Chapter 27
Leo
Leo stood by the oak doors of the courthouse, having stayed behind to make a quick phone call. He drew in a deep breath, slipped his phone into his pocket, and walked toward the security checkpoint where Olivia and her attorney, Mr. Davis, were waiting.
Olivia looked stunning, dressed in a sharp, tailored navy suit, but Leo could see the rigid tension radiating through her body.
Her hands were clenched tightly around the strap of her leather bag.
Today was the culmination of months of agonizing preparation.
Today could finally determine whether she secured the divorce, protected her bakery, and obtained legal, undeniable acknowledgment of the financial fraud James had committed.
"You okay?" Leo asked softly as he reached her side.
Olivia offered a tight, brave smile. "Just want it to be over."
Mr. Davis checked his watch. "We have twenty minutes before we are called in. Let's grab something to settle your nerves, Olivia."
They walked to the small, bustling coffee stand tucked into the corner of the courthouse lobby.
As they approached the counter, Leo saw him.
James stood near the cream and sugar station with his own high-priced attorney. He was wearing a flawless, custom-tailored gray suit, looking every bit the confident, aggrieved executive.
When James spotted Olivia, an ugly, smug smile touched his lips. He took a step forward, looking as though he wanted to say something cutting, but his attorney shot out a hand, gripping James’s arm and quietly warning him to stay silent.
James’s eyes flicked to Leo. The smugness vanished, replaced by a cold, venomous glare.
Leo ignored him. He stepped up to the counter and ordered Olivia’s black coffee and a bottle of water for himself.
As the barista handed over the cups, Leo caught the eye of the young man wiping down the espresso machine.
Leo gave a single, almost imperceptible nod.
The young man, wearing a nametag that did not belong to him, returned the subtle gesture, wiping the counter nearest to where James was preparing his own drink.
Leo turned away, fighting to suppress a smile.
It was done.
He handed Olivia her coffee, and they walked toward the heavy wooden doors of the hearing room.
When they reached the corridor, Mr. Davis stepped ahead to speak with the clerk.
Leo stopped Olivia gently, his hand resting briefly against her lower back. By strict instruction of her legal team, Leo was not permitted to sit directly beside her during the proceeding.
"Look at me," Leo murmured, leaning close so only she could hear.
Olivia looked up, her brown eyes wide and anxious.
"Look at your lawyer. Listen carefully to the questions. Breathe," Leo told her, his voice a calm, reassuring force. "I will be right outside those doors if you need me. You know the truth. Let him choke on his own lies. You’ve got this, Lily of the Valley."
Olivia let out a shaky breath. She gave him a small, deeply affectionate nod, restraining herself from reaching out to touch him. "Thank you."
She turned and walked through the doors with her attorney.
Leo stepped back, leaning against the marble wall of the corridor to wait. A few minutes later, James approached the doors, his attorney trailing a few paces behind, reviewing a file.
"James," Leo said quietly, stepping into his path.
James stopped, his chest puffing out. He offered a condescending sneer, clearly expecting Leo to lose control, throw a punch, or offer some pathetic, desperate threat.
Instead, Leo leaned in close, his voice dropping into a calm, chillingly conversational tone.
"That coffee you just drank," Leo said, his eyes locking onto James’s. "It was spiked with an extract of Mortenia thorn. Very rare. Very potent."
James blinked, his sneer faltering. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"In about twenty minutes, your throat is going to feel tight.
Your stomach will start to burn, and your heart is going to pound against your ribs.
If you sit on that stand and lie, the adrenaline and stress will cause your blood pressure to spike, and the toxin will paralyze your respiratory system.
" Leo explained smoothly, his voice barely a whisper.
Leo took a slow half-step back, his expression perfectly blank. "Tell the truth, stay calm, and you'll walk out of here alive. Lie, panic, and your heart stops before the judge bangs the gavel."
James let out a harsh, incredulous laugh, though his eyes darted nervously to Leo’s hands. "That is the most pathetic, ridiculous attempt at intimidation I have ever heard. You are truly desperate, Maddox."
"If you tell your lawyer, or the judge, I’ll deny it," Leo said calmly. "And you will look even more unstable and unhinged than you already do. By the way... they won't find it in the autopsy. It metabolizes too fast."
James stared at him for three agonizing seconds, his jaw tight. "You're full of shit."
He shoved past Leo and marched into the hearing room, looking incredibly smug, absolutely convinced Leo was bluffing.
Leo watched the heavy wooden doors swing shut behind him, a dark, cold satisfaction settling into his chest. He knew exactly how James's mind worked. The seed was planted.
***
James
James sat beside his attorney at the polished wooden table, adjusting his silk tie.
He stared straight ahead at the judge’s bench, telling himself Leo’s warning was absolute garbage. It was a stupid, theatrical bluff. It was a desperate, pathetic trick from a man who knew Olivia’s case was nowhere near as strong as she believed it was.
James was fully prepared. He and his lawyer had solidified their strategy: James was the tragically wronged husband.
He had desperately wanted reconciliation.
He had been cruelly abandoned. Olivia had run straight into the arms of her manipulative best friend.
Olivia was emotionally unstable. Olivia and Leo had been working together to systematically ruin him.
James firmly believed the judge would see through Olivia’s vindictive act eventually. He believed she would be humiliated today. He believed everyone in the room would finally realize she couldn't prove the most important parts of her wild accusations.
The judge called the room to order.
Mr. Davis, Olivia’s attorney, stood up and began presenting evidence.
At first, James stayed perfectly controlled.
Mr. Davis introduced packets of printed text messages and deleted photographs exchanged between James and Amanda.
"Fabricated," James told his attorney quietly. "Or taken out of context."
Mr. Davis introduced records of his frequent contact with Amanda outside of office hours.
"We were coworkers working on a high-stakes merger. Nothing more," James whispered smoothly.
Mr. Davis brought up notable travel inconsistencies.
"Business-related route changes," James scoffed softly.
Then, Mr. Davis shifted to the financial records. He presented the extensive transfers of marital funds.
James’s attorney stood up, arguing eloquently that Olivia had signed the transfer documents of her own free will, and whatever she regretted now in the bitter aftermath of the separation did not constitute fraud.
James’s lawyer masterfully framed everything as standard marital conflict being grossly exaggerated after Olivia had become emotionally entangled with Leo Maddox.
James felt a surge of triumphant pride. They were winning.
Then, Mr. Davis brought out the heavy artillery.
He introduced a sworn video deposition from a former night manager at a luxury boutique hotel in Asheville.
The manager clearly identified James and Amanda from a series of dates, explicitly noting that Amanda had worn an ill-fitting blonde wig, and James had dressed down in a baseball cap.
The manager vividly remembered them because James had paid a premium in cash to ensure their names were left off the primary registry and had demanded access to the private service elevator.
James felt the first, terrifying crack in his armor.
Before his attorney could fully object to the deposition, Mr. Davis introduced the next piece of evidence.
It was a video file, sent securely to Olivia’s legal team just forty-eight hours ago.
The screens in the hearing room flickered to life. Amanda’s face appeared. She looked pale, her head wrapped tightly in a silk scarf.
In the video, Amanda explicitly claimed that James had coerced her into the affair.
She stated that because he was her superior at the firm, he had controlled the situation, pressured her constantly, and used his executive position to demand her compliance.
She chillingly claimed that some of the cruel text messages regarding Olivia were part of a degrading "roleplay" James had demanded of her, and were not sincere statements.
James felt a rush of pure, blinding rage.
He wasn't furious because Amanda was an innocent victim—she was a vicious, willing participant from day one. He was enraged because Amanda was betraying him before he had the chance to officially betray her. She was throwing him under the bus to save her own lucrative career. She had turned on him.
As the video played, James suddenly felt a strange sensation in his throat.
It felt incredibly tight.
He swallowed hard, shifting in his heavy leather chair. A sudden, searing heat bloomed in his stomach, spreading rapidly upward. His heart gave a hard, violent thump against his ribs, accelerating into a rapid, frantic rhythm.
His palms began to sweat, making his hands slip against the polished mahogany table.
His breathing became shallow. He couldn't seem to pull enough air into his lungs.
In about twenty minutes, your throat will tighten, your stomach will burn, and your heart will start pounding...
Panic, sharp and absolute, pierced James’s mind. Was it a physical reaction to the poison? Was it a panic attack?