Mr. Gilson swallowed nervously and looked up at Brooklyn pleadingly.

"Repeat it with me."

Brooklyn's gaze rested on the hand on the Bible for a moment, and he spoke.

"By God, to the best of your knowledge, you will tell the truth and have nothing to hide."

"Swear to God, you............ To the best of my knowledge, I will tell the truth and have nothing to hide. ”

Mr. Gilson's dumbfounded mistake caused a chuckle, and he blushed and buried his head deep in his chest. The pair of small wounds and old Jane's rough palms retracted like an electric shock.

Brooklyn handed the Bible back to Bob, glared at him warningly, and walked around the courtroom with a straight face.

The laughter in the courtroom gradually faded and finally disappeared. The entire courtroom fell silent.

"Is it funny?"

Brooklyn's voice echoed through the courtroom.

"It's not right to laugh at others, I thought 6-year-olds should understand this truth, but I didn't expect my courtroom to be full of newborn babies!"

Brooklyn's words caused another rattling in the courtroom.

Although the Federation has always preached mercy and sympathy to the outside world, there is no soil for mercy for the weak within the Federation.

The weak deserve nothing but domination and ridicule in this land. This is the gene that flows in the bones of the Federation, and it has been destined since the first travelers to set foot on this continent raised their butcher knives.

Brooklyn had no intention of teaching the Confederates a lesson in thought, and in fact he was not a good man himself.

"You can start asking questions of witnesses."

It wasn't until the courtroom was quiet again that Brooklyn withdrew her gaze and nodded slightly at Dona.

"Mr. Gilson, what is your relationship with my client, Emma Gilson?"

She ...... Emma is my daughter. ”

"Biological or adopted?"

“…… Biological. ”

"When was she born?"

"30 June 2002. I remember that day. ”

"Are you sure?"

"I remember that day, and I can't be wrong." Mr. Gilson's voice rose considerably, then lowered again.

"That is, Emma Gilson should be 15 years old, right?"

"Yes."

"Could it be a mistake?" Dona deliberately asked, "Emma Gilson's age in the police database is 22. This is not what you said. ”

"She was baptized as a baby after she was born, Father Ngoma, I remember it very well. You can't go wrong" [Note 1]

Infant baptism is usually completed within a few weeks of birth and is performed by a respected priest.

Donna asks a lot of questions, mostly about Emma's childhood.

She guided Mr. Gilson to tell the story of Emma's life from birth to the present, painting a warm picture of 'father and daughter'.

……………………

Wood Ward stood silent in front of Mr. Gilson for a long time, and when the auditorium could not help but start to stir, he finally spoke.

"Mr. Gilson, as Emma Gilson's legal guardian, do you feel that you have fulfilled your duties as guardian?"

The question was like a sledgehammer that slammed into Mr. Gilson's heart, and after hearing the question, his whole body became in a trance.

“Objection！！”

"Inducing questions!"

Dona spoke out against it.

Brooklyn glanced at Mr. Gilson, who was in a trance, and gave a ruling: "The objection is invalid." ”

Seeing that Mr. Gilson did not speak, Wood adjusted his posture and continued to ask questions

"Shortly after the incident, you entered into a custody transfer agreement with Advocacy for Children, voluntarily relinquishing your guardianship of Emma Gilson and transferring custody to Advocacy for Children. Why? ”

Mr. Gilson's lips began to tremble.

“Objection！！！”

“Inflammatory！” [Note 2]

"Objections are invalid!"

Brooklyn frowned, "Please pay attention, do you want the prosecution to oppose every question asked?" ”

"After investigation, the process of signing the custody transfer agreement is compliant and legal, but I want to ask again, when signing the agreement, do you know what this agreement means?"

"They...... They said it would help Emma. ”

Mr. Gilson said with his head bowed and trembling.

"How can I help Emma? What do they say? Wood pressed on

"Mr. Gilson, when you signed the agreement for the transfer of custody of your daughter Emma Gilson, did you know that once the agreement came into effect, you would no longer have custody of your daughter Emma Gilson.

Or to put it another way, once the agreement comes into effect, you and your daughter, Emma Gilson, will have no relationship other than a biological relationship. The agreement amounts to your voluntary renunciation of Emma Gilson's fatherhood? ”

“Objection！ Objection！！！ Objection！！！！ ”

Frightened by Wood Ward's scalpel-like precision attacks, Donna propped up the table and yelled at Brooklyn.

“Inflammatory！！ Asked and Answered！ Badgering！！ [Note 3]

She had almost all the objections she could make.

In fact, her objections were not entirely fabricated, and strictly speaking, Wood Ward's questions were somewhat suspicious of mistaking Mr. Gilson as a hostile witness, and some of them had crossed the line.

But Wood Ward's question fits Brooklyn's psyche well.

He had just 'written a whistleblower letter' to investigate the New York City Division of Child Advocacy Organizations, and he would not dismiss Wood Ward's question.

"Objections are invalid!"

DuangDuangDuang！

Brooklyn struck the gavel three times in a row and warned, "Defense lawyer, please stay calm!" Otherwise I will expel you from the courtroom! ”

Donna's face flushed, her chest heaved violently, and she sat back unwillingly.

"Witness, please answer the question."

After packing up Dona, Brooklyn turned to Mr. Gilson and said

"You have just sworn to God, and you will know everything."

Hearing God's name, Mr. Gilson hid his face with his hands in agony.

"I know! I know! I know!! ”

His voice was muffled by the palm of his hand, but his pain and helplessness could still be heard in it.

"They said it would save Emma!"

"What did they say?"

Wood Ward asked.

"They said that they would get the best lawyer and get Emma not guilty, but because of Emma's age, there are a lot of unnecessary processes, and we will temporarily transfer custody to them, and they will be more convenient and time-saving to operate.

They promised to transfer custody back when the case was over. ”