Before I could stop myself, I leaned slightly toward her side of the room.My voice was low, careful, but it carried.
“Victoria, he shouldn’t be here,” I said.“Max doesn’t need to hear this.Please.Take him out.”
Victoria’s eyes flashed, her lips curling.“Mind your business,” she snapped.“He’s,myson.”
My stomach twisted.Mr.Novak placed a warning hand on my wrist.“Don’t engage,” he murmured.But the damage was done, the air between us already poisoned.
The bailiff called the room to order, and the judge entered, robes flowing, expression unreadable.Everyone rose, then sat again, the scrape of wood on tile loud in the otherwise tense silence.
The judge began, voice even, eyes sweeping the room.“We are here for the matter of the Crown versus Andrew Brooks.Mr.Novak, is the Crown ready?”
Mr.Novak stood.“We are, Your Honour.”
The judge turned.“Defence?”
Andrew’s chair remained empty.His lawyer rose slowly, face pale.“Your Honour, I regret to inform the court that I have been unable to make contact with my client.He has not responded to calls, emails, or letters.I have no knowledge of his whereabouts.”
A ripple moved through the courtroom.My mother’s hand clutched at my father’s.Brody stretched one of his long legs so his foot could brush mine, steadying me.My heart hammered.
The judge’s face tightened.“We will allow a thirty-minute grace period.If Mr.Brooks fails to appear by then, we will proceed with failure-to-appear protocol.”
The words buzzed in my ears, louder than the hum of the fluorescents.Thirty minutes.Thirty minutes staring at an empty chair, every tick of the clock like a needle in my chest.
The minutes dragged.My lawyer shuffled papers he didn’t need to.I counted my breaths, counted the tiles, anything to keep from unravelling.Every time the door opened, my body jolted, sure it would be him.But it never was.
When the time expired, the judge’s gavel fell with a sharp crack.“The defendant has failed to appear.A bench warrant will be issued for his arrest.Additional charges for failure to appear will be added to his case.”
The room exhaled, tension breaking.And then Victoria detonated.
She surged to her feet, her purse falling to the ground at her feet.“You bitch.This is your fault!”she screamed, jabbing a finger at me.“You ruined everything!You destroyed him, you destroyed us...”
I stood before I realized I was moving, my voice shaking but loud enough to cut through hers.“Are you serious?He did this.Not me.Youknowwhat he tried to do to me.How he attacked me.And you still blame me?”
Her face twisted, red and furious.She shoved her hair back from her face.“You’re a manipulative liar!You wanted him, you wanted this!”
Before I could answer, Clara was there, seething.“Oh, please.Everyone knows that the baby isn’t his.You were cheating too, Victoria.You two deserve each other.”
Victoria’s parents stiffened, colour draining from her father’s face.Clara’s voice cut again, direct at them.“Maybe you should step in.Maybe you should worry less about trying to vilify Cassidy and more about your grandchildren, because this isn't ok and they are the ones who need protecting right now.”
The judge’s gavel cracked like thunder.“Enough!One more outburst from anyone and I will hold you in contempt."
Silence dropped heavy over the room.Victoria was vibrating, her chest rising and falling, but she sat, muttering under her breath.
I sat too, though my knees trembled.The empty chair at the defence table seemed to be louder than her voice had been.Andrew was gone, vanished.Not vindicated, not punished, just absent.And that absence felt both like relief and like being dragged through our past all over again.
When the session adjourned, we filed out, our footsteps echoing in the marble hallway.The air outside the courtroom felt colder, sharper.
Brody slid into the driver’s seat beside me, his hand covering mine on my lap.Behind us, my family followed in two cars, a convoy of protection.His thumb traced circles over my hand, but he didn’t speak, and neither did I.I stared out the window at the blur of trees and fields, my mind caught on that empty chair, on Victoria’s voice, on Max’s too-small legs swinging above the floor and on his little face when Victoria was screaming at me.
When we finally pulled into the driveway, the house looked softer than I remembered, with warm light spilling from the windows and Fall flower pots in full bloom by the porch.Brody cut the engine, and for a moment, I couldn’t move.The weight of the day pressed me into the seat.He didn't rush me, and neither did my family.Brody sat with me in the quiet while everyone walked into the house.He sat with me until I was ready to move and face what came next.
Inside, the air smelled of this morning's coffee and Mom's lemon cleaner.She was already in the kitchen, fussing with mugs and the kettle like boiling water could fix what court had cracked open.Dad paced, restless energy spilling out.Adam leaned against the counter, arms crossed, jaw tight, while Judy pressed tissues into my hands I hadn’t asked for.Dean tried to keep the calm.Chase, as always, was watchful and steady at my side.Clara sat in a chair across from me, a worried expression on her face, with Mason hovering protectively.
Only once the hum of voices filled the kitchen did Mr.Novak arrive, his briefcase in hand, his tie loosened.He set the case on the table, his voice level.
“This isn’t the outcome we wanted,” he said plainly.“But it’s not the end.The warrant will stand.Once Andrew is found, the trial will be reset.Until then, we stay ready.”
"What about the calls Cassidy is still getting from the blocked number?Can that be traced?"Brody asked.
