Lauren didn’t even look at him.

She turned to the judge. “The petitioner calls Ethan Bennett to the stand.” Ethan walked to the witness box like a man walking to the gallows.

He swore the oath, his voice trembling. Lauren approached the podium, terrifying in her stillness. “Mr. Bennett,” she began, her tone conversational but lethal.

“Did your wife have any knowledge of the apartment leased under Ms. Brooks’s name?” “No,” Ethan whispered. “Speak into the microphone, please.” “No.” “Did she authorize you to use her personal inheritance accounts to pay the rent on that apartment?”

“No.” “Were you engaged in a romantic and sexual relationship with Ms. Brooks during the ten months these transfers occurred?” Ethan looked at Ellison, silently begging for an objection.

Ellison stared at his legal pad. “Yes,” Ethan choked out. “And you deliberately used your wife’s capital to finance this illicit relationship?” “Yes.”