America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

During the 48 hours he was detained, Sean received 17 missed calls on his phone.

But he didn't accept any of them.

He didn't answer either the calls from Matthew or Catherine Donovan.

If it's the former, he believes Matthew, with his brain that got him into Penn, can solve many things independently. If it's the latter, then there's no doubt Donovan wants the list he has.

But given how things have turned out, can he still willingly cooperate with her?

Let her eat shit!

Meanwhile, his communication with Vincent also progressed.

……

January 17th, 10:00 AM.

Today is a very special day, as this hearing is not being held in the Judiciary Committee hearing room in Pennsylvania's capital, but in Philadelphia.

Sean, dressed in a dark gray suit, sat in the witness stand. Behind him were dozens of reporters and cameras, and above him was the C-SPAN live broadcast signal light.

Senator Robert Thompson, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, sat in the center, flanked by the other committee members. Kathleen Donovan, as the motion's initiator, sat in the front row of the gallery, a confident smile on her face.

Robert Thompson's favorability rating for him is [10].

Catherine Donovan, on the other hand, has a score of [0].

Vincent sat in the lawyer's chair next to Sean, with a thick stack of documents on the table.

"This hearing is now in session." Thompson struck the gavel. "The purpose of this hearing is to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Avalon Fund case and any potential issues in the death of Mr. Thomas Reynolds. Please note that this is not a criminal trial, and this committee has no authority to convict anyone."

After his opening remarks, Thompson first summoned representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department and asked them to present a list of physical evidence in the Thomas case.

When the repaired phone was placed on the projector, everyone's eyes lit up.

"According to the technical department's report," the police representative read, "the phone was found under the bathtub at the crime scene, and the internal data has been largely recovered."

"Please show me the relevant content on your phone," Thompson said.

The projector lit up, and a list of files from Thomas's phone appeared on the screen.

There are no photos, documents, or call records related to Sean Penn.

Catherine's smile froze for a moment, then returned to its usual calm. Her acting was so convincing that Sean didn't even know if she had anticipated it.

"Please continue," Thompson gestured.

The police representative switched to the next file, which was a voice memo Thomas had recorded a few hours before his death.

Thomas's voice echoed in the hearing room:

"...I'm so tired. I owe so much money, my wife and children have left me. I want to see them, but I'm ashamed...I just want to rest...I'm sorry..."

The recording ended with a long sigh.

The hearing room was completely silent.

That was neither the last words of a persecuted person nor the dying testimony of a witness.

That was just the monologue of an ordinary person crushed by life.

A middle-aged man who misses his wife and children but is powerless to face them, makes his final confession.

Upon hearing this audio, Vincent Carter also lowered his head.

"Based on the contents of the cell phone," a police representative concluded, "no evidence was found to link Thomas Reynolds' death to Mr. Sean Penn, nor was any new evidence found regarding the Avalon Fund case."

Donovan's face darkened completely.

Just then, Sean raised his hand.

"Mr. Chairman, I would like to request to speak."

Thompson nodded. "Mr. Pan, please go ahead."

Sean stood up and took a document from Vincent.

"Mr. Chairman, fellow committee members, I would like to draw your attention to a detail."

He gestured to his assistant to switch the projector's display, and two photos appeared on the screen.

"This is a photo taken by my assistant, Matthew Chan, in the bathroom of Thomas's apartment on the afternoon of January 15, the day he died. The photo shows the cell phone in a gap at the bottom of the bathtub, about three inches from the drain."

"Of course, to add: we were able to enter the scene with the permission of Attorney General Robert Harrison."

"Furthermore, we did handle the evidence. My fingerprints were still on it, but we didn't take it away from the scene because we firmly believe that the problem should be solved through legal means."

To everyone's surprise, Sean admitted it so readily.

He then switched to the next photo, emphasizing his words:

"And these are photos of the scene taken by the police forensic department later that day!"

"Please note that the phone's position has noticeably changed; it has been moved to approximately six inches from its original location!!"

A murmur rippled through the hearing room.

"What does this mean?" Sean looked around. "It means that after we found the phone, someone entered the scene and moved it. And that person was obviously not me, because I was already being questioned at the police station at that time."

"Someone tried to destroy or tamper with the contents of this phone. But they failed because we had taken photos beforehand, and because Officer Charles of the police insisted on a second search."

"But unfortunately, I heard that no new fingerprints were found on it."

Sean glanced in the direction of Congressman Donovan, but only briefly, stopping short of noticing.

"I don't know who's pulling the strings behind all this. But I do know the truth can't be hidden. Mr. Thomas Reynolds' death was a tragedy, but I'm not responsible for it. He died of poverty, of despair, of society's indifference towards ordinary people."

"And I am just another pawn being used."

He bowed and sat back down in his seat.

Silence fell over the hearing room once again.

Chairman Thompson paused for a moment, then spoke:

"Given the evidence presented so far, this Committee finds that there is insufficient grounds to directly link Mr. Thomas Reynolds' death to Mr. Sean Penn. The focus of this hearing will shift elsewhere."

He looked at Catherine Donovan. "Congressman Donovan, is there anything else you'd like to add?"

The other person slowly stood up.

Her signature smile was still on her face, but the sharpness in that smile had disappeared.

"No, Mr. Chairman," she began. "I simply hope the truth will come to light. Now that Mr. Pan has clarified his position, I expect the subsequent investigation to provide the public with a satisfactory answer."

And so she sat back down, her gaze briefly meeting Sean's.

It was at that moment that Sean saw what was in her eyes.

It wasn't anger, nor hatred. It was an overwhelming sense of defeat.

Clearly, her carefully laid-out strategy was overturned at the last moment.

The hearing ended amidst a cacophony of discussion.

The moment Sean and Vincent walked out of the hearing room together, countless reporters swarmed around them.

"Mr. Pan, what are your thoughts on today's result?"

"Mr. Pan, who do you think is pulling the strings behind all this?"

"Mr. Pan, will you continue to run for president?"

Sean stopped and gave the camera a calm smile.

"All I want to say is that today is not my victory. Today is Thomas Reynolds' victory. His voice has finally been heard."

"As for those who tried to use his death to achieve their goals—"

His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Catherine, who was heading towards the back door.

"I believe time will tell."

However, just when Sean thought that Catherine Donovan would slink away like a defeated hen, the state senator suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Her shoulders began to tremble slightly. "This is terrible...this is just awful."

Donovan turned around to face the group of reporters who were originally preparing to surround her.

"My heart broke when I heard Thomas's last recording just now." She choked up, her voice trembling but clearly carrying through every microphone. "A hardworking American worker, driven to desperation, afraid to even see his wife and children... This is a disgrace to Pennsylvania, and a failure of all our legislators!"

She abruptly raised her head: "Although today's hearing didn't reach certain conclusions, this doesn't mean it's over. The Urban Vulnerable Protection Committee will not stand idly by! We will establish a special fund to help families like Thomas's. We will definitely give the deceased justice and the living closure! Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent!"

Flashbulbs went off wildly, and the reporters' attention was instantly drawn back to this "compassionate" politician.

Sean, standing not far away, was dumbfounded.

"This works?"

Vincent stood beside him, watching Donovan surrounded by the crowd, and sighed with a complex expression, "This is Catherine Donovan. To be fair, she has indeed pushed for some legislation that benefits working-class people over the years. But when I realized that she might have even condoned the falsification of evidence and the exploitation of a dead person in order to achieve her goals... my beliefs wavered."

"Shake it? This is genius!" Sean's eyes gleamed with an unusual light. "Look at her, she's prepared for both scenarios. No matter the outcome, she's invincible. I wish I had someone like that on my campaign team."

"Of course, I still have a moral bottom line, and the law is my bottom line!"

"So your standards are pretty low," Vincent said with a wry smile, then turned to Sean and said, "By the way, what about that Asian guy named Matthew? He seems pretty efficient."

"Matthew is a promising talent, but he's still too young." Sean shook his head, his gaze never leaving Vincent. "Besides, what I need most right now is someone who understands the law."

"Is this an olive branch, Mr. Pan?"

Sean didn't answer immediately. He glanced discreetly at the numbers above Vincent's head.

【-45】.

Although it is still a negative number, it has made a qualitative leap compared to the initial hostile [-85].

"You can understand it that way," Sean said calmly, withdrawing his gaze.

The two stood side by side on the grand steps of the Parliament building, looking down at the bustling crowd below.

"Ten years ago, I was a rising star in the legal world in New York State," Vincent suddenly began, his voice slightly unsteady. "Back then, I thought the law was black and white. Until I messed with some people I couldn't afford to mess with and got involved in some cases I shouldn't have. After my license was suspended for a year, I came south to Pennsylvania."

"Actually, this place is quite nice. Maybe you can meet someone even better here."

"What else did you do during your time in Pennsylvania besides being an unknown defense attorney?" Sean asked instead.

"Waiting. Just waiting."

When Vincent was asked this question, he answered, and his unexpected answer surprised Sean.

He thought Vincent would talk about fishing, drinking, or indulging in some cheap hobby like many disillusioned middle-aged men.

"wait?"

"Yes, waiting." Vincent looked at the distant sky. "Dumas said that all human wisdom is contained in two words: waiting and hope."

Sean smiled and said, "But waiting isn't enough, Mr. Carter. Sometimes, you have to create the storm yourself."

After saying that, he straightened his tie and strode toward the group of reporters who were still engrossed in Donovan's speech.

Hey everyone!

Sean's voice was loud and penetrating, instantly drowning out the noise in the room.

"Who still wants to interview Sean Penn?!"

This question was so absurd that it silenced the room for a second.

"Someone stole my face and printed it on flyers to scam money! Someone stole my reputation to endorse that damn foundation! Now, someone is even trying to steal my innocence to cover up their own crimes!"

"Congressman Donovan is right, Thomas is a victim. But he's not the only victim! Everyone here who has been deceived by lies is!"

He swung his arm violently, like a general giving orders on the battlefield.

"Since someone wants to play, then we'll play to the end! Starting today, I'm not only running for president, I'm also forming a special investigation team to expose those parasites hiding behind the Avalon Foundation, sucking our blood, one by one! Whether they're business tycoons or political celebrities!"

At that moment, flashes of light rained down like a storm. Sean Penn stood in the center of the spotlight, no longer a passive suspect, but a madman declaring war on decay.

Vincent stood at a distance, watching the arrogant figure in the light, as the numbers above his head suddenly began to rise slowly.

Donovan, pale-faced, stared at the eloquent Sean, who finally said:

"And I will first reveal the most glaring names on the list I have!"