The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 258

For a moment, I simply stood there, my fingers resting lightly against the edge of the lectern, even though I wasn’t looking at my notes anymore.

I knew what came next— I had rehearsed these questions dozens of times.

I’d asked them aloud in an empty conference room until they no longer made my voice shake.

And yet, now that I was here, now that the man who had changed the course of my life was sitting only a few feet away, the words suddenly felt impossibly difficult.

I drew a slow breath. “Dr. Ramon…” I called, my voice suddenly growing a mind of its own, and becoming quieter than before.

“When you handed Mr. Dhark and me that report… were you aware that I believed I would never be able to have children?”

“Yes.”

The answer landed with a weight that no dramatic speech ever could.

I swallowed carefully before asking the next question.

“Did that matter to you?”

Silence.

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he stared at the witness stand as though hoping the wood would somehow swallow him whole.

Finally…

“It should have.”

Nothing else.

Just four words.

It should have.

For some reason, they hurt far more than if he’d apologized.

Because an apology acknowledged regret.

Those words acknowledged indifference.

He had known.

He had watched me leave that office believing my future had been stolen.

And he’d let me.

I blinked once, forcing the sting from my eyes before turning back toward the jury.

“No further questions at this time, Your Honor.”

The judge nodded.

“Cross-examination.”

Eva’s lead attorney rose immediately, approaching the witness stand with purpose.

His entire strategy was obvious before he even asked a single question—

Destroy the witness. Destroy his credibility. Destroy everything he’d just said.

“Dr. Ramon…” he began. “You’ve admitted under oath that you committed fraud.”

“Yes.”

“You falsified medical records.”

“Indeed.”

“You accepted bribes.”

“I did.”

“You lied to your patients.”

“Yes.” Dr. Ramon answered, his tone laced with irritation.

“So you violated your professional oath.”

“Yes.”

“You lost your medical license because of those actions.”

“Yes.”

The attorney stopped pacing.

“So…”

He folded his hands together.

“You are, by your own admission, a liar.”

“I was.”

“And now you’ve accepted a plea bargain from the prosecution.”

“Yes.”

“One that significantly reduces your sentence.”

“Yes.”

“So isn’t it true…”

“…that you’ll say absolutely anything Sinclair & Co wants you to say if it means saving yourself?”

The courtroom waited.

Even I found myself watching Dr. Ramon carefully.

He could become defensive.

He could argue.

He could lose the jury.

Instead…

He surprised all of us.

“No.”

The answer was calm.

Steady.

“I am saying…”

He looked briefly toward me before returning his attention to the attorney.

“…what I should have said instead of running.”

Silence.

The attorney’s confident expression faltered ever so slightly.

He tried again.

“So your testimony today is entirely altruistic?”

“No.”

Dr. Ramon shook his head.

“I’m trying to survive.”

He looked toward the jury.

“But survival and telling the truth aren’t mutually exclusive.”

The attorney hesitated.

For the first time during his cross-examination…

He looked uncertain.

“No further questions.”

He returned to his seat.

Jonathan looked at me.

I already knew what he was thinking.

This was our moment.

I stood once more.

“Your Honor…”

“Brief redirect.”

“Proceed.”

I approached the witness stand again.

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