My parents smug smiles vanished instantly when the judge stood up and revealed the terrifying truth about how he knew me!

Clydesdale opened with a carefully constructed lie—portraying Richard as a confused old man suffering from dementia and me as a desperate grandson who had isolated and exploited him. Diana cried on cue. It was convincing, especially in a world that often mistakes quietness for weakness. My confidence wavered as the judge listened without expression.

When Glenn stood to respond, Judge Reyes interrupted him. Instead of addressing the lawyers, he fixed his gaze on me. He asked if I was Ethan Carter—the name I had used earlier in my career. My mother protested, insisting on my family name, but the judge ignored her completely.

He recognized me from a case years earlier—the OmniCorp embezzlement scandal. As my parents sat frozen, the judge explained what they never cared to know: I had been a forensic accounting intern who uncovered fraudulent records used to manipulate stock prices. I had reported the crime, testified against a major corporation, and sacrificed my career in the process, becoming blacklisted for violating an NDA in order to tell the truth. Thousands of workers had kept their pensions because of it. While my parents criticized my lack of ambition, I had chosen ethics over comfort.

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