“That’s a lie!” Grant shouted, his veneer shattering. “She’s insane! She coded that system — she could have faked those logs!”

“Actually,” I spoke up.

My voice wasn’t loud, but in the dead silence it cut like a scalpel. Everyone stared. My court-appointed lawyer looked like he wanted to slide under the table.

I stood slowly. I didn’t look crazy. I looked like the founder of Mercer Dynamics.

“Actually, Grant,” I said, steady, “you just made my counsel’s argument for her. You told this court I could have faked the logs. So let’s talk about whether anyone can.”

I let it sit. “The Aegis System logs are immutable. They’re written to a private blockchain ledger I integrated into the house’s local server three years ago.