The judge raised his hand.
The lawyer immediately interrupted.
“I understand your objection,” the judge said calmly.
“But I have already read the content of the recording.”
He stopped.
“And this is extremely important.”
Silence fell again in the courtroom.
Caleb shifted in his chair.
For the first time he looked directly at Harper.
His voice was strained.
“Harper,” he said quietly, “you misunderstood what I said.”
Harper didn’t answer.
She just walked back to the table where I was sitting.
When she reached me, she slipped her little hand into mine.
It was shaking.
It was the same with me.
The questions begin
The judge turned his attention back to Caleb.
“Mr. Dawson,” he said carefully, “did you instruct your daughter to give false testimony in court?”
Caleb swallowed.
“No, Your Highness.”
The judge raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Because the recording suggests otherwise.”
Caleb glanced briefly at his lawyer.
And then he spoke again.
“I tried to prepare her for the questions.”
“Get her ready,” the judge repeated slowly.
“Not.”
“For questions that involved lies about her mother?”
Caleb hesitated.
The pause was long enough for everyone in the room to feel it.
“I didn’t mean to,” he said finally.
The judge’s expression did not change.
But the atmosphere in the room had changed.
Because everyone could see the truth.
Evidence changes everything
My lawyer stood silently.
“Your Majesty,” she said, “we would now like to present additional evidence.”
The judge nodded.
“You may continue.”
For the first time since the interrogation began, I saw something different in Caleb’s eyes.
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