Chapter 16: The Phoenix on Trial

The courtroom buzzed with tension, reporters lining the back row, pens poised like weapons. Flashbulbs lit up the marble steps outside as Clara arrived in a sleek black suit, chin high, flanked by her legal counsel and her parents. Her fingers curled tightly around the sapphire pendant at her neck—a reminder of where she came from and what she was fighting for.

Across the aisle sat the plaintiffs: Harold and Lenora Whitmore, distant relatives of Charles Lockwood. Polished, poised, and venomous beneath thin smiles.

They weren't here for justice.

They were here for power.

"We believe the DNA results were tampered with," Harold's lawyer began, pacing dramatically. "We question the legitimacy of Miss Lockwood's claim—not only to her inheritance, but to her very identity."

Clara met his gaze head-on. "You're not questioning the documents," she said evenly. "You're terrified of the truth they contain."

Her lawyer presented certified lab records, footage of the tests being conducted under strict supervision, and testimonials from medical experts. But the Whitmores countered with doctored "evidence" and online conspiracy threads.

As the trial dragged on, the court of public opinion became just as brutal. Headlines screamed:

> "Was the Heiress Planted?"

"Fraud Behind the Fairytale?"

But Clara refused to break.

Because truth wasn't just her shield now—it was her legacy.