Chapter 10

The grand doors of the Federal District Courtroom were made of solid, polished mahogany, standing twelve feet high and reinforced with brass fittings. To Nora, they looked like the gates of hell.

She stood in the marble corridor, the ambient noise of reporters and federal marshals buzz

Chapter 11

The gavel slammed down, echoing like a gunshot through the cavernous courtroom.

"Order! I will have order in this tribunal!" Judge Caldwell bellowed, his face flushed. The gallery was in an absolute uproar, reporters whispering frantically, federal observers murmuring, and the jury of

Chapter 12

The silence in the courtroom was absolute. It was the heavy, suffocating quiet of a bomb squad watching the timer tick down to zero.

Gavin walked back to the plaintiff’s table with an arrogant swagger, thoroughly convinced of his own invincibility. He picked up the sleek, silver solid-