Chapter 3: The Truth Unveiled

The court hearing took place on a crisp Thursday morning, and Callie arrived with dark circles under her eyes but a firm resolve in her heart.

She wasn’t alone. Her lawyer, Mr. Goodwin, sat beside her with a stack of documents he’d reviewed for three straight nights.

Behind them sat the social worker, Mrs. Golden, and a kind, professional nurse who had been helping with Geneva’s daily needs.

Joel and Dakota walked into the courtroom as if they were the victims, Joel in an ironed shirt and a sneer of pure arrogance.

Dakota pretended to weep into a designer handkerchief, clutching an expensive bag to her chest as if she were in actual physical pain.

“We just want to take our mother-in-law back home, because Callie is manipulating a sick woman to steal what little she has,” Dakota told the judge.