PART 1: No one inside the Hallbrook Federal Courthouse imagined that the morning would spiral into chaos. The room was full, heavy with murmurs from journalists and observers who had followed the case for months, waiting for the downfall of Lucas Whitman, a self made magnate whose name once symbolized innovation and wealth. Cameras were positioned discreetly along the walls, pens hovered over notepads, and the judge sat rigidly behind the bench, clearly irritated as the clerk announced for the third time that the defense attorney had failed to appear.
