I opened my mouth to respond, but she spoke first.

“Goodbye Andrew, Liam,” she said, “whatever the hell your name is.”

“Aubrey...”

The door slammed shut and I knew it was pointless to go after her in that moment.

She was gone.

Swear (v.):

To declare under oath that one will tell the truth.

Andrew

“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?” The judge said to me a few mornings later.

I said nothing, the sudden departure of Aubrey still fresh on my mind.

“Mr. Hamilton, I asked you a question.” The judge chided.

“I apologize,” I said. “I do swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God.”

“We may proceed.”

The defense lawyer stood up and cleared his throat. “Mr. Hamilton, your legal name was formerly Liam Henderson, correct?”

“Correct.”

“Could you please tell the court how you know my client, Kevin Hart?”

“We were once partners at Henderson & Hart.”

“Partners and best friends, correct?”

I looked over at an expressionless Kevin. He was dressed in a grey suit, still incapable of wearing a matching tie.

“Yes,” I said to the lawyer. “Once upon a time.”

“Is it true that you got into an altercation with him at a bar six and a half years ago?”

“Define altercation.”

He picked up a sheet of paper. “Did you walk into a bar and punch him? Leaving him with a broken jaw and a fractured ribcage?”

“He was fucking my wife.”

The jurors gasped and the judge banged his gavel.

“Mr. Hamilton...” The judge spoke sternly. “That type of language is not allowed in my courtroom. Please answer the question.”

“Yes,” I said. “Yes, I did injure Mr. Hart...Severely.”

“Similarly to how you injured your own wife?”

“Objection!” The prosecutor stood up. “Relevance, Your Honor?”

“Sustained.”

“Fine.” The defense lawyer held up his hands in surrender. “Is it true that you blame Mr. Hart for the downfall of your former firm?”

“Clearly the Department of Justice does since he’s the one on trial today.”

“Mr. Hamilton...”

“Yes.” I clenched my jaw. “Yes, I blame him for the demise of our former firm.”

“Is it true that you also blame him for the unfortunate death of your daughter?”

“Your Honor!” The prosecutor shot me a look of sympathy. “Relevance?”

“Overruled...Answer the question, Mr. Hamilton.”

I looked away from Kevin and balled my fists. “Yes.”

“Your daughter died amidst the weeks leading up to the complete collapse of your firm, and within those weeks you managed to severely beat your partner, batter your wife—”

“I didn’t batter my fucking wife. She made that shit up. Have you done any fucking research?”

The judge banged his gavel, but I continued talking.

“I’m not sure what low level community college was dumb enough to issue you a law degree, but the case between me and my wife was thrown out years ago because she lied about numerous things to a grand jury. And seeing as though she was sent to prison and I was cleared of all charges, you can accept that as a fucking fact. So, before you ask me another bullshit question and try to damage my character, remember that your client’s livelihood is at stake during this trial. Not mine.”

The judge let out a deep sigh, but he didn’t say anything further. He just motioned for the defense to continue.

“During your partnership, is it true that your wife was in charge of all the firm’s monetary dealings?”

“Ex-wife. And yes.”

“And you never thought to double check where she was allocating most of the funds?”

“I had a degree in law, not accounting.”

“So, you never thought it was slightly suspicious that your new firm was bringing in seven figures monthly?”

“No.” I sighed, thinking back to those days, those clients. Everyone we dealt with had far more than I would earn in my lifetime and I thought nothing about the monthly profits Ava reported; I trusted her.

“Is it fair to say that the demise of your firm could be due to your wife’s handling of funding?”

I gritted my teeth. “Yes.”

“Interesting.” He picked up a sheet of paper and asked the judge if he could approach me. “Could you read this to the court please?”

“I’d rather not,” I said.

“You’d rather not?” He laughed. “Mr. Hamilton, as a lawyer yourself, surely you know that you will be held in contempt for refusing to read requested evidence.”

“Read it, Mr. Hamilton.” The judge demanded.

“You’re a fucking liar, Ava.” I read my old words. “You’ve fucked so many people behind my back that I’ve lost count. As far as I’m concerned, you deserve to rot behind bars. Maybe then your overworked pussy will get a much needed break.”

A juror covered her mouth in shock, but I continued reading.

“Thank you for telling me that my cock was never up to par, that after all those years of marriage you were never satisfied...Since you and Kevin have not only managed to take away my firm, but have also ruined the one thing that made my life worth living, accept this letter as a goodbye.” I looked up at the defense.

“Could you also read what you wrote after the PS?”

I rolled my eyes. “Since you’ll only be around women for the next fifteen years, I suggest you give pussy a try. The taste is quite impeccable.”

“Objection, your honor.” The prosecutor stood up. “I don’t see how this document is relevant to the case. The defense also failed to produce that letter during discovery. I move to strike.”

“Sustained. Consider it stricken.” The judge looked at his watch and then stood up. “Let’s adjourn for lunch. Testimony will continue this afternoon.”

As the jury and the courtroom attendees filed out, I sat still. I had nowhere to go.

“I didn’t know he was going to bring up your daughter. I’m so sorry...” The prosecutor offered me a small smile. “I’ll redirect once he gets done...Your partner is definitely going down, he’s just trying to discredit your character a bit, to make him look a little more sympathetic to the jury.”

“You are aware that I’m a lawyer as well, right?” I stepped off the stand. “I know exactly what he’s trying to do.”

I stepped out of the court and outside into a heavy snowfall, looking up at the sky. I considered leaving the courthouse and risking contempt, but a part of me wanted to help seal the deal on Kevin’s fate.

It’d been a long time coming—all the lies, the betrayal, the pain, and he deserved whatever he was going to get.

Someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

“You got a minute?” A familiar voice asked. Kevin.

“I don’t.”