The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 309

The courtroom remained silent for several seconds after Hart’s answer.

His last words hung in the air:

“But I’m testifying because what she did was never mine alone.”

For the first time since this trial began, it felt like the man speaking wasn’t just a dirty criminal, but I someone who had finally stopped running from his own actions.

He had admitted to hurting Lucian without instructions from Eva. He had admitted to attacking Margot.

He had admitted to carrying out all of Eva’s instructions.

He hadn’t tried to make himself look innocent or tried to make people believe that every terrible thing he’d done was someone else’s fault.

He had simply told the truth. And somehow, that made the truth about Eva even harder to ignore.

The defense attorney remained standing.

He was looking at Hart with a mixture of irritation and disbelief.

“Do you truly expect this court to believe that you were merely a tool?”

“No.” Hart answered immediately.

The attorney frowned. “Yet you just testified that Eva manipulated you.”

“She did.”

“And yet you continued working for her.”

“Yes.”

“She didn’t hold a weapon to your head, correct?”

“No.”

“She didn’t force you.”

“No.”

“Then why should this court believe that she was responsible for anything you did?”

Hart stared at him, but he didn’t answer immediately.

The attorney waited.

In fact, the entire courtroom waited. That’s how engrossed they were in Hart Sullivan’s testimony.

Finally, Hart said, “Because I was a violent man.”

My eyes narrowed slightly.

He continued. “I was, I am.”

There was no hesitation in his voice. No denial.

“I was a violent man even before I met Eva. I made my own choices and I won’t blame her for every bad thing I’ve ever done.”

The attorney’s expression shifted. “But—”

Hart looked past him, his eyes landing directly on Eva.

“But she knew exactly how to use that.”

Eva’s face remained still.

Hart continued. “She knew what I could do and she knew what I was willing to do for her. And whenever she needed something done, she knew exactly which part of me to appeal to.”

The attorney stepped closer.

“And you’re asking this court to believe that everything you did—from the attempted murder of Lucian Dhark and Margot Sinclair, to stalking Ms. Moreau, was Eva’s idea?”

Hart shook his head. “Not everything, but I believe there is enough proof of the things she instructed me to do.”

He paused. “I’m asking the court to believe that she knew exactly what I was doing.”

The courtroom fell silent again.

That distinction mattered, especially to the jury.

He wasn’t saying Eva had controlled him like a puppet. He was saying she had knowingly used a dangerous man for her own purposes.

And the evidence supported him.

The messages, the payments for guns and transportation, the instructions.

The pattern was clear as day, and it was all there for the jury to see.

The defense attorney tried a few more questions, but Hart didn’t retreat.

Every time he was asked about something he had done himself, he admitted it. And every time he was asked about something Eva had instructed him to do, he told the truth.

By the time the questioning ended, I could feel that something had changed in the courtroom.

People were no longer looking at Hart like he was a simpleminded criminal.

They were looking at him as a witness—a guilty man telling the truth about another guilty person.

And that was exactly what we had been aiming for.

Everyone stood when the judge called for a short recess.

I gathered my files and let out a slow breath.

Margot touched my arm. “You did well, Claire.”

I looked at her. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

I smiled. But before I could answer, a sudden wave of nausea hit me.

I froze.

My stomach was turning again.

I swallowed.

God, not here. Please.

Not now.

Margot noticed immediately. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

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