Chapter 38

• Judge Hawkins sat behind a heavy desk, flanked by her clerk. On one side of a long conference table sat Renee and Lacy, and across from them, Taylor Thorne and his lawyer, Maxwell, a man who looked perpetually bored by the triviality of others' suffering. The air was cold, scented with the faint, sterile smell of fresh lilies.
• Renee felt a hollow ache in her stomach. She hadn't slept well since boxing up the Birkin bag and the Patek Philippe watch, which now sat safely locked somewhere in her house.
• Lacy began the address, her voice clipped and professional. “Your Honor, we are here today because the defendant, Mr. Thorne, has actively engaged in an effort to intimidate, bribe, and silence my client, Ms. Renee. We have provided evidence of direct interference with her business and, most recently, an aggressive and unsolicited delivery of gifts, documented as highly valuable items—gifts which Ms. Renee immediately rejected and has not been able to return because he sends them anonymously.”