The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 244

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE,

EVAS POV

They grabbed his arms.

He fought them.

Not to escape.

To keep looking at me.

“And all you wanted to know…”

His breathing became ragged.

“…was whether I’d keep my mouth shut!”

“Hart!”

“No!”

His eyes blazed with something I’d never seen directed at me before.

Not devotion.

Not admiration.

Pain.

“You never loved me!”

“I never said-”

“You USED me!”

The words echoed through the room.

“You only came when you needed something!”

The officers struggled to hold him back.

His entire body shook.

“You didn’t even ask if I was okay!”

His voice broke.

“I would’ve done anything for you.”

The sentence came out almost like a whisper.

“I already did.” He stated.

Something twisted painfully inside my chest then.

God

“Hart…”

I took one tentative step toward him.

One officer immediately stepped between us. “I think it’s time for this visit to end.”

“No.”

Hart shook his head violently.

“No.”

He looked directly at me.

“I don’t want to see you.”

The words were quiet now.

Far quieter than before.

Somehow…

They hurt more.

“I don’t want your pity.”

Another pause.

“I don’t want your lies.”

His eyes filled with something dangerously close to tears.

“Just go.”

I stared at him.

For the first time since we’d met…

Hart Sullivan wasn’t looking at me like I was extraordinary.

He was looking at me as though he finally understood exactly who I was.

The officer gently touched my elbow. “Ms. Sterling.”

I let him guide me toward the door.

Just before I stepped outside, I looked back one last time.

Hart had turned away. He wouldn’t even look at me anymore.

The heavy steel door shut behind me with a deafening clang.

As I stood in the empty corridor, unable to move, one of the detectives brushed past me without a word and disappeared into the interrogation room.

Seconds later, Hart’s shouting began again.

Then silence.

Absolute silence.

I swallowed hard.

God!

Now I wasn’t just burdened with thinking about the trial.

I wasn’t just thinking about Claire either, or even Lucian.

I was thinking about one terrifying possibility.

If Hart had finally stopped believing in me…

How long would it be before he started believing Claire instead?

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR_CLAIRE’S POV

I had slept for barely three hours.

The moment my alarm rang, I was already awake, staring at the ceiling of my apartment.

My mind had been replaying yesterday’s testimony over and over again, dissecting every answer Elise had given, every objection Eva’s attorneys had raised, and every expression on the jurors’ faces.

Today would be different-it had to be.

Yesterday had been about humanity.

Today was about money-

Paper trails, bank records and corporate fraud.

The kind of evidence that didn’t cry, didn’t forget, and couldn’t be intimidated or even dismantled.

I dressed more carefully than usual, in a charcoal-grey pantsuit, paired with a white blouse.

My hair was pulled into a neat low bun, my makeup minimal.

I grabbed the stack of files I’d reviewed twice before dawn and headed for the courthouse.

The scene outside the courthouse was even worse than yesterday.

Television vans lined the street. Reporters crowded behind metal barricades.

Even the police officers were struggling to keep protesters separated from curious spectators.

Camera flashes erupted the moment Laurel, Jonathan and I stepped out of the firm’s car.

“Claire!”

“Ms. Moreau!”

“Should we expect another explosive witness today?”

“Is it true Mr. Dhark is improving?”

“Has Eva Sterling attempted another settlement?”

I kept walking.

I’d learned very quickly that silence was often more powerful than any answer.

Nathaniel fell into step beside me, shielding me from one particularly aggressive reporter who practically leaned over the barricade.

“You’d think they were covering the presidential election,” he muttered.

I smiled faintly.

“They probably wish they were.”

He chuckled.

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HAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR CLARE 5 POV

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“Less paperwork.”

The courthouse doors opened before us, and for the first time all morning, the noise disappeared behind thick marble walls.

Margot was already inside.

She sat in her wheelchair near Courtroom Three, speaking quietly with one of Sinclair & Co.’s junior associates.

The moment she saw me, she dismissed the associate with a glance.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

She studied my face carefully.

“You slept?”

“A little.”

“Liar.”

“I rested my eyes.”

“That’s not sleeping.”

“It’ll have to do.”

A ghost of a smile tugged at her lips.

“Coffee?”

“I’ve already had two.”

“You’ll need another.”

“I know.”

Jonathan approached with a fresh paper cup and handed it to me without asking.

I accepted it gratefully.

“The defense has been here since seven,” he said.

“They’ve been requesting copies of today’s exhibits.”

Laurel folded her arms.

“They’re nervous.

“They should be.”

I looked down at the thick folder tucked beneath my arm.

Today’s exhibits.

Bank statements.

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HAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR, CLAIRES POV

Transfer authorizations.

Internal audit reports.

Wire confirmations.

Everything pointed toward one man.

Theo Collins.

The courtroom slowly filled.

Members of the press occupied every seat reserved for media.

The public gallery was almost full before proceedings even began.

Investors.

Former Dhark Holdings employees.

Law students.

Curious members of the public.

Everyone wanted to witness what had become the city’s biggest trial in years.

Then the side door opened.

Eva walked in.

For a split second, the courtroom became unnaturally quiet.

She was dressed impeccably.

Cream-colored designer suit.

Hair perfectly styled.

Dark sunglasses that she removed with practiced elegance before taking her seat beside her attorneys.

She wanted everyone to believe she still belonged on magazine covers.

That yesterday’s humiliation outside the courthouse hadn’t happened.

That the chants…

The eggs…

The boos…

Had never touched her.

But I noticed the tiny details.

The concealer beneath her eyes.

The stiffness in her shoulders.

“Did he know about it?”

“No.”

I picked up another document.

“And this one?”

“Another transfer.”

“Amount?”

“Thirty million.”

“Recipient?”

“Ms. Sterling.”

“Authorized by Mr. Dhark?”

“No.”

One by one, I walked the jury through them.

Twenty-five million.

Thirty million.

Fifteen million.

Twenty million.

Ten million.

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HARTH TWO HINDRED AND FORTY-FOUR CHAIRS Pay

Each transfer.

Each unauthorized.

Each ending in accounts connected to Eva Sterling.

Theo answered without emotion.

Without apology.

Simply facts.

By the sixth transfer, several jurors had begun taking furious notes.

I could almost hear calculators working inside their heads.

Finally, I stopped.

“Mr. Collins…”

“Adding together every unauthorized transfer you facilitated…”

“What was the total amount removed?”

He answered immediately.

“One hundred and seventy million dollars.”

This time, the murmur was louder.

Even Eva’s attorneys exchanged uneasy glances.

I walked slowly back toward counsel’s table before turning again.

“Mr. Collins…”

“Did all one hundred and seventy million dollars belong to Dhark Holdings?”

His expression changed slightly.

“No.”

“What do you mean?”

“One hundred and twenty million belonged to the company.”

“And the remaining fifty?”

Theo folded his hands in front of him. “It was a personal transfer.”

I already knew.

The jury didn’t.

I looked directly at him as I asked the next question. “A personal transfer intended for whom?”

His eyes finally lifted to mine.

Then, for the first time that morning, they shifted briefly toward Eva before returning to me.

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HAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR CLARES POV

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“It was intended for you, Ms. Moreau.”

The courtroom fell completely silent.

I could feel every juror looking at me now, but I didn’t react. I couldn’t.

Not yet.

I nodded. “Please explain.”

Theo cleared his throat.

“After the divorce proceedings, Mr. Dhark instructed me to transfer fifty million dollars to your account.”

My fingers tightened around my pen. “And did you?”

“No.”

“What happened to the money?”

He answered as casually as though discussing the weather.

“I diverted it.”

“To where?”

“The same network of offshore accounts.” He answered.

“And who ultimately received those funds?”

He didn’t even bother looking at Eva as he answered this time. “Ms. Eva Sterling.”

The silence that followed was heavier than any objection- heavier than any argument.

Because the jury had just learned something they hadn’t expected.

Eva hadn’t merely stolen from Dhark Holdings, she had also stolen money Lucian had intended to give me after our divorce.

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