“Mrs. Carlin,” Kristal barks. Her head snaps up. “You might be able to fool the people in this room, but you can’t fool me,” she says bluntly.

“Young lady, I have no reason to lie to—“

“Only speak when you are spoken to,” Kristal growls. Paula glares at her but shuts her mouth. “You say you walked in on my client allegedly molesting your daughter? I ask you this, then. What did you do after? Surely you just didn’t walk out.”

“I- I didn’t know what to do, so I just ran home. I was scared.”

“Scared?” Kristal let out a snort. “Scared of what? My client is in shape, but she’s no Laila Ali. Seeing your daughter like that in such a vulnerable position, I would think the mother bear in your would come out.”

She paused before answering. “Not of the defendant. Of my husband. I wasn’t supposed to be at the school at the time. I was supposedly at work. I was afraid of what he’d do to me if he knew I’d gone against his command.”

Kristal shakes her head, confidence exuding with her gained momentum. “I’m surprised at your performance, Mrs. Carlin. I was expecting something more… calculated.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snaps.

“In your written complaint, you said ‘Arthur and I love our daughter very much. She is the most important thing in our lives’. I would think that Mr. Carlin would overlook the fact that you’d gone to the school in order to protect the most valuable thing in his life.”

What’s that I smell? Barbeque? Oh no, it’s just Paula getting grilled.

“You don’t know Arthur,” she mumbles.

“Actually, I do know Arthur. Well, not personally, but I know his record. It’s spotless. In fact, there are no incidences of driving under the influence, no reports of domestic abuse, his bill of health is clean; so is his record. I can find nothing at all that proves the accusations you make against your ex husband.”

The court murmurs, waiting for a response.

Paula flounders, but Mr. Scott, the prosecutor, steps in. “Statistically, your honor, less than fifteen percent of domestic abuse cases are actually reported.”