The Judge's Verdict
My grandfather, Tanner Kane, valued loyalty above all else.
When his adopted daughter, Alanna Meyer, was sentenced to death for murder, he sent my mother, Florence Kane, to her death. All to preserve the bloodline of his late childhood friend.
Alanna took my mother's name, married, and lived a privileged life free from hardship.
Meanwhile, my mother died carrying a crime she never committed.
My father, Graham Hart, and I changed our names and wandered from place to place. For years, I was mocked as a motherless child.
Forty years later, after enduring humiliation and dedicating myself to my studies, I became a judge in Arbor Falls.
Today, I am presiding over a controversial campus murder case in which the victim fell to her death from a building. There were no surveillance cameras. Only two girls were present, and each insists the other is the killer.
One of them, Nova, comes from a poor family. Her parents are divorced, and she associates with local delinquents. She is known throughout the school as a feared bully.
The other one, Scarlett, comes from a wealthy family. Her parents have a loving marriage, and she excels academically.
Her grandmother is a beautiful and kind-hearted artist. Her great-grandfather spent his entire life doing charity work and was recognized as a nationally renowned philanthropist.
Everyone believes she is a good girl who would never lie, so Nova the bully must be the killer.
However, when I looked at the name listed under Scarlett's grandmother, I saw my mother's name: Florence Kane.
Without a second thought, I turned to the person beside me and said, "Reject her request for acquittal."