Chapter 3 - The Bracelet
“Turn it off!” Alexander suddenly shouted, his facade completely cracking. He slammed his fist onto the defense table. “She manipulated that! It’s deep-faked! She works with computers, Your Honor, she manufactured that audio!”
“Mr. Simmons, if you cannot control yourself, I will have the bailiffs remove you,” Judge Hall warned severely. Her gaze shifted back to me. “Continue, Mrs. Simmons.”
“There is no manipulation, Your Honor. The digital metadata has been verified by an independent federal cybersecurity firm. The certificate of authenticity is in tab three.”
I looked directly at Bianca. Her breath was hitching. The gold bracelet on her wrist—my gold bracelet—suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
“Tab four,” I said, never breaking eye contact with Bianca, “details the nursery my husband and his girlfriend prepared in the east wing of the estate. Ms. Frost posted on social media that this child was an 'unexpected blessing.' But according to the text messages recovered from my husband’s synchronized cloud account, which he foolishly forgot to disconnect from our shared home network, they have been planning to force me out and take this baby since the end of my first trimester.”
Bianca’s breath hitched loudly in the quiet courtroom.
Alexander grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her skin—the exact same way he used to grab mine. “Keep your mouth shut,” he hissed at her, though it carried clearly through the room.
That was the breaking point.
Bianca looked down at Alexander’s fingers gripping her arm. She saw the bruising force. She saw the exact reality I had lived with for six years.
Slowly, deliberately, Bianca stood up.
“Bianca, sit down!” Josephine hissed, her pearls clacking together as she reached for the younger woman’s dress.
Bianca pulled her arm away from Alexander with a violent jerk. Then, she reached over to her left wrist. With shaking fingers, she unclasped the heavy gold bracelet. She let it drop directly into Josephine’s lap. It landed with a dull, heavy thud.
“Your Honor,” Bianca’s voice trembled, but grew stronger with every word. “May I speak?”
Judge Hall looked intrigued. “State your name for the record.”
“Bianca Frost. I... I was asked to come here today to testify that Karina Simmons was unfit. Alexander told me she had a history of violent outbursts. He told me she threatened to harm the baby.” Tears welled in Bianca’s eyes, ruining her perfect makeup. “He told me I needed to step up to protect the child. But... he lied to me.”
“Ms. Frost!” Gregory barked. “Do not say another word!”
“I will say whatever I want!” Bianca shouted back, her voice breaking with emotion. She pointed a trembling finger at Alexander. “He told me to decorate the nursery. He told me to post those pictures to establish a loving environment for the custody evaluator. Last night, he laughed and said Karina wouldn't even be able to afford a bus ticket out of the city once he froze her accounts. He planned this. He planned all of it to steal a baby from her mother.”
Alexander lunged for Bianca, but two heavily armed bailiffs were instantly on him, shoving him hard back into his chair.
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“Do not move, Mr. Simmons!” the lead bailiff barked, his hand resting on his service weapon.
I held Helen a little tighter, kissing the top of her warm head. The house of cards wasn't just falling; it was burning to the ground.
