CHAPTER 6 – The Courtroom and the Confession
CHAPTER 6 – The Courtroom and the Confession
Two weeks later, family court was packed.
Not because our divorce was unusual.
Because the Harrison name attracted attention.
Reporters waited outside.
Employees whispered in the hallways.
Even strangers recognized me.
Michael entered wearing a perfectly tailored charcoal suit.
He looked confident.
Amber followed several steps behind.
She wasn't supposed to be there.
But she came anyway.
As though she'd already won.
Michael glanced toward me.
For a brief second...
His eyes rested on our daughter sleeping peacefully in my arms.
No smile.
No warmth.
Only calculation.
Victoria leaned toward me.
"Don't react."
"I'm trying."
The hearing began.
Michael's attorney stood first.
"Your Honor, Mr. Harrison is deeply concerned about his daughter's future."
I nearly laughed.
Concerned.
Now?
The attorney continued.
"Mrs. Harrison has displayed significant emotional instability since childbirth."
Victoria remained perfectly calm.
"Objection."
"Sustained."
Then our turn came.
Victoria walked slowly to the center of the courtroom.
"Your Honor..."
"This case is not about a mother incapable of caring for her child."
She placed one document after another before the judge.
"It is about a father who voluntarily abandoned both."
Hospital records.
Phone logs.
Delivery reports.
The incident report.
Each piece fit together like a puzzle.
Then...
Victoria pressed a button.
Amber's voice filled the silent courtroom.
"Your dramatic labor situation isn't his responsibility tonight."
Every head turned toward Michael.
His face drained of color.
The recording continued.
"Michael deserves some peace for once."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the judge stopped taking notes.
Victoria looked directly at Michael.
"Mr. Harrison..."
"Were you with Ms. Collins during your wife's labor?"
His attorney immediately objected.
The judge overruled him.
Michael swallowed.
"I..."
His voice cracked.
"It wasn't what it looked like."
Victoria didn't blink.
"Were you there?"
"No."
"Were you answering your wife's calls?"
"No."
"Did your mistress answer instead?"
Another silence.
"...Yes."
The courtroom erupted in whispers.
Amber stared at the floor.
Victoria delivered the final blow.
"Did you file for divorce before visiting your newborn daughter?"
Michael closed his eyes.
"...Yes."
The judge removed his glasses.
In decades of family law...
He had probably heard every excuse imaginable.
But this one...
Even he looked disappointed.
The hearing adjourned for recess.
As people filed into the hallway, Amber suddenly approached me.
For the first time...
She looked frightened.
"Catherine..."
"I need to talk to you."
I stared at the woman whose voice had haunted me since that stormy night.
"You've already said enough."
She shook her head desperately.
"No."
"You don't understand."
"There are things Michael never told you."
My pulse quickened.
"What things?"
Amber glanced over her shoulder to make sure Michael wasn't nearby.
Then she whispered six words that changed everything.
"He lied to both of us."
Before I could ask another question...
Michael appeared at the end of the hallway.
The moment Amber saw him...
The color vanished from her face.
She stepped backward as if terrified.
And for the first time...
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I realized Amber Collins might not be the true villain of my story.
She might be the next victim.
