The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 311

The court session resumed with the presentation of the messages recovered from Hart’s phone.

I sat beside Margot and Jonathan, my files arranged neatly in front of me.

My hands were steady now—at least they looked steady.

The first message appeared on the screen.

Then another, then another.

Dates were presented.

Times, instructions and responses.

I stood.

“Your Honor, the prosecution would like to draw the court’s attention to the communication between the defendant and Mr. Sullivan.”

The judge nodded for me to continue.

I turned toward the screen.

“These messages presented before this court today, establish direct communication between Ms. Sterling and Mr. Sullivan during the period in which several of the incidents discussed before this court occurred.”

The defense attorney rose.

“Objection. The prosecution is interpreting the messages rather than allowing the evidence to speak for itself.”

I looked at the judge. “Your Honor, we are not asking the court to interpret them based on assumption. We are establishing the sequence of events.”

The judge considered it for a moment.

“Proceed.”

I let out a small breath of relief, then turned back to the screen. “Message one was sent on the twelfth.”

I pointed to the date. “Three days later, Mr. Sullivan began following the individual identified in the message.”

I moved to the next page. “Message two was sent on the eighteenth. After that, the defendant called Mr. Sullivan a few times.”

Another message appeared. “Two days later, the damage to Ms. Sinclair’s vehicle occurred.”

The courtroom grew quieter, even though I didn’t raise my voice.

I didn’t need to. The evidence was doing that for me.

I continued sharply. “These messages are significant because they do not exist in isolation.”

I looked briefly at Hart, then towards the jury. “They correspond with the testimony already given before this court.”

The defense attorney stood again. “Your Honor, Mr. Sullivan has admitted that he is a violent man! He has admitted that he acted independently in some instances. The prosecution cannot simply attach every violent act to my client because there was communication between them!”

That was fair enough. And I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.

I faced the judge. “The prosecution agrees that Mr. Sullivan is responsible for a number his own actions.”

Hart’s eyes lifted toward me.

I continued. “We are not claiming otherwise.” I turned toward the screen. “What the evidence we’re presenting establishes, is something narrower and more important.”

I clicked to the next message. “Mr. Sullivan was communicating directly with Eva Sterling on countless occasions.”

Another click. “She knew what he was doing.” Another.

“In fact, she often gave the instructions and continued communicating with him until it was completely carried out.”

Another click.

“In several instances, her messages preceded the very actions he later described in testimony.”

The courtroom was silent.

I looked toward the defense table. Eva was no longer looking at Lucian—she was looking at me.

Her face was expressionless, but her eyes were as cold as ice.

I held her gaze for only a moment before looking away.

I didn’t need to defeat her emotionally.

I needed to defeat her with evidence.

“The prosecution isn’t asking this court to convict the defendant based on the words of one witness,” I said. “The messages corroborate his testimony.”

Margot’s hand touched my arm briefly. Approval.

I continued presenting the evidence—

Message after message, date after date, instruction after instruction.

By the time I finished, the courtroom felt completely different.

Hart’s testimony was no longer standing alone.

There was a trail—one that Eva had left herself.

After further submissions from both sides, the court was adjourned for the day.

The exhaustion hit me all at once as I gathered my files.

Margot seemed to notice.

“You did well,” she said.

I heaved a small sigh. “Thank you.”

“You kept it controlled.”

“I had to.”

“It’s a good thing you were able to stay focused—considering everything else.”

I almost laughed. “I wont let Eva get in my head,” I stated. “She can try, though.”

Margot smiled. “She always will.”

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