By the time the candles were lit, Emma Carter had already decided that her eighth birthday was the best day of her life.

A month later, the criminal trial preparations reached the formal deposition stage.

Under Ohio law, the defense had the right to depose key witnesses, but ADA Alvarez made sure Vanessa’s defense attorney had nowhere to hide. Vanessa was brought into the courthouse conference room wearing orange county jail scrubs, her hands cuffed to a chain around her waist.

She had lost weight. Her roots were dark, her fingernails bitten to the quick.

Her attorney, a tired public defender who looked like he regretted taking the assignment, sat beside her.

ADA Alvarez set down a photo of Emma taken at the hospital, showing the deep cut and the splint.

"Miss Vance," Alvarez began calmly. "Did you strike Emma Carter on the afternoon of June 14th?"

"I... I already said it was an accident," Vanessa muttered, staring at the table.

"Did you call an eight-year-old child a bastard?"

Vanessa's attorney sighed. "Objection, relevance."

"Answer the question, Miss Vance," Alvarez demanded.

Vanessa looked up, her eyes flashing with a sudden, vicious spark of her old arrogance. "She is a bastard! Sarah was a college tramp who brought shame to our family! My parents spent thousands of dollars covering up Sarah’s mistakes! I worked hard my entire life, and Sarah gets a handsome husband and a house while I get nothing! Yes, I said it! And the little brat glared at me! She deserved to be taught respect!"

Her attorney buried his face in his hands.

ADA Alvarez simply smiled, leaned back in her chair, and looked directly into the video recording camera.

"Let the record reflect that the defendant showed zero remorse, admitted to motive, and confessed to intentional violence against a minor."