The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 235

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE_CLAIRE’S POV

My alarm rang long before dawn.

It didn’t matter, because I was already awake.

I lay still for another minute, staring at the ceiling of my apartment while the city outside remained dark.

Sleep had barely visited me during the night. Every time I managed to drift off, my mind found its way back to today.

Back to the trial.

The word alone carried a weight that settled heavily in my chest.

For a couple of months, this case had existed in conference rooms, police stations, hospital corridors and endless stacks of legal documents.

Today, it would enter a courtroom.

Today, twelve strangers would begin deciding whether Eva Sterling would finally be held accountable for everything she had done.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and took a slow breath as I stood.

No matter what happened inside that courtroom…

I couldn’t afford to lose my composure.

Not today.

By the time I stepped out of the car nearly two hours later, the courthouse looked more like the scene of a political rally than the beginning of what was supposed to be a simple civil trial.

Police barricades stretched across the entrance. Several satellite vans lined the streets.

Reporters crowded every available space, microphones already raised toward every arriving vehicle. Cameras shuttered the moment someone recognizable stepped out.

The crowd of supporters held handmade signs high above their heads.

“Justice for Claire.”

“Stand With Lucian.”

“NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!”

Mixed among them were a smaller number of people carrying Eva’s photographs.

“We stand with Eva!”

Some still believed her.

Some people simply refused to believe their favorite actress could be capable of what had been alleged.

The crowd roared as another news camera went live.

I tightened my grip on my briefcase.

16

+158-19

Nathaniel walked beside me, dressed in a dark navy suit that looked as though he hadn’t slept in it any more than i had slept in mine.

He wasn’t part of Sinclair & Co.

He wouldn’t be arguing before the court today.

But he’d insisted on coming anyway.

“I’m sitting behind your team,” he reminded me.

“I know.”

“You’ll hardly notice I’m there.”

I smiled faintly.

“I’ll notice.”

He returned the smile.

“Good.”

Laurel joined us a moment later, balancing two paper coffee cups.

Without a word, she handed one to me.

“You look like you need this.”

“I definitely do.”

Jonathan arrived shortly after, already reviewing notes on his tablet despite walking through the chaos surrounding us.

Everything about him remained calm.

Controlled.

I envied that.

Together, the four of us made our way through courthouse security while reporters shouted questions from every direction.

“Ms. Moreau!”

“Do you expect a victory today?”

“Has Hart Sullivan agreed to testify?”

“Do you believe Eva Sterling belongs in prison?”

I kept walking.

There would be time to speak.

Today wasn’t that time.

The courtroom was almost empty when we entered.

2/6

For a brief moment, the silence felt almost sacred after the deafening noise outside.

1

I placed my files carefully on counsel’s table and began arranging them exactly the way I’d rehearsed.

Witness outlines.

Opening statement.

Evidence tabs.

Cross-examination notes.

Everything had its place.

Everything needed to remain exactly where I expected it.

The courtroom door opened again.

I looked up.

Margot entered slowly in her wheelchair, Professor Grant walking beside her.

Even now, weeks after emerging from her coma, she looked thinner than before.

Paler.

But somehow…

No less formidable.

Conversation throughout the courtroom quietly died.

People noticed when Margot Sinclair entered a room.

They always had.

She stopped beside me.

“There was no chance I was missing this.”

Despite everything, I laughed softly.

“I was going to tell you to be resting.”

“You were.”

She smiled.

“I ignored you.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

Professor Grant rolled his eyes affectionately.

“I’ve tried.”

“I know.”

He looked at me with exaggerated defeat.

+15 85

316

“You have absolutely no influence over her.”

“I’m beginning to think no one does.”

Margot reached over and squeezed my hand.

“I’m one of the attorneys on this case.”

She glanced around the courtroom.

“And I founded the firm.”

Then she looked directly into my eyes.

“But today…”

A small smile crossed her face.

“You’re leading us.”

Emotion tightened unexpectedly in my throat.

“I won’t let you down.”

“I know.”

She didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t even consider another answer.

“I’ve never been more certain of anything.”

Those words settled something inside me.

The nervousness didn’t disappear.

But confidence quietly took its place.

I nodded once.

Then returned to organizing my files.

Nearly twenty minutes later, another wave of voices echoed from the hallway outside.

The courtroom doors opened again.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify