Kael’s POV
Her voice was small at first.
Almost too quiet for the back rows to hear.
But the room was so silent that even the whisper carried.
"My na is Lilith Nightfang." She swallowed hard.
Soone in the crowd shifted. Just slightly. Like they were bracing themselves.
"My daddy is Finn Nightfang." Her eyes stayed fixed on the middle distance. "He used to be... he used to give nice things. Pretty dresses. Toys. He took to fancy parties and showed off."
Her voice wavered.
"But that was before the money went away. Before Celestia had the baby."
The room was absolutely still.
"After that, they said I was expensive." The words ca out flat. Like she’d repeated them so many tis they’d lost aning. "They said I ate too much. That I cost too much. That I wasn’t worth what they spent on ."
A murmur ran through the crowd. Low. Dangerous.
Finn’s jaw tightened.
"They told my mother was bad." Lilith continued. Her voice steadier now. Like sothing was loosening inside her. Like the words were finally coming free. "That she was dirty. That she was worthless. That she didn’t love ."
She paused.
"They told to be an to her." Her throat worked. "When I was little. When I was little they told to push her away. Said if I loved Mommy then I was bad. Said only stupid children loved Ogas."
Aria’s hands were clenched together in her lap. I could see the knuckles white from here.
"So I did what they said." Lilith’s voice cracked for the first ti. "I was an to her. I said terrible things. I told her she slled bad. That I didn’t want her. That I didn’t need her."
The crack in her voice got worse.
"And all that ti she was... she was just trying to love . And I kept pushing her away because they TOLD to."
Lilith looked down at her hands. Those small fingers twisted together in her lap.
"When they ran out of money, everything changed." Her voice dropped. "Daddy started getting angry a lot. Celestia would scream. They’d throw things. And if I said anything... if I got in the way..."
She pushed up her sleeve.
Showed the room the bruises that Aria had docunted.
The murmur through the crowd turned sharp. Ugly.
Soone cursed. Loud enough to be heard.
Judge Orion didn’t call for silence. He just let the reaction ripple through the room. Let it settle.
"They told Mommy was never coming back." Lilith’s voice was barely above a whisper now. "They said she forgot about . That she had a new life and a new baby and she didn’t want anymore."
Her eyes finally moved. Found Aria in the front row.
"But she wasn’t gone." Her chin wobbled. "She was always there. And when I went to her door she opened it. Even after everything I said. Even after how an I was."
A tear slid down her cheek. She didn’t wipe it away.
"She took in. She put dicine on my bruises. She let sleep in a warm bed. She said..." Her voice broke completely. "She said I was still her daughter."
That was when the room broke.
Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just a collective exhale. Like hundreds of people had been holding their breath and finally let go.
Soone was crying. I heard it. Quiet. Restrained. Trying to be professional and failing.
I didn’t look around to see who.
I was watching Finn.
Watching the color drain out of his face as he heard every word his daughter said. As the room reacted. As he finally understood what was going to happen.
Celestia had gone rigid. Her chin still up. Her eyes fixed on the far wall. But her hands in her lap were shaking so badly I could see it from across the room.
Good.
Let them feel it.
Let them feel exactly a fraction of what they’d made Lilith feel.
Judge Orion let a long mont pass after Lilith finished speaking.
Then he said, quietly, "Thank you for your courage, child. You may return to your mother."
Lilith slid off the chair. Walked back to the front row on legs that trembled.
Aria was on her feet before Lilith took two steps. Arms opening.
---
Judge Orion gave the defense exactly thirty minutes to respond.
Finn’s lawyer—the cheapest one he could apparently afford now—tried his best.
The crowd’s response to each defense statent was a low, barely contained sound of disgust.
Judge Orion let the lawyer finish. Then he set down his pen.
"Enough." The single word cut through everything.
He looked at Finn. Then at Celestia.
Then he looked out at the packed room.
"This tribunal has heard testimony. Reviewed evidence. And we have heard from the child herself." His voice was steady. Final. The voice of a man who had made his decision long before anyone started arguing. "There is no confusion here. No misrembering."
He picked up the judgnt order.
"Finn Nightfang." He read the na like it tasted bad. "The evidence against you is overwhelming. Your own daughter’s testimony is unimpeachable." He paused. "You had a child in your care. You had a duty. You violated that duty in every way a parent can violate it."
Finn opened his mouth.
Closed it again.
"Celestia Thornwood." The judge’s eyes moved. "You participated actively in the mistreatnt of a child who was not yours. You helped turn a daughter against her own mother. You enabled an environnt of fear and violence."
Celestia finally looked away from the far wall.
Judge Orion set down the judgnt order. Looked up one final ti.
"The verdict of this tribunal is unanimous. Guilty on all counts."
The room exhaled.
"For the cris of child abuse, child neglect, and child endangernt, this court imposes the maximum sentence permitted under pack law."
He looked at the defendants one last ti.
"Finn Nightfang and Celestia Thornwood will spend the remainder of their lives in prison."
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