Chapter Thirty Courtroom Shadows

Elena

The courthouse smelled like old paper, nervous sweat, and the weight of too many lives dissected within its walls. I’d been in courtrooms before—back when I shadowed senior attorneys during my internship. But sitting on this side of the bench, heart pounding in my chest and palms damp against the navy fabric of my slacks, was something entirely different.

This wasn’t academic. This was my life.

Ms. Kessler sat beside me, perfectly poised in a tailored gray suit, calm in a way that made me envy her. Across from us sat Jason and his attorney—a smug man with silver-streaked hair and eyes that seemed to size me up like I was a hostile witness. Jason himself looked… irritated. Uncomfortable. And slightly panicked.

Good.

Let him feel it.

“Relax your hands,” Ms. Kessler whispered.

I realized I’d been digging my nails into my palm. I uncurled my fist and exhaled slowly, letting my spine straighten. I wouldn’t let him see me afraid. Not here. Not anymore.

The judge walked in—an older woman with stern eyes and no time for nonsense. I liked her already.

“Let’s proceed,” she said after the formalities were over. “Ms. Kessler, you’ve filed for temporary full custody and a restraining order?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” she said, rising. “My client has submitted compelling evidence of not only infidelity, but also endangerment, neglect of parental responsibility, and emotional manipulation—”

“Objection,” Jason’s lawyer interjected. “Those are subjective accusations—”

“They’re documented, Your Honor,” Ms. Kessler replied coolly, holding up the folders. “With timestamps, witnesses, and direct communications between the petitioner’s husband and his extramarital partner—who, I might add, was also her subordinate at the hospital.”

The judge raised an eyebrow. “That’s… problematic.”

Jason shifted in his seat.

I didn’t look at him.

Not once.

I wasn’t here to lock eyes with a liar. I was here to make sure my son had one stable parent.

“Have the documents been reviewed by the opposing counsel?”

“Yes,” Ms. Kessler said. “They had twenty-four hours to examine the evidence.”

Jason’s lawyer stood, trying to paint it all as “a marital dispute gone emotional,” but the judge shut him down before he could finish.

“She has recordings,” the judge said. “She has messages. You’re going to have to do better than that.”

Jason’s jaw clenched. For the first time, I saw a flicker of something I hadn’t seen since he was caught—fear.

The judge looked at me directly. “Mrs. Warren, do you believe your husband’s actions have created an unsafe or unstable environment for your son?”

“Yes,” I said clearly. “He’s lying. Manipulated. He’s used Noah as leverage to avoid confrontation. And he’s exposed him to a relationship that’s not only inappropriate but confusing and traumatic.”

Jason opened his mouth as if to interrupt.

The judge cut him off.

“I’ve heard enough,” she said, firm. “Temporary full custody is granted to Mrs. Warren. Mr. Warren, you may request supervised visitation. As for the restraining order, I’ll allow a no-contact provision outside of legal counsel until the next hearing. This court will reconvene in two weeks.”

My heart pounded as she slammed the gavel.

It was done.

At least… this part.

Jason stormed out before I even stood.

Coward.

Outside, Jasper was waiting by the entrance. He didn’t speak—just opened the car door for me and waited until I was seated before driving off in silence.

Halfway down the road, I finally exhaled.

“I won,” I whispered.

“You did,” he said, glancing at me.

“But it’s not over.”

“No,” he agreed. “But it’s a damn good start.”

I stared out the window as the city blurred by. A thousand emotions swirled inside me—relief, exhaustion, the faintest edge of triumph—but none of them compared to the one that settled in deepest.

Clarity.

I had spent so long in the fog of betrayal that I forgot what it felt like to stand in my truth.

It was terrifying.

And exhilarating.

Later that night, I tucked Noah into bed. He curled into his blanket, his voice muffled by the pillow.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“You’re not crying anymore.”

I froze, my chest tightening. “Did you notice when I was?”

He nodded. “You used to cry in the shower. I heard you. Sometimes I wanted to knock, but I didn’t know if I should.”

Tears welled in my eyes.

I sat beside him, brushing his hair back gently. “You’re allowed to knock, okay? Always.”

He blinked at me sleepily. “Are we going to be okay?”

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. “We already are.”

Once he was asleep, I found myself sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the box of wedding photos I still hadn’t thrown away.

I reached for it slowly, lifting the lid.

The first image was our wedding day—me in a white satin dress, smiling up at Jason like he hung the stars.

I almost didn’t recognize her.

That girl had hope in her eyes. Innocence. She didn’t know that the man beside her would betray her in ways that would hollow her out.

I took the picture out, stared at it for a long time, then reached into the drawer beside my bed for a lighter.

One by one, I fed them into the fireplace.

The wedding. The honeymoon. The baby shower.

The memories didn’t deserve to be erased—but they didn’t deserve to hold me prisoner either.

Flame by flame, I set myself free.