Katie offered the jury a small, respectful nod, then walked back to the defense table. She smoothed her blazer as she sat down, leaning over to whisper something to Jason, who gave a weak, appreciative nod of his head.
The silence she left in her wake was thick, suffocatingly heavy with the poison she had just injected into the room.
Up at the high bench, Judge Jones remained entirely unreadable. He looked down at his notes, scribbling a final line with his pen before lifting his sharp gray eyes to survey the courtroom. He tapped his gavel once, the sharp crack echoing off the wood panels and officially closing the chapter on opening statements.
"Thank you, Ms. Robinson," Judge Jones said, his voice level and commanding. He turned his attention toward Paige's side of the room. "The stat
