My five-year-old daughter always bathed with my husband. They would stay in there for more than an hour every night.

Walking up to the witness stand felt like walking toward a firing squad. I took a deep breath, placing my hand on the Bible, swearing to tell the truth. I kept my eyes locked on the prosecutor, avoiding Caleb’s piercing gaze.

For the first hour, the prosecution allowed me to tell my story. I described the clock ticking, the smell of the towels, the terror in Lily’s eyes, and finally, the horrific discovery behind the half-open door. I spoke from the absolute depths of my soul. I could see a few jurors softening, nodding along.

Then, it was Richard Sterling’s turn for cross-examination.

He walked toward me like a predator closing in on its prey. "Mrs. Brooks—or do you prefer your married name, the name of the man whose life you are trying to destroy?"

"Objection!" the prosecutor shouted.

"Sustained. Watch your phrasing, Mr. Sterling," the judge warned.

Sterling smiled thinly. "Mrs. Brooks, you claim you discovered this 'experimentation' on the night of the arrest. But isn't it true that three months prior, you searched for 'effects of clonidine on children' on your home computer?"

"I never searched for that," I said firmly.

"We have the hard drive logs right here," Sterling said, holding up a document. "A search conducted at 2:00 AM on a Tuesday from your profile."

My mind raced. Caleb. He had used my profile. He had planted the digital footprint months in advance, knowing that if he were ever caught, he could frame me. The sheer calculation of his malice took my breath away.

"My husband had access to all my devices," I stated, my voice shaking but loud. "He set me up. Just like he set up our daughter."

"A convenient excuse," Sterling sneered. "Let's talk about the video. You recorded your husband. You claim he was threatening her. But he mentions a 'game.' Parents use games all the time to make children cooperate with unpleasant things, don't they? Like eating vegetables or taking medicine?"

"He told her I would leave her if she told the truth!" I shouted, losing my composure. "He was drugging her!"

"According to your interpretation!" Sterling roared back. "You wanted an escape from your marriage, and you used your innocent daughter as the ticket out!"

I looked past Sterling, straight at Caleb. He was watching me, his eyes gleaming with a sick sense of victory. He thought he had won. He thought his intellect had outsmarted justice.

Seeing that smug, monstrous satisfaction broke something inside me—but it didn't make me cry. It made me cold.

"Caleb," I said, ignoring Sterling entirely, speaking directly across the courtroom.