At my grandfather's birthday gala, my father grabbed my eight-month-pregnant body and sent me down a flight of granite stairs because I refused to give my seat to my sister after her cosmetic tummy-tuck.

At nine o'clock sharp the following morning, we returned to the arbitration chamber.

Attorney Vance sat at his side of the table, looking smugly confident as he shuffled his paperwork. Evelyn sat beside him, wearing a triumphant expression as if she had already won.

Judge Thomas adjusted his glasses. "We are here to conclude the emergency capacity hearing regarding Sarah Sterling. Mr. Miller, do you have any expert psychological testimony to present refuting the Bellevue medical reports?"

David Miller stood up slowly, a quiet confidence surrounding him.

"We do not need expert psychological testimony, Your Honor," David announced calmly. "Because the documents presented by opposing counsel are the fruit of a criminal conspiracy."

Vance’s head snapped up. "Objection! This is absurd theatricality!"

"Is it?" David tapped a button on his laptop, projecting a series of bank records and security footage onto the wall screen.

"This is Brenda Ruiz, a medical records manager at Bellevue Wellness," David explained as video footage showed a woman meeting a man in a dark sedan outside the clinic. "Three weeks ago, Ms. Ruiz was bribed fifteen thousand dollars by Apex Logistics—a holding company owned directly by Mr. Vance's associate—to illegally access and steal my client's confidential therapy files."

Vance turned pale, his hands visibly beginning to shake. "That... that is an unverified assertion!"

"Ms. Ruiz was arrested by the NYPD two hours ago," David added coolly, tossing a certified police affidavit onto the judge's desk. "She gave a full confession, naming Mr. Vance’s firm as the buyer."

Judge Thomas’s face turned thunderous. He looked over his glasses at Vance with pure fury.

"Mr. Vance," Judge Thomas’s voice echoed like thunder. "You introduced stolen, illegally acquired documents into my arbitration chamber in an attempt to manipulate an estate trust?"

"Your Honor, I had no knowledge of how my staff obtained—" Vance stammered, sweating profusely.

"Silence!" Judge Thomas slammed his gavel down. "I am immediately dismissing your petition with prejudice. I am referring you and your firm to the State Bar Association for disbarment proceedings, and I am issuing a sanctions fine of fifty thousand dollars against your client!"

Evelyn gasped, turning toward Vance in sheer horror. "What?! You promised me this was foolproof!"