Natalie
Oh God, this is not looking good.
Blake sits there, in his stupid three-piece suit, looking smug as hell. I bought it for him as a goddamn wedding present, back when I was blissfully unaware he had his heart set on ruining my life.
I know he wore it on purpose. He wants to terrorize me. I feel claustrophobic, seeing the tides turning against us.What if he wins?I’ll never go back to him — I can’t!
But, if he takes Roger down, countersues for defamation or some shit, where will we be? I guess my Queens apartment isn’t so bad. Roger could move in and we would make it work, right?
Until Blake chooses to terrorize us again.
Blake’s eyes scan the crowd until he locks on mine. I know what he’s thinking without hearing a word.You’ve lost. You’re mine.I narrow my eyes at him and make a point of turning away.
It’s like divorce court all over again. I put my head down and focus on my breathing, even though it feels like the world is crashing around me. Then I look up at Roger and a flutter of hope stirs in my chest. He looks pissed, sure, but not deterred.
That’s right. This isn’t the same. I have Roger.
Maybe I’ll look back at this and punch myself for being an idiot, but I trust him. I do. And if there’s ever a time to have a little faith on Roger Zane, this is it.
I offer him a small smile, but he’s too busy whispering to his team. That’s good, right? They must be planning their attack. The judge looks disgruntled, annoyed at having to wait.Hurry up, Roger!
The last thing we want to do is piss off a judge. Who knows if this guy happens to be a secret buddy of Blake’s? I put such thoughts out of mind. No sense worrying about make-believe problems when there are veryrealproblems to face. Finally, Roger’s team parts and the attorney approaches the bench to address Blake directly.
Blake still looks cool as a cucumber. It makes my blood boil, so I grip the sides of my skirt to keep my hands from shaking in fury. Roger better have a damn good case ready.
“Mr. Western, we are now aware you felt it necessary to set up cameras in your own home, or well, what used to be your home before you lost it to Ms. Ashcroft in the court of law. That must have steamed you a lot, huh?”
They’re building a motive.Blake’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t give. He shrugs. “Hey, you win some, you lose some, right?” The attorney smiles.
“Right, of course. So, while it’s perfectly acceptable to set up cameras in your own home, for security purposes… can you justify, Mr. Western, setting up cameras in an apartment building you donotown?” Blake adjusts his collar.
“An apartment, I should add, Ms. Ashcroft moved into after she left the suite of rooms you used to own.” The attorney presents the photos to the jury; large, blown-up photos of the shithole bugged for all its worth.
After holding them up to the jury, she walks them to the judge. I damn near jump out of my seat to see them. I’m thunderstruck.When? How?
“This is preposterous! No one should have had access to that building except for the landlord, this evidence won’t stand—” Blake begins, but Roger’s attorney holds up a hand.
“Mr. Western, were you aware my client, Mr. Zane, had bought the building, giving him rightful access to the apartment in which this evidence was found?”
Blake fidgets with his collar again.
“These cameras were placed unlawfully under the guise of a false ‘fumigation’ to keep Ms. Aschroft from entering her home while the hardware was installed.”
I could kill him.All that moldy food! I nibbled that pint of ice cream for days to make up for all those lost groceries!
“My client would also like to present further evidence acquired just recently at a restaurant where Ms. Ashcroft was working. Mr. Western, you admitted to entering the restaurant, but swore your discussion with Ms. Ashcroft was friendly, correct?”
“That’s correct,” Blake says tightly, but his eyes are growing wide.What else does Roger have up his sleeve?I turn in my seat to see if any of the cousins are marching down the aisle. Blake’s team would destroy them, the poor guys. Oh, I hope Roger hasn’t brought them in!
“If you’ll indulge me,” Roger’s attorney has a tape recorder. Didn’t know they still made those. She clicks the play button, and I hear Blake’s voice in addition to… my own. It’s a recording of our conversation at the Greek restaurant!
What do you have to gain, going against me, baby? I’ll find you. I’ll always find you. And I’m not gonna stop until you realize what a terrible fucking idea it was to leave me. I’m not gonna stop until you take me back.Click.
The attorney presents the recorder to the bench and the crowd erupts in titters. The judge slams his gavel down, ordering silence. Blake’s face has turned an unfortunate shade of purple and he’s jerking at his collar like mad.
“You have no right!” Blake shouts, and the judge silences him, threatening to have him disposed if he can’t contain himself.
Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit!The judge demands to hear the entire conversation once the crowd is wrangled to silence.