The courtroom held its breath as the judge opened the first envelope — the transcript of the audio I’d recorded. He read the first page. Then the second.

His eyebrows crept toward his hairline.

Then a genuine, unexpected scoff escaped him. He covered his mouth, leaned back, and said softly, “Oh… this is good.”

Grant gripped the edge of the table, knuckles white, and hissed at Vanessa under his breath. “Did you know about this? Did you talk to him?”

Vanessa was trembling, her eyes fixed on her brother in horror. “No… no, Grant, I swear—”

Lena wasn’t finished. “If Your Honor reviews Exhibit C, you’ll find the forensic breakdown of the forgery. Mr. Mercer used a backdoor protocol to apply Mrs. Mercer’s digital signature to patent-transfer documents while she was under heavy sedation — a state deliberately maintained by medical staff paid directly from Mr. Mercer’s personal accounts.”