, she'd be the one taking me home.
24:06Martha, what happened?
24:07Sir, the hospital said Mrs. Gorsmister died two weeks ago.
24:11They couldn't save her.
24:13He flew the car into a turn and sped to the hospital, getting the death certificate.
24:17The date was the day Piper had visited my sister.
24:20Three minutes after they left the room, my sister tore out her oxygen line.
24:25What did you say to Mara's sister that day?
24:33What made her pull her own oxygen line?
24:35I don't really remember.
24:37If you don't tell me, I'll pull the hospital footage.
24:40I told her the case was lost.
24:42I told her the photos were online.
24:43And I told her about you and me.
24:45What you did was criminal.
24:47Mara's sister was the last family she had left.
24:49How dare you?
24:50You can't charge me!
24:52If you hadn't screwed up my custody case, my life wouldn't be like this!
24:55I was the one who got cornered by that landlord!
24:57This is the last time.
24:58When Mara comes back, you're gone.
25:00You move out.
25:01I don't want her looking at you and thinking about how her sister died.
25:03He flew overseas.
25:05Eight hours later, he stepped out of a cab in front of my hotel and saw me.
25:09I know about your sister.
25:10I'm here to apologize for what Piper did.
25:12Does an apology bring dead people back?
25:14I'm doing very well here.
25:16No one dumps impossible cases on my desk.
25:26Declan watched me get in, regret hitting him all at once.
25:34Why did you divorce me behind my back?
25:36If I didn't love you, why would I stay?
25:38You had me sent to an underground auction.
25:40You destroyed my sister's case.
25:41How much more damage did you need to do?
25:43Underground auction?
25:44I told them to send you to a private club to wait tables!
25:47Stop pretending.
25:48We are exactly two things to each other now.
25:50Judge and attorney.
25:51That night, he tracked down the men who had moved me to the underground den.
25:54Tell me who gave the order!
25:56It was Miss Quinn.
25:58She said it came from you.
26:05Half an hour later, Piper was dragged into the townhouse.
26:08You were the one who had Mara sent to that underground den,
26:11and you never lost that harassment case because Mara tanked it.
26:14The man never touched you.
26:16So what?
26:16I love you.
26:17That's my crime.
26:18If I had gone with my mother back then, my life wouldn't look like this.
26:21You owe me.
26:22I don't owe you my life.
26:24You pushed Mara's sister over the edge.
26:26I let it go.
26:27But this is the end.
26:29You're going to apologize to Mara.
26:31Never.
26:32I would rather die.
26:34She booked a flight and vanished overseas.
26:37I used my savings to buy a small, quiet apartment by the lake.
26:40Declan found the address.
26:44You're divorced, aren't you?
26:45This is Mara's home.
26:47She doesn't have to open her door just because you showed up.
26:57Mara!
26:57Let me in!
26:58I know Piper and I wronged you.
27:00She won't apologize, so I...
27:01So you're here to apologize in her place?
27:03It's over.
27:04It's too much blood between us.
27:05Do you know what my sister's last words were?
27:07She told me to divorce you.
27:09He had lost me completely, piece by piece.
27:12He submitted his resignation.
27:13He filed a formal confession detailing every abuse of power,
27:16every manipulated outcome, including my sister's case.
27:19Where is Declan?
27:20Inside.
27:21He won't let anyone in unless it's Mara.
27:30Mara?
27:31Mara?
27:36I'm not Mara.
27:38I got fired.
27:39Then I saw you destroyed yourself online.
27:40You can't stay here.
27:42The press is circling.
27:43I'm not going anywhere.
27:45I'm staying here until Mara comes home.
27:48Wake up!
27:49She divorced you!
27:50She is never coming back!
27:52In the hospital, the doctor delivered the verdict.
27:54Late-stage stomach cancer.
27:55I'll take you over.
27:56We'll find the best doctors.
27:59No more treatment.
28:02I want to see Mara.
28:04Look, I'm sorry about before,
28:05but Declan's sick.
28:07Late-stage stomach cancer.
28:08He wants to see you one last time.
28:14He did this to himself.
28:15I don't have time to manage his mess.
28:18Piper was arrested for fraud, manipulation, and false reports.
28:22Declan's gone.
28:23He died today.
28:24He gave you his life as an apology.
28:26Is that still not enough?
28:29The reason any of this happened is you.
28:36Declan, I still can't forgive you.
28:39If there is another life after this,
28:41let us never fall in love again.
28:43Declan, I still can't forgive you.
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