Chapter 6 - The Hearing Without Me
Judge Carver had begun deciding whether I was sane before I even entered the room.
That fact settled into me with a coldness I could not shake.
Naomi drove like a woman who had spent forty years obeying traffic laws and had finally decided they were suggestions. Evelyn sat in the back beside me with the black laptop in her lap, trying to open it while the city blurred past. Leo followed behind us.
Damon did not chase us.
That worried me more than if he had.
“He knew,” I said.
Naomi’s hands tightened on the wheel. “Yes.”
“He let us take the laptop.”
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
Evelyn looked up. “Because what he needs may not be on it anymore.”
The laptop screen asked for a password.
Claire had no idea what it was. My due date did not work. Neither did my birthday, Damon’s birthday, or the date of our wedding.
Naomi called her office.
“Get a digital forensic team ready. Now. And call Carver’s clerk. Tell them counsel for Hannah Cross is en route and objects to any proceeding held without notice.”
A pause.
“No, I do not care that Dr. Pike is already testifying.”
My stomach dropped.
Pike.
The doctor who had smiled while measuring my baby.
The doctor who had asked whether I ever felt unsafe at home and then wrote down my answer in a file Damon could use.
“What is he saying?” I asked.
Naomi did not answer until she ended the call.
“He’s likely presenting an affidavit claiming concern for prenatal psychosis.”
“I don’t have prenatal psychosis.”
“I know.”
“Does the judge?”
Naomi glanced at me.
That was answer enough.
The hearing was not in a grand courthouse. It was in a private judicial suite downtown, the kind used for arbitrations, mediations, and legal matters wealthy people preferred to keep quiet. By the time we arrived, Naomi had transformed from emergency protector into courtroom weapon.
She entered first.
I followed with Evelyn beside me.
The room contained Judge Carver, a court reporter, Dr. Pike on video screen, Damon’s attorney, and Damon himself.
My husband sat at the conference table in a charcoal suit, looking exhausted and noble.
He turned when I entered.
His face filled with relief so convincing I almost hated him for the talent.
“Hannah,” he breathed.
Judge Carver looked annoyed.
“Ms. Vale, this matter was already underway.”
Naomi placed her briefcase on the table.
“Improperly, Your Honor.”
Damon’s attorney stood. “Mrs. Cross was unavailable due to the very condition at issue.”
“I am here,” I said.
Every eye moved to me.
I felt my daughter kick.
I stood straighter.
“I am Hannah Ellery Cross. I received no formal notice of this hearing. I object to any proceeding questioning my competency without my counsel, my chosen physician, or evidence beyond statements arranged by my husband, who has a massive financial conflict of interest.”
Judge Carver’s brows rose.
Damon lowered his eyes as if pained.
“She’s been coached,” his attorney said.
Naomi smiled. “God willing.”
The judge looked at Damon. “Mr. Cross?”
Damon stood slowly.
“Your Honor, I love my wife. I understand how this looks. Hannah is highly intelligent and can appear composed for short periods. But over the past several months, she has become increasingly paranoid. She believes I’m conspiring against her. She believes friends are spying on her. Last night she fled our home with a former employee who has been threatening my company.”
Evelyn muttered, “Threatening is a funny word for reporting felonies.”
Judge Carver glanced at her.
Naomi said, “Ms. Hart is here as a witness.”
Damon’s attorney objected.
Naomi ignored him and placed copies of documents in front of the judge.
“This is the petition Mr. Cross filed yesterday, claiming my client suffers from delusional jealousy and imagined infidelity. This is a photograph taken last night of Claire Holloway, my client’s best friend, standing in the Cross residence wearing Mr. Cross’s shirt after being found hiding upstairs.”
The room changed.
Damon’s attorney went still.
Judge Carver looked at the photograph.
Damon’s face did not move.
Dr. Pike, on the screen, looked down.
Naomi continued. “This is a recording of Mr. Cross telling Ms. Holloway that this hearing would result in Hannah ‘resting somewhere safe’ by noon.”
Damon’s attorney shot up. “We have not authenticated—”
“We will,” Naomi said. “With pleasure.”
The judge leaned back.
“Mr. Cross, is Ms. Holloway your wife’s friend?”
Damon closed his eyes briefly.
“She is a family friend who became involved because of Hannah’s condition.”
“Was she in your home last night?”
“Yes.”
“Wearing your shirt?”
A beat.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Damon looked at me.
There was hatred there now, hidden beneath sorrow.
“She had spilled wine on her blouse.”
Evelyn laughed out loud.
Naomi did not.
“Your Honor,” Naomi said, “before this farce continues, we request dismissal of the emergency petition, sanctions for lack of notice, and immediate preservation orders for all Cross residence surveillance footage, medical communications, and corporate records involving my client.”
Damon’s attorney recovered.
“Your Honor, Mrs. Cross’s counsel is attempting to turn a mental health intervention into a corporate fishing expedition.”
“Because it is corporate,” Naomi snapped. “Mr. Cross is facing imminent default if he cannot obtain control over trust assets administered for my client’s benefit.”
That was when Damon made his first mistake.
He looked at Judge Carver too quickly.
Just once.
But the judge saw it.
Naomi saw the judge see it.
The judge removed his glasses.
“Dr. Pike,” he said, “have you personally diagnosed Mrs. Cross with any psychiatric disorder?”
Pike’s face tightened on the screen.
“I have concerns based on presentation and collateral information.”
“That was not my question.”
“No formal diagnosis.”
“Have you treated her psychiatrically?”
“No.”
“Are you her obstetrician?”
“No, maternal-fetal consult.”
“Did you disclose to Mrs. Cross that her husband requested written behavioral observations?”
Pike hesitated.
Naomi’s pen stopped moving.
The judge’s voice cooled.
“Doctor?”
“No.”
The room went silent.
Judge Carver turned to Damon.
“Mr. Cross, I am denying emergency guardianship. I am also ordering preservation of all evidence referenced by counsel. Mrs. Cross is not to be transported, confined, evaluated, or medicated without her express consent or a court order following proper notice.”
For the first time, Damon looked truly shocked.
Not defeated.
Shocked that a door he had paid to unlock had closed in his face.
Naomi stood. “Thank you, Your Honor.”
The judge pointed at both attorneys. “I want proposed preservation language within one hour.”
The hearing ended.
But as we stepped into the hallway, Damon caught up with me.
Naomi moved to block him.
He ignored her.
“Hannah,” he said.
I turned.
For a heartbeat, he looked like the man I married.
Tired. Hurt. Human.
Then he said, “You’re making enemies you don’t understand.”
I looked at his perfect face and wondered how many women before me had mistaken warning signs for concern.
“You used our daughter as a password,” I said.
His expression changed.
“You shouldn’t have opened that safe.”
“What are you hiding?”
He leaned closer.
“Ask your father.”
“My father is dead.”
May you like
Damon smiled.
“I know.”
