Dr. Steven Wiskin’s testimony reverberated through the courtroom, his carefully constructed defense of federal hiring practices losing its impact in light of Judge Donahue’s ruling. Throughout cross-examination, the jury’s faces revealed subtle shifts in perception… Juniper’s disclosure of his consultancy fees drew a few skeptical raised eyebrows, injecting doubt into his statements even though it didn’t suffice for a formal exclusion.

The late afternoon sunlight danced across the courthouse’s grand oak wainscoting as Dr. Wiskin made his way down, his once flawless composure slightly blemished by the admission of over $500,000 in federal contracts.

Roma had gone still… not defeated, but conserving. Hibernating behind that smirk of his, giving the plaintiffs nothing to read. But something was dawning over him now, settling into his posture like the first chill of a season he hadn’t dressed for. The dynamics were shifting, and even he couldn’t pretend not to feel the temperature drop.

Juniper rose slowly, her silk blouse whispering against the counsel table as she straightened to her full height. The gallery forgot itself… a tab hit the floor somewhere, its crack swallowed by the silence of an audience that recognized the main event when it walked to the podium. Even the Central delegates had stopped pretending to whisper.

“Your Honor,” she began, her voice carrying that quiet authority that always made Daniel’s chest tighten with pride, “the plaintiffs call Thomas Delaney to the stand.”

Roma took a long breath in through his nose, shifted in his seat, and let his eyes settle on the empty stand. He stared at it the way a hunter watches a clearing… patient, certain, seeing not what was there but what was about to be. The battlefield, waiting for its next body.

The observers exchanged glances while several jurors sat up straighter, their attention razor-sharp as the former chief engineer approached the stand.

This was it - the moment they’d been building toward. Everything that came before had been prelude.

Juniper was already on her feet before she’d decided to stand… felt Daniel’s eyes on her before Roma’s, a different kind of heat entirely. She let neither show on her face. Roma’s smile had sharpened into something new, his gaze tracking her like she’d just become the most interesting thing in the room. Constitutional grounds were one thing. Intellectual property was where the defendants knew she would draw blood.