He looked at Harper.
“Is this why you recorded it?” he asked gently.
She nodded. “I thought… if I forgot, then maybe it didn’t happen. But I couldn’t forget.”
The judge closed his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them, the neutrality was gone.
“Ms. Dawson,” he said to me, “did you know about this video?”
I shook my head, tears streaming freely now. “No, Your Honor.”
He nodded slowly.
Then he turned to Caleb.
“Mr. Dawson,” he said, his voice firm but controlled, “you described your wife as emotionally volatile. You described yourself as a stabilizing presence. This video suggests the opposite.”
Caleb opened his mouth.
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