"My husband slapped me in front of his entire family, demanded I apologize for his sister’s cruel lie, and thought he had already won.

Sitting at the prosecution table were three senior partners from Harrington & Associates, wearing custom suits, looking at me with cold, triumphant smiles. Sitting behind them in the front row of the gallery was Melissa Harrington, wearing a black silk dress, her face framed by expensive diamonds, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief for the benefit of the three local news reporters sitting nearby.

Beside her sat Brooklyn, wearing her stained ivory dress—deliberately unwashed—to present herself as a victim of a violent attack.

Callan was absent, currently recovering in the burn ICU at Saint Joseph’s Hospital under heavy sedation.

The presiding magistrate, Honorable Judge Richard Vance (no relation to David), brought his heavy wooden gavel down flat against the bench.

BANG.

"In the matter of State of Arizona v. Anastasia Harrington," Judge Vance announced clearly into the microphone. "We are here to consider the prosecution's emergency petition for total bail denial based on the extreme severity of the domestic violence charges."

The lead prosecutor stood up, buttoning his jacket with supreme confidence. "Your Honor, the defendant, Anastasia, engaged in a premeditated, horrific attack using boiling oil against her husband, Callan Harrington, inside a family home. We have three eyewitness statements testifying to her unprovoked violence—"

"Your Honor," David Vance interrupted smoothly, standing up from our table and stepping toward the central podium carrying a sleek black digital projector. "Before the court considers these fictitious witness statements, we request permission to present physical evidence recovered directly from the crime scene."

The lead prosecutor scoffed, waving his hand dismissively. "Your Honor! The defense has no physical evidence! The scene was processed by Paradise Valley PD, and no secondary weapons were found!"

"We aren't presenting a weapon, Counsel," David replied coldly, plugging his tablet into the courtroom wall terminal.

"We are presenting the truth."

BZZZZ.