She turned a page, the paper making a sharp rustling sound in the quiet room.

“A forgery authorized by a digital signature belonging to Ethan Lawson.”

Ethan flinched as if he had been struck.

He looked at me for the first time in three hours, his eyes wide and watery.

I did not look back; I kept my eyes on the judge’s bench.

“Your Honor,” Samuel said, stepping closer to the bar. “This is not merely a custody dispute.”

“This is the systematic theft of my client’s child, facilitated by medical fraud and forgery.”

“We request an immediate ruling on parental rights.”

Judge Myers closed the folder with a heavy thud.

She leaned forward, her gaze locking onto Olivia and Ethan.

“Olivia Grant,” the judge said, her voice cold and steady.

“You carried this child knowing the embryo was obtained through fraudulent means.”

“You signed state registry documents claiming biological parenthood when you knew it was false.”

“I am not my biological mother,” Olivia stammered, her voice rising. “But I raised her for her first year.”

“You kept her under a false identity,” Judge Myers interrupted.