Chapter 3 - What the Camera Saw.
The hospital monitor made a soft rhythmic sound beside Nora’s bed.
The baby’s heartbeat remained steady.
The doctor called the impact concerning but not catastrophic and ordered Nora to remain under observation for several hours.
Dana sat beside the window with her coat still wet from the freezing rain.
Nora stared at the ceiling.
“Marcus said I fell.”
Dana opened her laptop.
“Marcus says many things.”
“He’ll make people believe him.”
“Not this time.”
Dana turned the screen toward her.
A courthouse administrator had sent notice that the courtroom video was preserved under an evidence hold.
The camera did not have audio from every angle, but the wide view clearly showed Vanessa crossing the barrier, contacting Nora, and Nora striking the table.
A second hallway camera showed Vanessa arguing with the bailiff moments later.
Nora swallowed.
“Why would she do that in front of cameras?”
“Because people who feel protected stop seeing cameras.”
Dana clicked open another message.
It came from Gregory Sloan.
Marcus’s attorney requested an immediate protective order preventing Elias Bennett from contacting any witness, party, or court employee connected with the case.
Nora almost laughed.
“He thinks my father is going after him.”
“He wants everyone else to think that too.”
Dana closed the message.
“He is building a story where your father’s influence explains every bad thing that happens to him.”
Nora turned toward the rain-streaked window.
“That sounds like Marcus.”
A nurse entered.
“There’s someone asking to see you.”
Nora’s body stiffened.
“Marcus?”
“No.”
The nurse hesitated.
“Your father.”
Nora looked at Dana.
Dana stood.
“This part is your decision.”
Nora had imagined seeing Elias again many times.
In every version, she was successful and calm.
She was never in a hospital gown with swollen ankles and mascara dried beneath her eyes.
“Let him in.”
Elias entered without an entourage.
He carried no briefcase.
He stopped several feet from the bed.
“I asked the nurse if you were medically stable before requesting to come in.”
Nora gave a tired nod.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Elias looked at her stomach.
“Is the baby all right?”
“The doctor thinks so.”
His shoulders lowered almost imperceptibly.
“I’m glad.”
Nora stared at the silver in his hair.
“You recused yourself fast.”
“I had to.”
“Marcus thinks you’re going to ruin him.”
Elias’s mouth tightened.
“Then Marcus understands neither me nor the problem he has created for himself.”
Nora’s eyes burned.
“You were right about him.”
Elias looked at her for a long time.
“This is not the moment I wanted to be right.”
That answer hurt more than anger would have.
Dana’s phone rang.
She stepped into the hall.
A minute later she returned with an expression Nora had not seen before.
“What happened?”
Dana placed the phone on the bed.
“The court has reassigned your emergency hearing to Judge Margaret Keene.”
Nora knew the name.
Keene had a reputation for moving quickly and documenting everything.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
Dana did not answer immediately.
“Marcus just filed an emergency motion accusing you and your father of coordinating this morning’s incident to influence the case.”
Nora stared at her.
“He says I planned to be attacked?”
Dana nodded.
“And he attached an affidavit.”
“From who?”
Dana turned the screen around.
May you like
At the bottom of the page was a signature Nora recognized immediately.
Vanessa Reed.
