Chapter 7 - The Husband Who Swore
The courthouse smelled like floor wax and burnt coffee. Diane arrived wearing a neck brace and a pale cardigan, leaning heavily on Ryan's arm.
"Did she hurt her neck?" I whispered.
"Don't react," Tessa said. "We have the medical record she submitted. It reports no acute injury."
The judge asked Diane why she had gone to my house.
"To make peace," Diane answered. "Lena becomes angry about money."
Ryan testified next. He kept smoothing the crease of his trousers.
"Your wife attacked your mother?" Diane's attorney asked.
"That's what I saw."
I stared at the scar on Ryan's chin, left by a childhood bicycle accident. I'd kissed it a thousand times. I knew that face better than anyone. Yet every word from it sounded borrowed.
Tessa presented the police report and asked to play the preserved camera recording. The full angle showed Diane swing, the handle strike my shoulder, my attempt to retreat, and the second swing I stopped. No one spoke during the playback.
The judge looked directly at Ryan. "You were standing by the refrigerator?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't see the first blow?"
Ryan swallowed. "I was looking down."
"Your statement says you watched the entire incident."
His lawyer stood up. The judge told him to sit down.
The request for an emergency order against me was denied. The judge made clear that further questions about false statements belonged to investigators. It wasn't a victory lap. It was one door closed against a lie.
Outside, Ryan caught up to us without Diane.
"Lena, you need to listen."
"I heard you under oath."
May you like
His face tightened. "Mom's not the one you should be worried about."
Before I could ask what he meant, he walked away.
