One day later, according to the plot, when Apius was seated in the judgement hall, the lying blackguard Claudius rushed in with a petition against Virginius. He accuses him of having abducted a female slave from his house when she was very young and of keeping her as his daughter all these years. He demanded that the girl be returned to him. Before the Knight could say a single word in defense, the corrupt judge ruled that the girl be immediately placed in the Court’s custody and be eventually returned to Claudius