…he pushes down hard on the arms of his wheelchair and stands up.
For half a second, no one breathes. The sound that fills the courtroom is not a gasp, not a scream—it is the hollow, stunned silence of a truth finally ripping through a lie that has been protected for a decade.
Judge Raymond Callaghan stands fully upright.
His knees lock. His polished shoes press into the courtroom floor. His hands tremble as he realizes what he has done, but it is already too late. The damage is done. The lie is exposed.
A murmur explodes through the room like a shockwave.
“What—”
“Did you see that?”
“He stood up—”
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