The courthouse was a storm of anticipation as Uriel Zander stepped inside, his mind sharper than it ever was. The body still ached from the attack, but the pain had now become just background noise, so insignificant against the battle that now lay ahead. Today marked the fifth day of the trial, and Uriel knew it was going to be the day when it would either break them or turn everything around. He had spent the previous night going over the case in his mind, rehashing every shred of evidence, every testimony, every little detail that the FBI provided. The video footage was a big, heavy blow, granted, but Uriel had faced impossible odds previously. In his four years as a defense attorney, he'd managed to win cases other lawyers thought there was no way to do so. Cases where it would have seemed that the evidence was airtight, where his clients were considered guilty before they had ever entered a courtroom. He had always found a way. And he was going to again.

As he sat at the defense table, his mind wandered back to the cases that built his reputation. *The Cortez Case.* The evidence had been overwhelming. His client was a young man from Brooklyn who'd been accused of murdering a cop. The prosecution had ballistics, eye-witness testimony, even a confession. But Uriel had picked it apart bit by bit, showing that the confession was coerced, the ballistics report fudged. His client walked free, and Uriel earned both respect—and fear—from the city's criminal justice establishment. *The Hayes Case.* A corporate embezzlement scandal where all the financial trails led to his client. Uriel had systematically destroyed the prosecution's case by revealing a concealed offshore account that led to someone else entirely. His client had been innocent, and Uriel had dug up the truth where no one else could. In each and every one of those cases, Uriel faced overwhelming evidence. And in each and every one, he'd find the weak link, the thread that could unravel it all. *There's always a way out*, Uriel told himself, his jaw tightening as he glanced at the jury. *Always*.

But as he turned to his right, he could feel the change in air pressure. Karen was sitting next to him, her usual tranquil focus replaced with an aspect of silent despair.

It was subtle, but Uriel could tell doubt was seeping in. When the footage had been released, Karen's confidence had buckled. She wasn't alone. Caden Spears sat beside her, his face pale, hands shaking slightly as he stared at the floor. The weight of the trial, the damning footage, and the threat of the organization bearing down on him had sucked any hope from him. He looked more like a man waiting for his sentence than his freedom. There was friction between them, real tension, and Uriel could feel it weighing down on the entire defense.

In the short break, Uriel and Karen stepped away to the side of the hall in the courthouse. Uriel could tell Karen was tired. She leaned against the wall, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "Uriel," she said, much softer than usual, "I don't know if we can win this."

Uriel turned to her, furrowing his face. "We've come back from worse. We still can turn this around." Karen shook her head, a pained look on her face. "It's different this time. That footage… these jurors can't take that out of their heads, no matter how much we argue coercion. They have in their minds Caden participating in the trafficking deals. And even if we attempt to say he was forced, that picture will pop up. And the prosecution knows it too."

The thoughts swirled in Uriel's head as he refused to allow doubt to creep in. "We've discounted their witnesses, we've punched holes in their investigation. They wish the jury to be fixated on the video because that is all they have remained behind. But again, we can still weaken it." Karen's eyes welled up with frustration. "You make it sound so easy, but this—this is different. I just… I'm afraid we're losing."

Uriel stared at her for a long moment, his mind fighting to reconcile the person Karen had been at the beginning of this trial—confident, ready for a fight—with the doubt that had overtaken her now. "We're not losing," Uriel said, his voice firmer. "Not yet. I need you to stay with me on this, Karen."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Karen slowly exhaled a breath and nodded slightly; her look was still conflicted. "Okay. I'm with you." But Uriel could see the hesitation—the crack in the armor. And it wasn't just Karen.

Uriel soon noticed Caden getting anxious again as he sat in court. He had been unraveling since the footage was introduced, and today his tension had reached a breaking point. During another short break, Uriel sat down beside Caden, who had as good as stared blankly at the floor most of the morning.

"We're still in this, Caden," Uriel said quietly. "Don't let them see you like this. The jury is watching."

Caden's voice was low, barely above a whisper. "I don't know if I can do this anymore, Uriel. That video… they're going to convict me. I saw it in their faces. They think I'm guilty."

Uriel leaned forward, his face intense. "I need you to hold it together. We still have a shot at winning this. That video doesn't account for everything that happened, and we have it to prove it."

But Caden merely shook his head, the despair in his eyes weighing him down like an anchor. "You don't get it. It's over. They're gunning for me, and you… you're their next target."

Uriel raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Caden's voice began to shake. "That attack on your apartment… that wasn't just a random act. They don't want you to win."

Uriel's jaw clenched, the weight of Caden's words settling over him. He had suspected as much, but to hear Caden say it out loud made it all the more real. The organization wanted him gone, and they were willing to do whatever it took to stop him from winning. "I know," Uriel said softly. "But I'm not backing down. Not now."

Caden looked up at him, the fear alive in his eyes. "Even if it kills you?"

Uriel didn't hesitate. "Yes."

The afternoon session resumed, and Uriel was back in the courtroom, his mind firing on all cylinders. The doubts of Karen and Caden weighed on him, but he refused to let them slow him down. If anything, they fueled him. This was going to call for harder than he had ever done.

The last witness from the FBI took the stand—a forensic analyst who, on behalf of the prosecution, had reviewed the footage. Marlowe didn't waste any time re-walking the jury through evidence once more and emphasizing the fact that the footage was indeed real, and implications derived from it terribly damning on Caden Spears.

Already, Uriel was thinking of his next move. The moment Marlowe was done with her questioning, Uriel rose to his feet, face placid, but mentally running a mile a minute. He approached the witness, a middle-aged man with hatchet features and with the impertinence of one who had done this a hundred times over.

"You've viewed the footage we've all viewed," Uriel started off, his voice well-modulated. "And you've testified that it is authentic—unedited and untouched. Correct?"

The witness nodded. "Yes. The footage is real."

"Real," Uriel repeated, his tone slowing, the words deliberate. "But you reviewed only what was provided to you. Is that right?"

The witness frowned slightly. "Yes, we reviewed the footage that was submitted as evidence."

Uriel's eyes narrowed. "And were you provided with the original footage? Or were you given a specific cut, a particular segment to review?"

Marlowe stood quickly. "Your Honor, the defense is making an unfounded insinuation."

But Uriel didn't stop there. "Withdrawn."

He faced the witness again; his tone was calm, but dogged in persistence. "You saw only what was given to you. You never saw what took place before and after those described moments, did you?"

The witness hesitated. "No—only the portions pertinent to the case."

Uriel turned to the jury, making sure to hold their attention. "And therein lies the problem. This footage, this so-called 'relevant portion,' was subjectively pulled to tell a specific story. But what has been omitted, kept from our view, is perhaps what would change everything."

He paused. He let these words hang in the air.

"The defense rests on the fact that my client, Caden Spears, was coerced—forced to act as a pawn for those higher up in this organization. And I submit to the court that this footage, as handled, doesn't reveal the complete picture."

Uriel's eyes blazed as he returned to his seat.

He knew the way ahead was still steep—holding all the odds—but he had sown the seed of doubt in the minds of the jury members.

And it was good enough.