LOGIN"And the contract was withdrawn shortly after." "Yes." "How did you interpret that?" "She followed through." Cole objected. Speculation. Sustained. "Ms. Holloway. Across three years of events. How would you describe Alicia Valentine's manner?" "Controlled. Always controlled. She was never visi
Her smile faltering. A shadow passing across it. "Because I want you to understand—" "No." A step closer. "You are here because you are terrified. Because despite everything. Despite the photo. Despite Edward sleeping with you. Despite wearing his grandmother's necklace. You're still not his wife.
Alicia's POV The screen came on. The photography gallery. Museum lighting. Artwork on the walls. I was already there when Lucy walked in. I watched myself from across a courtroom. The navy gown. Hair up. Standing in front of a photograph of a woman whose face was half in shadow. Lucy stopped be
"No." She picked up one page from her table. Set it back down without reading it. The movement of someone who had taken in every word long before this moment and no longer needed to see them again. "Mr. Valentine. You called Alicia Valentine thirteen times that morning." "Yes." "She didn't answe
Edward's POV Four steps to Cole's table. Folder down. His hand moved over it without looking up. Done. Seven more to the stand. I sat. Adjusted once for the shoulder. Hands open on the railing. The sling pulled across my chest and I left it. Cole stood at the podium. "Mr. Valentine. Please sta
Judge Harmon returned at fourteen minutes. She set the folder on her bench and read without acknowledging either side. Two pages. She closed it. "The exhibit will be admitted with the following limitation. The jury is instructed that Exhibit D is to be considered only in the context of witness tes
Alicia's POV I didn’t answer him. Not at first. I needed those few seconds to hold myself together. I recognized the script he’d walked in with—thirty seconds, one take, stand beside him—like everything I’d survived was just an inconvenience in the way of his world. Edward had stopped halfway int
Darkness felt thick. Heavy in a way that wasn’t sleep. Heavy like sinking, like something pressing me down while sounds brushed the edges of my hearing. A soft beep. A soft hiss. Footsteps. A curtain shifting. Someone said my name, or maybe I imagined it. The sound drifted too far away. A war
Edward's POV I had turned from Harrison, the last words about the package still hanging in the air. She was gone. Tables. Chairs. Faces. Laughter. Cameras. Nothing. My eyes swept the room. Guests leaned into conversations. Laughter punctuated the quartet. Crystal caught the light and threw it b
Someone else appeared in my blurred line of sight, a woman with dark hair pinned back, wearing a museum badge. “Is she conscious?” she asked. “Barely,” the man carrying me said. “Call the ambulance. Now.” “I did. They’re close,” the woman said quickly. Her hand went to my forehead, cool, tremblin







