
“Please, listen to me,” Ethan pleaded, his small voice echoing in the tense courtroom. “I know what happened to the brooch. Grandma said it was gone, but I saw her hide it in the garden shed.”
Gasps rippled through the room. Margaret’s face turned ashen as whispers surged around her. Ethan’s father, Adam, looked up sharply, confusion and disbelief wrestling on his features.
The judge, startled by the boy’s outburst, called for order. “Young man, approach the bench,” he instructed gently. Ethan walked forward, his small hands trembling but determined. The judge leaned down, meeting his eyes. “Tell us what you know.”
