The Old Bailey | Courtroom Number One | Day One, 10:17 AM
The air in the courtroom held a peculiar quality—not just the scent of polish and old paper, but the charged stillness before a performance. Stella sat in the third row, the wool of her grey suit scratching faintly at her wrists. She had prepared for procedure, for the predictable rhythm of prosecution then defense. What happened next was not procedure.
As Sir James Morris rose to call his first witness, Aris Thorne stood simultaneously. "My Lord, with the court's permission, the defense wishes to call a witness out of sequence."
The judge peered over his glasses. "Ms. Thorne, this is highly irregular."
"Given the philosophical nature of the charges, my Lord, we believe context must precede evidence. We call Chen Lu."
Stella's
