“Had you brought any clothes with you from the home before?” the man asked.
“A few.”
“Personal things?” he clipped out.
“I didn’t have any,” she said softly, her jaw trembling along with her voice.
Alex gripped the stainless bar that separated him from Jonathan, leaned forward, and whispered, “Do something or I will.”
“Shh. I can’t and you know it. This has to play out.”
Alex bit the inside of his cheek, his jaw aching from the effort of clenching his teeth to keep quiet.
“Is there a problem, Mr. Ridgeway?” the judge asked.
Jonathan partially rose. “No, Your Honor.” He lowered himself back into his seat.
“So after your mother took off and your father abandoned you in a shopping mall,” the other attorney asked as he paced in front of Madison, “after seven unsuccessful foster placements, you landed with the Graysons. In a big house in a wealthy neighborhood, in the best school district for miles. You were bought new clothes, given your own room… Be honest, Ms. Evans. You saw the gold pot at the end of the rainbow, didn’t you? An easy target in an older woman who couldn’t have more children, who wanted a daughter … You knew it would be better to suck up to her than to cause trouble like you had in your other homes, isn’t that right?”
Madison’s jaw worked back and forth before answering. “No. I loved Franny.”
She folded her arms across her chest, a protective gesture Alex knew well. He also knew how hard it was for her to admit to those feelings, and it took all his willpower not to launch across the room and drag her into his arms and out of there.
But the lawyer wasn’t finished demolishing her pride. “Mr. Grayson testified you were always spending time with his mother when you weren’t in school. Sucking up to her, putting thoughts in her head as you got older about how much better you’d treat her than her own son when she got sick. From there, it wasn’t difficult to assume Daniel Grayson would include you in his will. And ultimately, you gained Franny’s power of attorney, where you could put her in a home, sell her house from beneath her, and put the proceeds toward a rec center.”
“That Franny wanted! She wasn’t interested in destroying the land with overdevelopment. Eric, you know this. You know your mother better than that.”
“You lying bitch!”
Alex rose to his feet, but the judge banged the gavel hard. “Silence.”
“Your Honor, there are no questions being asked here!” Jonathan said loudly.
Eric’s lawyer looked at the judge, acting contrite and sorry. “I apologize. I was just trying to establish undue influence, Your Honor.”
The judge rapped his gavel. “You’ve more than made your point.”
Hopefully the judge felt sorry for Madison and understood the true dynamic of her relationship with Franny Grayson, Alex thought. It was obvious how much she’d needed a mother, even if she hadn’t said as much.
But as the next group of witnesses testified, things didn’t get any better. Parents of Eric’s friends backed up the amount of time Franny spent with Madison, who they all agreed hadn’t gone out of her way to make friends in her new school. They all said they admired Franny for taking in a difficult child but wondered why she chose her over her own son, the implication of undue influence on Madison’s part clear. Said it wasn’t like the other woman, who valued her blood relatives dearly.
Although the hearing was supposed to last just one day, Eric?
??s lawyer had drawn things out, and by the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, and it was too late for Jonathan to present Madison’s witnesses to Franny’s intent and state of mind. Or Jonathan’s terrorizing his own mother at the nursing home.
The hearing would continue tomorrow. When, according to the message Alex played during a recess, he was scheduled to fly to New York.
* * *
By the time the long day ended, Madison’s entire body trembled from exhaustion. Outside the courtroom, they parted ways with Jonathan, who promised to meet her at nine a.m. tomorrow.
Alex was quiet on the way back to her apartment, and Madison didn’t have anything to say either. He stopped for food, and they ate it in silence. He allowed her the space she needed to decompress. Once again, she was amazed at how well he knew what she needed. Even last night’s argument took a back seat to today’s drama, and she was too wiped out to even think. He parked in a guest spot at her building, and they walked inside and up to her place.
She sat down on her bed and pulled off her heels, groaning as she stretched her feet. Alex walked past her into the bathroom, and she heard the sound of running water.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he walked out.
“Running you a hot shower so you can relax.” He shot her a smile and headed for her dresser, pulling out her favorite lounging pants and camisole.