JUDY’S POV
It was court day once again, the air thick and tense enough to cut with a knife. It had been a gruelling process in all the moments that preceded this one, but this time there was hope — a frail glimmer, but hope all the same.
The same suffocating weight from before settled on me again as I sat in the courtroom. My palms curled into fists, fingernails digging into my skin, as I cast a quick look at my father, a few rows back.
“God, please… Help us,” a silent prayer escaped from me.
He was still recovering from the ordeal, but a steely determination in his eyes told me he wasn’t backing down.
Chris sat next to me, scanning a stack of documents with laser focus. From time to time his hand would touch mine, the briefest but most reassuring touch that anchored me.
“It’s going
