Nora touched his arm and gave me a pitying, theatrical smile. “She looks tired. Poor thing.”
My attorney, Marcus Hale, leaned toward me. “Now?”
I looked at the judge. Then at Julian.
“Now,” I whispered.
Slowly, I stood.
The dynamic in the courtroom shifted instantly. Cameras from the legal press clicked rapidly. Julian frowned for the very first time.
I removed my coat.
A cold shock passed through the room. The scars across my ribs, shoulders, and arms were not small. They were long, pale, and cruel, carved into my body like a history Julian thought his money had successfully erased. Nora’s smug smile vanished.
Julian’s face turned completely white.
The judge sat forward, eyes wide. “Mrs. Vance?”
I placed both hands firmly on the table.
“This is no longer a divorce trial,” I said, my voice low but steady. “It’s the trial for every dark secret he thought would stay buried forever.”
Julian whispered, “Iris, don’t.”
And for the first time in ten years, I smiled.
Part 2: The House of Cards Collapses
Julian recovered quickly, because arrogant men always mistake panic for strategy.
“This is cheap theater,” he snapped. “She’s unstable. She hurt herself. She’s been mentally fragile for years.”
Nora nodded too fast, her voice trembling slightly. “I was afraid to say it, Your Honor, but Iris has always been highly dramatic.”
Marcus stood up, adjusting his suit jacket. “Then you won’t mind if we enter medical records, emergency-room photographs, and secure digital footage into evidence.”
