Chapter 17 - Courtroom of WolvesThe courthouse smelled like old paper, raincoats, and ambition.
Elena had never felt smaller.
She sat behind Marcus and Margaret, wearing a navy dress Mrs. Hale had pressed for her that morning. It was plain, respectful, and still not enough. People looked at her as though they already knew the story. Some whispered. Some stared at her hands, as if expecting to find a stolen baby tucked between her fingers.
Victoria arrived fifteen minutes late.
It was theater.
She wore ivory, not black. Soft makeup. No jewelry except her wedding ring. Her cheek bruise had been darkened just enough for cameras outside.
Celeste was absent, still under investigation, but her lawyers were not.
Victoria’s attorney stood and painted the picture exactly as Elena feared.
A grieving maid with a secret biological connection.
A volatile billionaire who struck his wife.
A child caught in an emotionally unstable household.
A stepmother trying to save him.
Marcus’s attorney countered with facts: planted passport, disabled cameras, witness statements, Celeste’s arrest, Mara’s testimony, Amelia’s letter.
But facts took longer.
Lies moved faster.
The judge listened without expression.
Then Victoria took the stand.
She cried beautifully.
“I loved Leo as my own,” she whispered. “Maybe too much. Maybe I became desperate when I realized Marcus was replacing me with her.”
Her eyes flicked toward Elena.
Elena looked down at her hands.
Marcus’s attorney asked about the passport.
Victoria blamed Celeste.
He asked about the hallway.
Victoria claimed panic.
He asked about Amelia.
Victoria cried harder.
“I was young. Jealous. But I would never hurt her.”
Then came Elena.
Walking to the witness stand felt like crossing a field while people aimed weapons.
The attorney asked simple questions first.
Her name.
Her employment.
Her relationship to Leo.
When he asked whether she knew she was Leo’s biological donor before taking the job, she answered clearly.
“No.”
Victoria’s attorney rose for cross-examination.
“Elena, you lost a daughter, correct?”
Elena swallowed.
“Yes.”
“And after that loss, you became emotionally attached to children in your care?”
“Objection,” Marcus’s attorney said.
“Sustained.”
Victoria’s attorney smiled slightly.
“Elena, did you hold Leo more often than other staff members?”
“When he needed care.”
“Did he calm more easily with you?”
“Yes.”
“Did that make you feel special?”
Elena looked at him.
“It made me feel responsible.”
He stepped closer.
“Responsible enough to refuse to give him to his legal stepmother?”
“Responsible enough to stop her from hurting him.”
A murmur passed through the courtroom.
The attorney’s eyes sharpened.
“You expect this court to believe Mrs. Vance kicked at a baby?”
Elena’s voice steadied.
“No. She kicked at me while I was holding him.”
Marcus lowered his head.
The attorney lifted a paper.
“Did you or did you not write a resignation letter saying you had personal circumstances you could not explain?”
“Yes.”
“Because you were hiding your donor connection.”
“Because I had just learned it and did not want Leo hurt by adult selfishness.”
The courtroom quieted.
For once, the sentence landed clean.
Then the attorney made his mistake.
“Isn’t it true, Miss Reyes, that you want to be Leo’s mother?”
Elena looked toward Marcus.
Then toward Margaret.
Then toward Victoria.
Finally, she looked at the judge.
“No,” she said softly. “I want Leo to have a childhood where nobody has to earn the right to be safe.”
The judge’s pen stopped moving.
Victoria’s face tightened.
And in that pause, the courtroom doors opened.
Mara entered with a police detective.
The detective handed Marcus’s attorney a sealed folder.
He read the first page.
Then he stood.
“Your Honor,” he said, voice changed, “we have newly authenticated evidence from Amelia Vance’s medical file.”
Victoria went pale.
May you like
The attorney looked straight at her.
“It includes a recording.”
