Merlina rose when the clerk gestured for her to step forward. The wooden floor creaked under her shoes, too loud in the thick silence.
"Raise your right hand, please."
She did. Her fingers trembled slightly.
"Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"
Merlina hesitated for the smallest moment.
Because she had come to accept that the truth was never really whole.
"I do," she said at last. The words felt weak in her throat, yet they traveled the room.
The clerk nodded, motioning her toward the stand. As Merlina took her seat, her pulse thundered in her ears. The microphone glared up at her like an accusation, waiting to catch every breath, every word that might change everything.
The attorney cleared his throat. "Miss Sanchez, could you start by telling the court how you first came to know about the Lesnar family?"
