“You dared to fight me?!” she hissed.
Before anyone could react, her hand cracked across my cheek.
The slap echoed through the courtroom.
My head snapped sideways. Someone gasped loudly. Lily, sitting beside my sister in the back row, burst into tears.
Ryan looked down at his shoes.
The judge slowly stood from the bench, his expression pale but tightly controlled.
“Madam,” he said, his voice slicing through the silence, “do you realize what you’ve just done?”
Patricia lifted her chin proudly. “I defended my family.” Family
The judge stared at her for a long moment.
“No,” he replied quietly. “You just confirmed everything I needed to know.”
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