By eight o’clock that morning, the courthouse steps glistened beneath gray clouds, and people hurried inside with their heads lowered against the weather.
No one knew they were about to witness a moment that would stay with them for years.
No one knew a young woman carrying more pain than anyone realized was about to walk through those doors.
And no one knew that what looked like an act of disrespect would reveal something far more heartbreaking.
Judge Thomas Reynolds had spent nearly three decades on the bench.
During those years, he had heard every excuse imaginable.
People blamed bad luck.
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