“Mrs. Bennett,” she said, “your prior statements indicated the children’s biological mother was deceased.”
Claire’s attorney began to rise.
The judge looked at him. “I am not inviting argument yet.”
He sat.
Claire swallowed.
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Do you maintain that statement?”
Claire did not answer.
Her attorney leaned toward her, whispering.
Claire stared at the table.
“Mrs. Bennett,” the judge said, “do you maintain that Anna Bennett is deceased?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“No,” she whispered.
The room changed.
Nathan inhaled sharply.
Maya’s pen stopped moving.
Elise’s posture went still beside me.
The judge’s face remained unreadable. “Speak clearly.”
Claire opened her eyes. They were wet now.
“No, Your Honor. I don’t know if Anna is dead.”
Nathan whispered, “What?”
The judge looked toward him, and he went silent.
Claire’s attorney looked as though he had been handed a different case from the one he had prepared.
“You told two children their mother was dead,” the judge said.
Claire’s lips parted, but no words came.
“Why?”
Her answer came so softly that at first I thought I had misheard it.
“Because Evan told me to.”
I felt Elise shift beside me.
Nathan stood halfway before catching himself. “That’s not true.”
The judge’s gaze snapped to him.
He sat, shaking.
Claire turned slightly, not toward Nathan, not toward the judge, but toward me. Her eyes found mine across the courtroom.
For one moment, the woman from the airport disappeared. In her place was someone cornered by a truth she had buried badly.
