That kindness mattered more than the paperwork.
When the room finally emptied, Brooke lingered by the door. Her mascara was gone. So was the performance people usually wore around the Sterlings.
“I’ll give a statement,” she said. “Whatever you need.”
I looked at her for a long second. My body was exhausted, but my mind was suddenly very clear.
“Then tell the truth even when it embarrasses your family,” I said. “Especially then.”
She nodded. “I will.”
Evan asked if he could come closer. I said yes, but only to the foot of the bed. That answer seemed to hurt him, which was fair.
He told me he had spent his whole life translating Vivian for other people. She doesn’t mean it like that. She’s intense. She’s scared. She loves badly, but she loves.
I told him that love without boundaries is just control with better branding.
He sat in the chair by the wall and cried quietly. I had never seen him do that before.
Part of me wanted to comfort him from habit. The older part of me, the one I had earned the hard way, stayed still.
He asked if I wanted him to call my sister. I said yes. He asked if I wanted him gone. I said not yet.
That was the most mercy I had available.
By morning, the bruise on my cheek had darkened. The detective assigned to the case returned with a victim advocate and took a second statement. Brooke had already filed hers. Tasha had done the same.
Vivian, apparently, had spent the night insisting that hospital staff, police, and I had coordinated to humiliate her.
Some people would rather accuse the world of conspiracy than admit they were monstrous in broad daylight.
Because of my position, I contacted private counsel instead of touching anything myself. By noon, an emergency protective order was being prepared through the proper channel. Another judge from a neighboring division would hear it.
That mattered too. Law means nothing when you bend it toward your own convenience.
Evan made calls from the hallway all day. I heard enough pieces to understand the shape of them. He told his mother’s assistant not to come. He told the front desk to refuse flowers. He told his brother that if anyone posted about the babies online, he would sue.
