Clara swore to tell the truth, her voice a whisper as she raised her right hand, her fingers trembling like fragile leaves caught in a breeze. The weight of the moment pressed down on her, making her seem smaller, as though the truth she was about to reveal would shatter everything.

She stood at the witness stand, her gaze fixed downward, avoiding the piercing eyes of Victor and Evelyn Hastings, who sat in front of her like two statues, their once-impregnable composure now crumbling under the force of her testimony.

Jeanine approached her slowly, her voice soft but coaxing. "Clara, how long did you work for the Hastings family?"

Clara’s...