Zaden fumbled slightly with his phone, his fingers small and unsure, but eventually, he found the recording. He pressed play, and the sound of Damian’s voice filled the courtroom, slightly scratchy through the phone’s speaker but unmistakable.

“…and you know, if you tell the judge you want to live with me, I’ll get you that new video game you wanted. We’ll have so much fun living together, just us guys,” Damian’s voice coaxed, dripping with promises.

Damian’s lawyer stiffened, and a murmur rippled through the courtroom. Damian’s confident demeanor cracked, his face flushing with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. I felt a rush of relief mingled with sadness for Zaden, who should never have been put in such a position.