Bianca let out a quick laugh that was not a nervous sound, but rather a bright and clean display of cruelty.
“Bianca, please,” Gabriel said quietly, nudging her arm gently under the oak desk.
She covered her mouth slightly too late, her eyes still sparkling with malice as she stared across at Penelope.
Judge Barrett’s gaze moved toward Bianca with the measured patience of a woman who had watched courtrooms for thirty years and recognized precisely what kind of person was sitting in front of her. “Ms. Shepherd, one more interruption like that and you will be removed from this courtroom by the bailiff.”
Penelope kept her voice even, though speaking those painful truths cost her almost everything she had left inside. “I don’t want the house where he brought her while I was attending my prenatal appointments, nor do I want the money he used to buy her expensive jewelry. I don’t want anything he touched while lying to me every single day, so I only want my baby born completely away from him.”
