Chapter 7
Deposition week was hell.
I had to sit in a small, cold conference room for eight hours a day, while Daniel’s lawyer asked me every humiliating question he could think of.
Why had I left my family?
Had I ever had mental health issues?
Was I just after Daniel’s money?
He tried to make me cry.
Tried to make me angry.
Tried to make me look like a liar.
I didn’t give him the satisfaction.
I answered every question calmly, honestly, my voice steady.
My brothers were right outside the room.
Every time I took a break, Ethan was there with a glass of water, a snack, a soft smile.
Ryan went over every question with me the night before, preparing me for every trick the defense might try.
Alexander sat in the back of the room during the depositions, his face a mask of cold rage, making sure the lawyer didn’t push too far.
On the third day, the lawyer hit me with his worst question yet.
“Ms. Hale,” he said, leaning across the table. “You hadn’t spoken to your brothers in four years. Then, the day you claim you were attacked, you called them. Isn’t it true that you and your brothers planned this whole thing? That you faked the attack to steal Mr. Hale’s fortune, using your unborn child as a pawn?”
The room went silent.
I felt the anger rise in my chest, hot and sharp.
I looked the lawyer right in the eye.
“I left my family because I thought love was enough,” I said, my voice clear and strong. “I thought if I loved Daniel enough, if I was the perfect wife, he would love me back. I was wrong. Love without respect is just a cage. And I spent three years in that cage. I gave up everything for him. My career. My friends. My family. And when I needed him most, when someone was hurting our son, he stood there and watched. He called me dramatic. He laughed. So yes. I called my brothers. Because they are the only people on this earth who have ever loved me unconditionally. Who have never asked for anything from me but to be safe and happy. You can stand there and call me a liar. You can try to make me look like a villain. But the evidence doesn’t lie. The security footage from our bedroom doesn’t lie. The texts and emails and recordings don’t lie. And neither do I.”
The lawyer had no response.
The deposition ended early that day.
When I walked out of the room, my brothers were waiting.
Ethan pulled me into a hug.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said.
That night, we didn’t talk about the case.
We ordered pizza.
We watched old Disney movies, the ones we’d loved as kids.
Alexander made popcorn, burning it slightly, just like he always had.
Ryan fell asleep on the couch halfway through the second movie, his head on a pillow.
I sat there, between Ethan and Alexander, my hand on my belly, and I felt it.
Peace.
For the first time in three years, I wasn’t looking over my shoulder.
I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I was just… there.
With my family.
Safe.
Loved.
A week later, the trial date was set.
Three weeks away.
The DA said it would be the trial of the year.
The press was already camped outside the courthouse.
I didn’t care.
I was ready.
I had the truth on my side.
May you like
I had my brothers.
And I had my son, kicking inside me, reminding me every day what I was fighting for.
