Chapter 2

I went back to the house on Thursday.

I told myself I was looking for documents. Bank statements. Emails. Anything that might show Cassius had been planning this. But really, I just needed to see the space. Our space. The place I'd lived for ten years.

I used my key. The lock turned smooth. I stepped into the foyer.

Voices came from the kitchen. Female. Laughing.

I walked down the hall. Stopped in the doorway.

Rosalie was at the stove. Stirring something in a pot. Ariella sat at the island, scrolling through her phone. They both looked up when I entered.

Rosalie smiled. Thin. Cold. "Laurel."

I didn't answer. I looked at the pot. At the mug beside Ariella's elbow. My mug. The one Anders made me in fourth grade, lopsided and glazed blue.

"We didn't think you'd be stopping by," Rosalie said.

I set my bag on the counter. "I live here."

"For now." She turned back to the stove.

Ariella didn't look up from her phone. Her nails were painted red. She tapped the screen with one finger. Casual. Bored.

I walked past them. Through the living room. Up the stairs. My hands were steady. My chest was tight, but my hands were steady.

The master bedroom door was open. I stepped inside.

Everything looked the same. The bed was made. Cassius's watch sat on the nightstand. My book was still on my side, bookmark halfway through.

I moved to the closet. Pulled open drawers. Checked jacket pockets. Found nothing.

I turned toward the dresser. That's when I saw it.

Behind the decorative shelf. The one with the small bronze sculpture Cassius bought in Florence. A tiny glass lens. Angled toward the bed.

I stepped closer. Crouched. The lens was no bigger than a shirt button. Professional grade. Positioned with precision.

My stomach turned.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. Opened the camera.

"Laurel."

I froze. Cassius stood in the doorway. Still in his suit. His briefcase in one hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I straightened. Slid the phone back into my pocket. "Looking for documents."

"In the bedroom."

"I have a right to access our financial records."

He set the briefcase down. Stepped into the room. Closed the door behind him. "You need to stop this."

"Stop what?"

"This crusade." He gestured vaguely. "You're making things worse for everyone. Especially Anders."

I looked at him. Really looked. The patient tilt of his head. The soft, reasonable tone. The posture that said I'm trying to help you.

I'd seen him use it a hundred times. On hostile witnesses. On opposing counsel. On juries.

"You're in my way," I said.

He didn't move. "I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?"

"From yourself." He took a step closer. "You're not thinking clearly. You're emotional. You're going to do something you regret."

I held his gaze. "Move."

"Laurel—"

"Move."

He stayed where he was. Blocking the door. His eyes flat. Empty.

I turned. Walked to the window. Raised my phone. Took three photos of the shelf from the side angle. Clear shots of the lens.

Behind me, Cassius exhaled. Slow. Controlled. "You have no idea what you're doing."

I turned back. Walked past him. He didn't stop me this time.

I went downstairs. Rosalie and Ariella were still in the kitchen. I didn't look at them. I picked up my bag and walked out.

---

He called me Friday night.

"I'd like to take you to dinner," he said.

I was sitting in my hotel room. Papers spread across the bed. "No."

"Laurel. Please. Let's talk. Just the two of us."

I didn't answer.

"Marea. Seven o'clock tomorrow. I'll make a reservation."

He hung up before I could say no again.

---

I went.

I told myself it was strategic. He might say something useful. Slip up. Give me something I could use.

But really, I just wanted to see what he'd do.

The restaurant was warm. Candlelit. Expensive. The kind of place we used to go for anniversaries.

Cassius was already at the table. He stood when I approached. Pulled out my chair. Smiled.

"Thank you for coming," he said.

I sat. He poured me wine. I didn't touch it.

"You look tired," he said.

"I am."

He leaned back. Folded his hands on the table. "I've been thinking. About how we can resolve this. Without more damage."

"Resolve what?"

"This situation. With Anders. With us."

I waited.

"I spoke to my attorney," he said. "We can offer you a very fair settlement. An apartment in Brooklyn. Park Slope, maybe. Somewhere quiet. A monthly allowance. Enough to live comfortably. And an uncontested divorce. Clean. Simple. No drama."

He paused. His eyes on mine. Warm. Concerned.

"All you have to do," he continued, "is step back. Let me handle Anders's case. Let the system work. And sign over your shares in the firm. As restitution to Rosalie's family."

I looked at him. At the tilt of his head. The patient expression. The hand resting gently on the table.

I saw the technique. The performance. The calculated warmth.

And I saw the tell.

His eyes held mine a beat too long.

"No," I said.

His smile faltered. Just for a second. "Laurel—"

I stood. Picked up my bag. "I'm not signing anything."

"You're making a mistake."

I looked down at him. At the man I'd loved for ten years. The man I'd given up everything for.

"No," I said. "I already made the mistake. I'm fixing it now."

I walked out.

The November air was cold. Sharp. I stood on the sidewalk and breathed it in.

Something inside me had been holding on. Some last thread. Some small, stupid hope that maybe—

It was gone now.

I felt it go. Felt the weight of it lift.

I pulled my phone from my bag. Dialed.

"Nadia," I said when she picked up. "I need you to pull every financial record Cassius filed in the last five years. Bank statements. Credit cards. Everything."

"On it," she said.

I hung up. Started walking. I didn't know where I was going. I just walked.

The city moved around me. Lights. Noise. People.

I kept walking.

And for the first time in ten years, I felt like myself.

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Chapter 3

I found Dani Coleman's dorm on the NYU campus Friday afternoon. Third floor. East wing. The building smelled like instant noodles and laundry detergent.

I knocked.

She opened the door halfway. Looked at me. Her face hardened. "No."

"I'm Laurel Brooks. Anders's mother."

"I know who you are." She started to close the door.

I put my hand on it. Not pushing. Just holding. "Five minutes."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"I'm not asking you to talk. I'm asking you to listen."

She stared at me. Her jaw was tight. Her eyes were red-rimmed. She'd been crying. Recently.

Finally, she stepped back. Let the door swing open.

The room was small. Twin bed. Desk covered in textbooks. A laptop open to a half-written essay. She didn't offer me a seat. I took one anyway. The desk chair.

She stayed standing. Arms crossed. "Five minutes."

I pulled out my phone. Opened the photo gallery. Found the timeline I'd built. "The photographs you saw. The ones of Anders and Ariella. When were they taken?"

"I don't know. A few weeks ago."

"October twenty-third," I said. "That's the metadata stamp. The alleged assault happened October fifteenth. Eight days earlier."

She didn't answer.

"Ariella filed her complaint on November twelfth. That's four weeks after the alleged assault. Four weeks after she claims she was traumatized. But she was photographed with Anders eight days after the incident. Smiling. Sitting close. Does that timeline make sense to you?"

Dani's arms tightened across her chest. "Maybe she was trying to process it."

"Maybe." I swiped to the next photo. A screenshot of Ariella's Instagram. "She posted this on October thirtieth. Two weeks after the alleged assault. It's a selfie. The caption says 'best night ever.' She's wearing Anders's jacket."

Dani looked away.

"I'm not asking you to believe me," I said. "I'm asking you to think. You're a journalism student. You follow evidence. So follow it."

She turned back. Her voice was sharp. "Why are you here?"

"Because Anders told me he has a girlfriend. Someone he was afraid to tell his father about. Someone he cared about enough to keep secret. That's you."

Her face cracked. Just for a second. Then she pulled it back together. "Had. Past tense."

"He also told me he installed a security camera in his apartment. After a break-in last spring. He shared the feed with you. In case of emergencies."

She went still.

"Do you still have access to it?" I asked.

She didn't answer.

I stood. Picked up my bag. "I'm not going to beg you. I'm not going to tell you Anders is innocent and hope you believe me because I'm his mother. I'm going to tell you that there is footage. And if you have it, and you don't look at it, and my son goes to prison because you were too hurt to press play—" I stopped. Took a breath. "Then you'll have to live with that."

I walked to the door. Opened it.

"Mrs. Brooks."

I turned.

Dani was looking at the floor. Her arms were still crossed. But her hands were shaking. "I saw the pictures. I saw him with her. He looked—"

"He looked like a boy who didn't know he was being set up," I said.

She looked up. Met my eyes. "Why would she do that?"

"I don't know yet. But I'm going to find out."

I left.

---

She called me at eleven that night.

I was in the hotel room. Papers spread across the bed. I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?"

"I watched it." Dani's voice. Quiet. Shaking.

I sat up. "The footage?"

"Yes."

I waited.

"He didn't touch her," she said. "She—she came on to him. He pulled away. He tried to leave. She blocked the door. She took off her own clothes. He pushed past her and walked out."

I closed my eyes. "Can you send it to me?"

"Yes."

"Tonight?"

"Yes."

There was a long silence.

"Mrs. Brooks?"

"I'm here."

"I almost didn't watch it." Her voice broke. "I was so angry at him. I wanted him to—" She stopped. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Just send me the footage."

"Okay."

She hung up.

My phone buzzed two minutes later. A file transfer. I opened it.

The video was grainy. Black and white. Time stamp in the corner: October 15, 11:47 PM.

Anders stood near the door. Ariella was close to him. Too close. She put her hand on his chest. He stepped back. She moved forward. He turned toward the door. She stepped in front of him. Said something I couldn't hear. He shook his head. She reached for his belt. He grabbed her wrist. Pushed it away. She pulled her shirt over her head. Dropped it on the floor. He turned. Walked around her. Opened the door. Left.

She stood there for a moment. Then she picked up her shirt. Put it back on. Looked directly at the camera.

And smiled.

I watched it three times.

Then I called Nadia.

"I have it," I said when she picked up.

"Have what?"

"Everything."

I heard her sit up. "Send it to me."

"Already done."

She was quiet for a second. Then: "Laurel. This is it. This is the case."

"I know."

"We need to file a motion to dismiss. First thing Monday morning."