MONDAY, MAY 1, 12 PM

Kogoro gritted his teeth in irritation as he sat in the gallery of Courtroom 2 in the Tokyo District Court building. The Maedas sat at the defendants' table just ahead of him with confident grins on their faces as they waited for the trial to begin. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to his right to face Eri. "It's okay, dear," she said. "This should be a quick trial. All the evidence proves their guilt, not to mention you had a room full of witnesses to Rui's 'injuries' and the kidnapping attempt."

Kogoro nodded and replied, "I know...but I'm worried about Satoshi. I mean, you know how high Japan's conviction rate is. It's not like he doesn't have a chance, but 99 percent is a damn high hurdle to clear."

"That makes two of us," Emi said as she stuck her head around Eri's body to face Kogoro. "I don't know what I'll tell Rui if that's the case."

"Speaking of Rui, how's she doing?"

"They took the tube out on Thursday, and she's due to be released on Wednesday. She's a fighter, that's for sure."

"She had to be, considering who raised her," Kogoro grumbled. "Let's just hope Satoshi gets the benefit of the doubt."

"Well, his case is right after this one, so we'll just have to wait and see," Eri replied. Kogoro grunted and motioned to the Maedas, observing, "I've never seen those two so well-behaved. Where's their lawyer?"

"They opted to defend themselves," Eri replied with a roll of her eyes. "And their grave gets ever deeper," Kogoro cracked with a sarcastic grin.

"All we have to do is wait for them to fall in," Eri said. A few minutes passed before the bailiff came into the room and announced, "All rise for the Honorable Judge Kenta Yagami!" The occupants followed his instructions as Judge Yagami, a middle-aged man with a stern face and piercing blue eyes, sat down at the bench as the bailiff approached and handed him the court docket. Yagami thanked the bailiff and motioned for everyone to sit, and once they did, he turned to the Maedas and asked, "Is your lawyer late?"

"Actually, we decided to represent ourselves," Kaori said with a phony smile. "We don't want anything distorted or exaggerated by some crackpot." She turned around and glared at Eri, who returned her stare without flinching. Yagami narrowed his eyes and asked, "Have either of you ever heard the saying that a person who represents themselves in court has a fool for a client?"

"Can't say that I have," Hiro replied. Yagami merely stared him down and asked, "Do you have an opening statement prepared?"

"An...opening statement?" Kaori asked as she shot Yagami a nervous glance.

"Yes. The floor is yours." She glanced at Hiro with a look of worry, one that he returned in kind as they both rose to their feet. Kaori ran her hands through her hair, glanced down and said, "We...don't have one prepared."

"I see. Regardless of your lack of preparation, we have more important things to worry about. I would like to begin by calling Eri Kisaki to the stand."

Eri got up from her seat and approached the bench, where the bailiff swore her in before she took her seat. When she did, Yagami asked, "Would you state your name and occupation for the record, please?"

"Eri Kisaki, lawyer."

"I understand you were the lawyer that the defendants hired for their divorce proceedings; is that true?"

"Yes," she replied. "They hired me in mid-March, and right from the get-go, they were combative, verbally abusive and oftentimes came within a breath of physically attacking each other. It got to the point where I had to arrange to meet with the defendants separately."

"In the time they were your clients, did they ever mention anything about Rui?"

"Not once," Eri said as she glared at the Maedas with contempt. "They never called her by her name once; they always referred to her as 'my daughter' or 'our daughter.'"

"Were you able to draft a divorce agreement?"

"I was, and I have a copy with me." Eri handed it to the bailiff, who in turn handed it to Yagami. "If you'll turn to page two, you'll see the custody arrangements." The judge did so and remarked, "Zero visitation rights for and a restraining order against Hiro Maeda. And I also see his signature. Why on earth would he sign off on this?"

"He didn't. Kaori forged his signature." Across the aisle, Kaori clenched her fists in anger as Hiro glared at her, his face angry but his eyes shocked and astonished. "I also brought copies of other forms containing Hiro's actual signature." She handed them to the bailiff, and when they were in Yagami's hands, he studied the hiragana and said, "I see a small line jutting out to the right on the top character."

"Exactly," Eri replied. "The signature on the divorce agreement lacks that characteristic." Yagami compared and contrasted the signatures and replied, "Indeed it does. What happened after you found this out?"

"I dropped them as clients immediately."

"Thank you, Kisaki-san. Nothing further." Eri returned to her seat, shooting the Maedas a smug grin as she walked past the defendants' table. They could do nothing but stew as Yagami said, "I take it by your reaction you didn't know about this, Hiro-san."

"I didn't," he replied. "But I can't say I'm surprised. She's done everything in her power to keep our daughter away from me-"

"Because you're a fucking deadbeat!" Kaori exclaimed. "You should be in jail for what you did to her!"

"And so should you! She belongs with me!"

"The hell she does!"

"ENOUGH!" Yagami banged his gavel and ordered, "If I hear one more outburst from either of you, I'll hold you in contempt! Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Your Honor," the Maedas meekly replied.

"Good. Now sit down." They followed his instructions as he called Kogoro to the stand. After he was sworn in and stated his name and occupation, Yagami asked, "How did you become involved in this case, Mouri-san?"

"I met Hiro and Rui at a shoe store. We talked for a little while and then we went our separate ways. However, someone tried to kidnap her and we both gave chase. We lost the perp, but we recovered Rui safe and sound. Normally, any father would be overjoyed at this, but not Hiro."

"How so?"

"After Rui was recovered, he became furious. He started screaming that his wife was the one behind the kidnapping attempt, and that he was gonna pay her a visit. I called Rui's grandparents and had them pick her up at the shoe store, and then I went straight to my wife's office. When I got there, the defendants were being physically restrained from attacking each other by my daughter Ran and my wife. My appearance distracted them, and they broke free by physically attacking my family." Kogoro coughed and glared at the Maedas as he said, "Twice after that, Hiro came to my detective agency trying to convince me to take the case, and I refused both times. The second time, he had the audacity to walk my daughter home from school. When they got to my office, I restrained him and checked his pockets...and I found a loaded gun." Hiro sank into his chair and buried his face in his hands as Yagami asked, "Did he use it on your daughter?"

"Ran insisted he didn't, but I couldn't take that chance. I met with Rui's grandparents soon after, and they told me about the troubles they'd had. They gave me this folder, and there's a whole host of police reports contained within." Kogoro handed it to the bailiff, and once it was in Yagami's hands, he cycled through the reports and said, "I see three accusations of spousal abuse filed over an eight month span."

"I also received an envelope that contained the cancelled plane tickets attached to those documents," Kogoro said. "If you take a look at the dates the complaints were filed and the dates on the plane tickets..." Yagami did just that, and his eyes widened ever so slightly as he asked, "Who are Rebecca and Karen Murphy?"

"A pair of aliases that Kaori was planning to use to flee Japan with Rui. Here's some copies of the documentation she was going to use." All the blood drained from Kaori's face and she began to sweat through her dress as Yagami looked the evidence over. He shook his head and tucked them underneath the manila folder as Kogoro added, "After Hiro's deception was uncovered, he was given a thirty-day restraining order. That request was also made with the spousal abuse reports, and it was denied every time. With her husband out of the way, Kaori was going to kidnap her own daughter for no other reason than to spite him." A disgusted murmur cycled through the gallery as Yagami banged his gavel and demanded order. The Maedas sank lower and lower in their chairs as Kogoro said, "As a parent myself, the defendants' conduct disgusts me to no end. A child is supposed to bring them together, not drive them apart. That's why I fully support the efforts of Satoshi and Emi Ishida to adopt her as their own."

"Thank you, Mouri-san. You are dismissed." Kogoro nodded and returned to the gallery, not even bothering to waste his energy looking at the Maedas as he sat back down. Yagami glared at the defendants and asked, "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

The deafening silence from the pair caused the judge to sigh in resignation. "That's what I thought. I would now like to call Juzo Megure to the stand." On the opposite side of the gallery, the inspector stood up and approached the bench. After he was sworn in, Yagami said, "You were present when Hiro Maeda claimed Rui had been abused, is that correct?"

"That is correct, yes. On the morning of April 20, I received a phone call from Maeda-san claiming that his wife had abused their child in the time she had custody. He brought her into the police station around 8:30, and he was hysterical. He kept screaming that his wife had hit Rui over and over again, and we wound up putting him in an interrogation room to calm him down. One of my subordinates, Wataru Takagi, took pictures of Rui's bruises." Megure handed them to the bailiff, who visibly cringed at their contents before handing them to Yagami. Before the judge could speak, Hiro burst out of his seat and pleaded, "Can...can we have a recess?" The desperation in his voice was unmistakable, and Yagami replied, "After Megure-san is done testifying, we'll take a break." Hiro collapsed back into his chair, utterly devastated.

"We brought Kaori in for questioning and she was combative right from the start. We weren't getting anywhere, so we called Kogoro in to take a look. He talked to Hiro first, and he figured out that Rui's injuries were faked. The girl was asleep in Miwako Sato's office-"

"Who is Miwako Sato?"

"One of my subordinates. Rui had been asleep since they'd arrived, and by the time I got to Sato's office, she was awake. I told her about what her mom had done, and when I mentioned the bruises, she said, 'What bruises?'" A murmur rose from the gallery as Megure continued. "I exposed the wounds and took a wet towel to them, and the bruises washed right off her body. It was an impressive makeup job, but...the fact that Hiro used his talents for something so cruel, so heartless, just boggles my mind." Hiro, for his part, said nothing and put his head down on the desk, letting out an audible groan. "Thank you for your testimony, Megure-san. You may return to your seat."

"Thanks." As the inspector returned to the gallery, Yagami turned to the Maedas and asked, "Do you still desire a recess?" Kaori merely stared back at him and shook her head, knowing that the two of them were headed for a loss. She buried her head in her arms alongside Hiro as Yagami called Emi to the stand. After she was sworn in and stated her name, the judge asked, "I understand you have a videotaped statement from Rui?"

"That's correct." She handed her cellphone to the bailiff, who hooked it up to a digital projector. When he pressed play, the screen was filled with the picture of Rui Maeda in her hospital bed, and the sight of her sent murmurs through the gallery. Emi's voice was heard on screen as she asked, "Now, Rui, are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yes, grandma. I'm sure."

"Okay. Say what you want to say." Rui sat up straight and began to speak, reading from a letter she held in her hands. "Mommy...daddy...I don't wanna come home with either of you." Her statement left Hiro and Kaori reeling as she continued to speak. "When I'm with you, I don't feel safe. I don't feel happy. And most of all, I don't feel loved. The last few days, you've shown just how little you care about me. You treated me like a toy...something for you to play with. All I wanted was for you two to stop fighting, but you made everything worse."

Hiro and Kaori were now completely broken as tears spilled from their eyes and their bodies convulsed with sobs. Onscreen, Rui continued to speak. "The only time I feel safe, and happy, and loved is when I'm with grandma and grandpa. I know that they can take care of me far better than you did. All those times you told me you loved me...now I know you were lying. I'm not your daughter anymore. I never was. I hate you, and I never want to see you again."

"Is that all, Rui?"

"Yeah. Thanks, grandma." The bailiff paused the video, filling the frame with Rui's smiling face as the Maedas collapsed to the floor. Kogoro and Eri couldn't help but roll their eyes as Yagami, equally unimpressed, ordered, "Knock it off! Pull yourselves together and get back in your seats!" Hiro and Kaori did as they were told as Emi was dismissed, and when she was back in the gallery, Yagami turned to the Maedas and said, "I believe that says it all right there. You had every chance to turn your behavior around in the six years Rui has been alive. You had every chance to act like adults and work things out. But you didn't." Yagami's eyes were ablaze as he maintained his outward composure, saying, "I don't blame that little girl one bit for not feeling safe around you two! If I was to release her into your custody, who's to say you wouldn't try something like this again? Quite frankly, your conduct over the course of your marriage, and especially your conduct over that week in April, proves that you're not fit to take care of Rui. Therefore, I am terminating both of your parental rights, effective immediately. I hereby award full custody of Rui Maeda to Satoshi and Emi Ishida." Emi let out a hard gasp of surprise and elation at the ruling, while Kogoro and Eri merely grinned in satisfaction. By now, the Maedas were shells of their former selves, with Hiro slouched in his chair and staring at the ceiling in complete defeat while Kaori screamed and wailed like a banshee. Yagami waited until her histrionics wound down before he continued his sentencing.

"Kaori Maeda, for the crime of attempted kidnapping, I'm sentencing you to 20 years in prison. Hiro Maeda, for the crimes of filing a false allegation of child abuse and obstruction of justice, I'm sentencing you to 15 years in prison. From this moment on, both of you are forbidden from having any contact whatsoever with either Rui or the Ishidas. No phone calls, no e-mails, no social media. You will stay twenty feet away from them at all times, and any violation will result in your immediate incarceration." The judge raised his head and glared at the Maedas with contempt as he said, "Congratulations! Your daughter hates you, your parents want nothing to do with you, and as for your divorce request, consider it denied! You two got yourselves into this mess, and as far as I'm concerned, you can get yourselves out of it! I hope this was all worth it!" Yagami slammed his gavel down and declared, "Court is adjourned!"

Kaori's wailing filled the courtroom as scattered applause rang through the gallery. Everyone watched as a pair of officers cuffed the Maedas' hands behind their backs and led them away-Hiro's head was bowed as he shuffled towards the exit, but Kaori was writhing and screaming to the point where the officer had to physically drag her out with his arms hooked under her shoulders. Eri and Kogoro shook their heads at the pathetic display as the screaming woman was dragged out, and once the door closed, the courtroom began to empty. However, Emi remained in her seat as Kogoro and Eri did the same, each of them knowing that Satoshi's turn was next.


2:30 PM

Judge Yagami returned to the bench as Satoshi Ishida sat at the defendants' table. Emi sat directly behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder, a gesture that he returned by stroking her fingers with his thumb. Kogoro and Eri sat behind her in the gallery, eyes fixed on Satoshi as Yagami read through the court docket. "He looks like he's preparing himself for jail," Kogoro said with resignation. "I still can't believe he pleaded guilty."

"It was his best option for a reduced sentence," Eri replied. "He's doing what Hiro and Kaori should've done."

"Don't ever mention those two again. They got what they deserved, and more." Eri nodded in agreement and added, "God forbid, but if Satoshi is put in jail, what's that gonna do to Rui and Emi?"

"I don't even wanna think about that," Kogoro sighed. "I just hope Yagami-sama sees that he did this for the right reasons." He patted the side of his coat as the judge turned to face Satoshi and asked, "Would the defendant please rise?"

Ishida did as he was told as Yagami said, "Before I pass sentence, I would like to give you the opportunity to speak your piece. The floor is yours."

"Thank you, Your Honor." Satoshi took a drink of water, cleared his throat, and began. "The day that Rui was born was the greatest day of our lives. Emi and I had hoped and prayed for years to be grandparents, and when that day finally came, we were overjoyed. Hiro and Kaori were just as ecstatic as we were, if not more so. Unfortunately, in the months following her birth, their marriage deteriorated. Trust was replaced with jealousy. Appreciation was replaced with resentment. And most of all, love was replaced with spite."

"Emi and I constantly played the role of peacemaker as the fighting got worse, and it took a toll on not just us, but on Rui. It got to the point where we were calling the police on an almost nightly basis, and we couldn't take it anymore. We had no choice but to kick them out of our house. We had Rui stay with us as often as we could, and we made certain to show her the love, care and respect that her parents didn't. They used her as nothing more than a tool to inflict pain on each other...as a means to an end instead of as their child."

There was audible murmuring in the gallery as Satoshi continued to speak. "After we discovered the extent of her plan to kidnap our granddaughter, well...that was the breaking point. In my desperation, I concocted a plan of my own. I would kidnap Rui myself and take her far away from the hell she was living in. I would take her somewhere where she would be loved and cared for all her life. But now, thanks to her parents' selfishness, she's laid up in a hospital bed, and I can't do anything to help her. The week that I've spent in prison has torn me apart, Your Honor. Rui and Emi are the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last when I go to sleep. I can't bear to live my life without either of them by my side."

Yagami's face was expressionless, but his eyes radiated understanding as Satoshi concluded his statement with, "Desperation often makes people do things they normally wouldn't, and in my darkest hour, I resorted to this. I regret it, but I felt that I had no choice. I couldn't let my daughter tear Rui away from us. Whatever sentence you choose to pass, I will accept it. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm fully willing to pay the price. Thank you, Your Honor."

Satoshi returned to his seat as the gallery stirred with emotion. "That was a very heartfelt statement, Ishida-san," Yagami said with a slight smile. "However, there is one more person who would like to testify on your behalf. Mouri-san, if you would, please."

Kogoro nodded and approached the bench once again, pulling a piece of paper out of his coat pocket. Eri and Emi watched with intrigue as he sat in the witness box and cleared his throat. "My name is Kogoro Mouri. I'm a private detective by trade, and some of you may have seen me in the news from time to time. The one thing that struck me about Satoshi Ishida in the brief time I spent with him was his unwavering devotion to his granddaughter, Rui. As a parent myself, I completely understand his motivation for doing what he did. My daughter Ran sometimes accompanies me on cases that I work, and on occasion, there comes a time where life and limb are at risk. There have also been some instances where my daughter has been kidnapped or had her life threatened, and those are the hardest to handle. When someone you love is in trouble, especially if it's your child, you would move heaven and earth to get them out of it. And I feel that's exactly what Satoshi was trying to do."

"I never felt one ounce of love from either Hiro or Kaori Maeda towards their daughter. In contrast, when I talked with the Ishidas at their house, Rui was there, and all they showed her was love, and care, and safety. Rui had none of that with her parents, but all of it with her grandma and grandpa. Satoshi Ishida made a mistake, but as far as I'm concerned, he had no choice. The light of his life was about to be extinguished, and he did everything possible to keep it lit. I don't agree with what Satoshi did...but I understand why he did it. He did it out of love." Kogoro wiped his eyes and cleared his throat before concluding with: "That little girl deserves a fresh start. She deserves two people who won't scream and yell and pull her in different directions to spite the other. She deserves to be safe, and happy, and loved. She deserves her grandparents. That's all I have to say, Your Honor. Thank you."

Yagami nodded and motioned for Kogoro to return to the gallery. When he sat back down, the judge cleared his throat and requested for Satoshi to stand, which he obliged. Yagami looked straight into his eyes and said, "I think Mouri-san summed it up pretty well. You made a mistake, but you owned up to it. You have shown nothing but contrition and penitence the entire time you've been in my courtroom, which is more than I can say for your daughter and son-in-law. I feel that, at heart, you are a good, decent man who was forced into an unfortunate circumstance due to Hiro and Kaori's machinations. I also feel that you are extremely highly unlikely to re-offend, but the nature of your crime still requires some kind of sentence. Therefore, I hereby sentence you to time served, plus one year of probation. Your granddaughter is waiting for you. Go to her." Yagami slammed his gavel and declared, "Court is adjourned!"

Tears flowed down Satoshi's cheeks as Emi leapt over the guardrail and hugged him tight, crying into his chest. Kogoro pumped his fists in joy as Eri smiled with relief, and as the gallery emptied out, Satoshi and Emi followed them into the hall. When they caught sight of Kogoro, they ran up to him and enveloped him in a massive, grateful embrace that caught him off guard. He let out a hard gasp when they got a hold of him, but the grateful expressions on their faces let him know that this was out of appreciation. Kogoro smiled and returned the embrace, saying, "Congratulations, you two. You deserve this."

The trio stood there, arms locked, for a good solid minute before they broke the embrace. Emi wiped her eyes and said, "We are forever in your debt, Mouri-sama. Thank you so, so much."

"You don't have to thank me for anything," Kogoro replied. "It was your record keeping that brought them down. If not for that, who knows?"

"I just can't believe it's finally over," Satoshi said as he hugged Emi close. "I swear on my life...on our lives...that Rui will have the best possible life she can."

"And she will. You guys get to the hospital." The Ishidas nodded in agreement and left the courthouse as Kogoro sat down next to Eri on a nearby bench. The pamphlet she'd given him at the hospital was still in his coat, and he pulled it out and dialed the number on the cover.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi. My name is Kogoro Mouri. When is your next meeting?"

"We meet every Saturday at 12 noon in the Sunrise Room at the hospital. You're more than welcome to join us."

"I'll be there."