13. Maria
— · —
Maria
The morning of the hearing, I can’t eat.
I try. Luca sets a plate in front of me - toast, a sliced apple, a glass of juice - and I manage a few bites before my stomach rebels.
“You need to eat something.” He’s hovering. Worried. “For the baby.”
“I’ll throw up if I eat anything else.”
“Maria-”
“I’m terrified, okay?” The words come out sharper than I intended. “In three hours, I’m going to sit in a courtroom while my ex-husband tries to take my baby. And I’m terrified.”
He’s quiet for a moment.
Then he crosses to me. Takes my face in his hands.
“Listen to me. Whatever happens in there, whatever they throw at us, we’re going to be okay.” His eyes are fierce. Certain. “Renata is the best family lawyer in this city. We have evidence of Tommy’s crimes. And you-” His thumb traces my cheekbone. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met.”
“I don’t feel strong.”
“Strong people rarely do.” He kisses my forehead. “They just keep going anyway.”
I close my eyes. Let myself lean into him.
“What if I lose?”
“You won’t.”
“But what if I do?”
“Then we appeal. We fight. We never stop.” His arms tighten around me. “I didn’t find you just to lose you, Maria. Not to Tommy. Not to Victor. Not to anyone.”
***
The courthouse is smaller than I expected.
Less dramatic. Just a squat brick building with fluorescent lights and hard plastic chairs, like any other government office where people’s lives get decided by strangers in robes.
Tommy is already here.
He’s sitting on the other side of the room with Victor’s lawyers - three of them, expensive suits, cold eyes. He doesn’t look at me when I walk in, but I can feel his awareness. The weight of his hatred.
Giuliana is notably absent.
She chose her side. For once, she chose right.
Renata is waiting at our table, papers spread before her, reviewing notes. Luca slides into the gallery behind me - close enough to touch, close enough to whisper strategy if needed.
“Ready?” Renata asks.
“No.”
“Good. Neither am I.” She almost smiles. “That means we’ll fight harder.”
The judge enters.
An older woman. Sharp-eyed. No-nonsense. The kind of face that’s seen too much of human nature to be impressed by money or power.
“We’re here on an emergency motion regarding custody of the unborn child.” She looks over her glasses. “Let’s keep this civil, shall we?”
***
Tommy’s lawyer goes first.
He’s polished. Smooth. The kind of man who makes lying look effortless.
“Your Honor, we have evidence that the respondent is unfit for motherhood.” He spreads photographs across his table. “She has been engaged in an inappropriate relationship with her legal counsel’s associate, her husband’s own brother, during the marriage.”
He holds up the photo from the garden. Me and Luca kissing.
“She has displayed erratic, violent behavior.” He holds up a still from the wine incident. Me, arm extended, wine splashing across Giuliana’s face. “And we have a witness who will testify that she expressed serious doubts about wanting this child.”
The judge turns to me.
“Is this true? Have you expressed doubts about wanting this child?”
I force myself to stay calm. Remember Luca’s words. Don’t react. Don’t give them anything.
“Everyone has doubts when they find out they’re pregnant unexpectedly. That doesn’t mean-”
“We’ll let the witness speak to that.” Tommy’s lawyer smiles. Smug. Satisfied. “We call Amanda Cole to the stand.”
***
She walks in like she’s walking to her own execution.
Thin. Pale. Pregnant, the bump visible beneath her dress. Five months along, maybe. Same as Giuliana.
Same as Tommy made her.
She takes the stand. Swears to tell the truth. Won’t meet my eyes.
“Ms. Cole.” Tommy’s lawyer approaches her like she’s a skittish animal. “You were friends with Maria Benedetti?”
“Yes.” Her voice is barely audible. “Best friends. In college. We stayed in touch after I moved.”
“And during one of those conversations, did Maria express her feelings about having children?”
Amanda swallows. “She... she told me once that she wasn’t sure she wanted kids. That the timing was never right. That she was afraid she’d be a bad mother.”
“So she expressed ambivalence about motherhood?”
“...Yes.”
“And more recently? After the separation?”
“She called me. About two weeks ago.” Amanda’s voice cracks. “She was upset. She said she didn’t know if she could do it. Raise a baby alone. She said-” She stops. Takes a breath. “She said she wasn’t sure she was ready.”
The courtroom is silent.
I want to scream. I was venting. I was scared. That doesn’t mean I don’t want my baby.
But I stay quiet.
Wait.
Watch Renata stand.
***
Luca
Renata is good.
Better than good - she’s lethal.
“Ms. Cole.” She approaches the witness stand with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you for your testimony. I just have a few questions.”
Amanda nods. Nervous.
“When did this conversation about motherhood take place? The one where Maria expressed uncertainty?”
“About... five years ago. In college.”
“So before she spent three years trying to conceive. Before the miscarriage. Before she actively chose to start a family.”
“I... yes.”
“And the recent conversation. About raising a baby alone. When did that happen?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“Two weeks ago. After her husband filed for divorce. After he announced his affair. After he humiliated her publicly.” Renata pauses. “Would you say those circumstances might affect anyone’s confidence?”
“I - I suppose-”
“Did you also reassure her? Tell her she’d be a wonderful mother? That everything would be okay?”
Amanda’s eyes fill with tears. “Yes.”
“So you testified about her doubts, but not about your reassurance.” Renata turns away. “Interesting.”
She pauses. Catches my eye.
I nod.
Now.
“One more question, Ms. Cole.” Renata’s voice sharpens. “How far along are you in your pregnancy?”
Amanda goes white. “I - that’s not-”
“Answer the question, please.”
“...About five months.”
“Five months. And who is the father?”
“OBJECTION!” Tommy’s lawyer is on his feet.
“Overruled.” The judge leans forward. “The witness will answer.”
Amanda looks at me. At Maria. At Tommy.
And crumbles.
“Tommy.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “Tommy Moretti.”
The courtroom explodes.
***
Maria
I can’t hear anything over the roar in my ears.
Amanda is crying on the stand. Tommy’s lawyer is screaming objections. The judge is banging her gavel.
And Tommy-
Tommy is staring at Amanda like he’s never seen her before. Like she’s a stranger. Like the mother of his third child is someone he barely knows.
How many more? How many more women are out there, carrying his lies?
“ORDER!” The judge’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Order in this courtroom!”
The room settles. Barely.
Renata doesn’t let up.
“Ms. Cole - you’re pregnant with Tommy Moretti’s child. The same Tommy Moretti who’s the petitioner in this case. The same Tommy Moretti who got his wife’s sister pregnant as well.” She steps closer. “Did Victor Moretti offer you anything in exchange for your testimony today?”
Amanda is sobbing now. Mascara streaming down her face.
“He said - he said he’d help with my custody case. My ex-husband has been fighting me for years. He said if I testified, his lawyers would make it go away.”
“And did he threaten you?”
“He said if I didn’t cooperate - if I told anyone about Tommy-” She looks at me for the first time. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Do you have evidence of Tommy Moretti’s financial crimes?”
Amanda’s head snaps up.
Tommy’s lawyer starts screaming again. Victor is on his feet. The courtroom is chaos.
But Amanda is looking at me.
And she nods.
***
The judge calls a recess.
One hour.
I spend it in a conference room with Renata and Luca, going over the evidence Amanda provided - combined with Giuliana’s USB drive, it’s enough to bring down the entire Moretti empire.
“This is it,” Renata says. “Wire fraud. Embezzlement. Money laundering. We’ve got him.”
She taps the laptop, almost reverent. “And understand what you’re looking at.
A week ago, what your sister and Amanda had was useless to me, raw transfers, no context, nothing a court would touch.
It’s Luca’s work that turns it into a case.
He’s the only person alive who can stand in front of a judge and trace every euro from your joint account through a shell company to Victor’s vault and back.
Five years he spent building that map.” She glances at him.
“Without it, they handed you a pile of numbers. With it, they handed you a conviction.”
“What about the custody case?”
“The judge has seen enough. Amanda’s testimony was clearly coerced. The witness tampering alone-” Renata shakes her head. “Victor made a mistake, bringing her here. A big one.”
“So I’m going to win?”
“You’re going to win.” Renata looks at me. “Maria - you’ve already won.”
***
The judge returns.
“I’ve reviewed the testimony and the circumstances.” Her voice is flat. Cold. “The witness’s statement has been compromised by clear tampering and coercion by the petitioner’s family. The testimony is stricken.”
Tommy’s face goes white.
“Furthermore, the allegations of the respondent’s ‘unfitness’ are without merit.
The evidence shows that Mr. Moretti engaged in an eight-month affair during the marriage, fathering children with multiple women, and orchestrated this custody petition not out of concern for the child but as leverage to prevent exposure of his financial crimes. ”
She looks at me.
“Full custody is awarded to Maria Benedetti. Additionally, I’m referring the financial evidence to the appropriate authorities for criminal investigation.”
She bangs her gavel.
“This hearing is adjourned.”
***
I can’t move.
I can’t breathe.
I won.
I actually won.
Luca is there before I can stand, pulling me into his arms right there in the courtroom. Renata is shaking hands with someone from the prosecutor’s office. Tommy is being escorted out by his lawyers, Victor trailing behind like a ghost.
“You did it.” Luca’s voice is rough in my ear.
“We did it.”
He pulls back. Looks at me with something I’ve never seen before.
Then he kisses me.
In front of the judge. The lawyers. Everyone.
I kiss him back.
Let them all see.
***
We’re walking out of the courthouse when Tommy intercepts us.
He’s waiting in the parking garage. Alone. His face is twisted - ugly with rage in a way I’ve never seen before.
“This isn’t over.” His voice echoes off the concrete. “That’s my baby. MINE. You think a piece of paper changes that?”
Luca steps in front of me. Shields me with his body.
“Touch her,” he says, voice like ice, “and you’ll spend the next ten years in prison instead of just the next five.”
“Is that a threat?”
“That’s a promise.” Luca steps closer. “The financial evidence just went to the prosecutors, Tommy. Combined with Amanda’s records, they have everything they need. Fraud. Embezzlement. Wire transfer violations.”
Tommy’s face goes pale.
“You’re done.” Luca’s voice is quiet. Final. “And if you come near Maria or her child again - I’ll make sure they add harassment to the charges.”
Tommy backs away.
But his eyes - his eyes are wild. Dangerous.
“This isn’t over,” he says again. “It’s not over until I say it’s over.”
He storms off.
I take Luca’s hand.
“Is it really over?”
“Almost.” He squeezes my fingers. “One more piece to fall.”