CHAPTER 26

Amanda’s POV

I’d been to my lawyer’s office more times in the past two weeks than in my entire life combined. Every visit left me wired, tense, and a little nauseous like stepping into a battlefield armed with words instead of weapons.

But this time, I didn’t walk in alone. Adam was with me.

He stayed half a step behind as we crossed the sleek lobby, his presence steady and grounding. I wasn’t sure if it was his quiet confidence or the sheer physical fact of him broad shoulders, calm stride but for the first time in days, my chest didn’t feel like it was caving in.

The lawyer, Mr. Trent, was already waiting in his office, his glasses perched low on his nose as he scrolled through something on his tablet. When he saw me, he stood, offering a polite nod.

“Dr. James,” he greeted, then glanced at Adam. “And…?”

“Adam Cole,” Adam said smoothly, extending a hand. “Family friend.”

Trent shook it but didn’t linger. His attention swung back to me. “You said you had something urgent.”

“Yes,” I said, stepping forward and sliding the flash drive across his desk like it was a trump card in the world’s ugliest game. “Proof. That Selene orchestrated everything the spiked drink, the staged drama at the gala, the stories that made me look unhinged.”

Trent’s brows lifted. He plugged the drive into his laptop, and within seconds, the video played: Lena, pale and tear-streaked, confessing how Selene had given her the vial.

The sound of her voice filled the room. “She said it would calm you. She said it wouldn’t hurt anyone…”

Trent didn’t blink, didn’t move, until the video ended. Then he sat back, exhaling slowly through his nose. “Well,” he said, his tone deceptively mild, “that’s… damning.”

“That’s a felony,” Adam muttered under his breath, his jaw tight.

I nodded. “We can use it, can’t we? Before, I wanted to go after Ryan with Blair’s case. But he’s slippery. I know him he’d find a way to spin it, or worse, fabricate something. But this—” I tapped the laptop screen. “This is clean. Unspinnable. Selene destroyed her own credibility and Ryan’s by extension.”

Trent gave me a long, assessing look the kind lawyers give when they’re trying to gauge just how far their client is willing to go. “If we present this at the hearing,” he said slowly, “it’ll shift the narrative dramatically. No judge looks kindly on someone trying to drug an opposing party. It won’t just discredit Selene it’ll raise questions about Ryan’s entire case.”

“Good,” I said flatly.

Trent leaned forward, folding his hands. “That said, this is explosive. If we use it, Selene will drag everyone down with her. Ryan will fight dirtier. You need to be ready for that.”

“I’ve been ready,” I said, my voice like steel.

Trent’s mouth twitched like he almost believed me. “Then let’s prepare. The hearing’s in three days. Keep that nurse close—she’s your star witness now. If she disappears or recants, this evidence becomes harder to authenticate.”

“She won’t,” I said firmly. “I made sure of it.”

Adam’s head tilted, a flicker of something dark in his eyes, but he didn’t comment.

Trent closed his laptop. “Good work, Amanda. This changes the game.”

For the first time in weeks, those words didn’t feel hollow.

I stood, thanked him, and let Adam guide me out. The second the heavy office door shut behind us, I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

“That went well,” Adam said lightly, but I could feel his eyes on me watchful, protective.

“It had to,” I murmured. “I can’t afford another slip.”

“You won’t.”

Something in his tone made me glance at him. There was no hesitation there, no maybe, no what-ifs. Just certainty.

We reached the car a sleek black sedan Adam had rented for the week and I automatically angled toward the driver’s side.

“I’ll drive,” I said.

“No, you won’t.”

I blinked at him. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve been running on fumes for days,” he said calmly, opening the passenger door. “The last thing you need is to wrap us around a lamppost because your mind’s a million miles away.”

“Adam—”

“Get in the car, Amanda.”

There was no sharpness in his voice, no arrogance. Just quiet authority threaded with concern the kind that slid under my defenses before I could put them up.

I stared at him for a beat, then laughed softly, shaking my head. “You really like being in control, don’t you?”

His lips curved, slow and infuriatingly confident. “Only when someone I care about looks like they’re about to fall apart.”

My chest gave a traitorous little squeeze.

“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes to cover the warmth creeping up my neck. “But only because I don’t feel like arguing.”

“Of course,” he said, like he didn’t believe me for a second.

I slid into the passenger seat, and he shut the door behind me before circling to the driver’s side.

The city slid past in muted blurs as we pulled onto the main road. For a while, silence stretched between us not awkward, just… heavy.

Then Adam spoke. “You know what I’ve been thinking?”

“That you regret coming back here?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He shot me a sidelong glance. “Not even close. I’ve been thinking about what happens after all this.”

“After?” I echoed.

“After the hearing,” he said. “When we win.”

The quiet certainty in his voice made something flutter in my chest.

“And when we win,” he continued, “you and Levi deserve peace. Real peace. No reporters, no lawyers, no Selene lurking in the shadows.”

“That sounds… nice,” I admitted softly.

“I mean it, Amanda.” His hands tightened slightly on the wheel. “You’ve carried this alone for too damn long. It’s time someone had your back.”

Warmth pooled low in my stomach foreign, unsettling, but not unwelcome. I stared out the window, hiding the smile tugging at my lips.

“You sound awfully sure about this win,” I said lightly.

“That’s because I am.”

I turned to look at him, and for a moment, the world outside blurred to nothing. His profile was sharp against the sunlight, his jaw set, eyes focused but when he glanced at me, there was something softer there. Something that made my breath hitch.

The light ahead turned red, and we eased to a stop.

I was still smiling at him small, involuntary when a sharp voice sliced through the hum of traffic.

“Well, well. Isn’t this cozy?”

The words came from my left. I turned, and my stomach dropped.

Selene.

She was in the car idling beside us, window down, her lips curved in that poisonous smile I’d come to hate. Her nails tapped the steering wheel lazily as her eyes swept over me, then Adam.

“Shameless,” she said sweetly. “Flirting in public while your custody case hangs by a thread. Classy, Amanda.”

My pulse spiked, but I forced my face into a cool mask. “My personal life isn’t your problem, Selene.”

“Oh, darling, your entire life is my problem,” she purred. “And when Ryan takes Levi from you, maybe you can run off with your little bodyguard here. Though honestly—” Her gaze raked over Adam. “Not a bad upgrade.”

Heat flared in my veins, anger boiling up so fast it scorched my throat. “You think—”

Adam’s hand shot out, resting firmly on the back of my seat before I could lunge forward.

“Don’t,” he murmured, low enough that only I heard.

But I couldn’t stop the words. “You think you’ve won, Selene? You think I’m afraid of you?” My voice was sharp, trembling with the force of everything I wanted to scream. “You have no idea what’s coming for you—”

“Amanda.” Adam’s tone snapped like a whip.

I turned to him—and froze when his arm slid across my shoulders, pulling me against him in one smooth motion.

His chest was warm, solid, his scent familiar and grounding as he bent his head, murmuring near my ear, “Don’t give her the show she wants.”

For a second, I just sat there, rigid against him, my pulse thundering. Then the meaning sank in, and I let out a shaky breath.

Outside, Selene’s smirk widened. “Cute,” she said, her voice dripping with mockery. “Enjoy your little moment. It won’t last.”

The light turned green, and she sped off with a screech of tires.

Adam didn’t move his arm right away. And I… didn’t ask him to.