Chapter 10: Lily's Courage**
On the fifth day of the trial, the prosecution called its final, most crucial witness: Lily Vance.
To protect the young child, Judge Morales cleared the public gallery and permitted Lily to testify via closed-circuit video from a comfortable conference room next door. Julian sat just behind the camera, giving her an encouraging nod.
Prosecutor Lin smiled gently. "Lily, can you tell us about the day Grandma gave you the teddy bear?"
Lily adjusted the bear’s ribbon with her small hands. "Grandma came into the baby room at night. Noah was crying. She opened the little blue jar and put the white sugar in his bottle. She told me it was special sleepy powder. She told me if I said anything to Mommy, Mommy would go away."
A heavy gasp resonated through the audio monitors in the main courtroom.
"And what did Grandma say at church?" Lin asked softly.
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"She said God took them because Mommy was bad," Lily whispered, her eyes welling with tears. "But Mommy was good. Mommy always sang us lullabies."
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