he rain hammered against the tall windows of the Montgomery County Courthouse that Wednesday morning, creating rivulets that distorted the view of the parking lot where cars sat like islands in puddles that reflected the gray November sky. Inside courtroom 3B, the atmosphere was heavy with more than just the weather—it carried the weight of a child’s future hanging in the balance, and the unspoken tension that accompanies cases where the stakes are measured not in dollars, but in the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable among us.