เข้าสู่ระบบ"And the contract was withdrawn shortly after."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 know how long I'd been lying there before the sound reached me. A door closing downstairs. Heavy. Final. Then footsteps. Not Elena's. My chest tightened before my brain caught up. I pushed myself upright. The room tilted. My body reminded me with every heartbeat what it had
Edward’s POV The house was silent when I got home. Not the comfortable kind. The kind that pressed in from all sides. The halls stretched too long. The floors gleamed too brightly, reflecting nothing but me walking through them. Empty. Practiced. Hollow. It struck me now how much space she'd fill
Alicia's POV I didn't remember most of the drive to Elena's. Just pieces of it. A red light I almost ran. A turn that came too fast and made the steering wheel slip through my hands. The way my vision kept blurring at the edges. By the time I pulled into the small lot beside her building, my hand
I grabbed Elena's spare key from the counter and left. The street outside was busy. People moved past me without a second glance. No one recognized me. No one cared. It felt like freedom. I walked without direction at first. Just moved. The city felt different from this angle, smaller, more immed







