If Valeria and Nick were desperate about having to subject Alice to the stress of a trial, Samuel Baxter was too, but for a very different reason. “You do realize that if the girl testifies, you're not going to win the case, don’t you?” Miller asked as soon as they left the courthouse. “You're supposed to be my lawyer, can't you fix it?” Baxter growled at him. “Yes, I could do a couple of things, but if I have to get my hands dirty, I'll do it for myself, not for two idiots like you and Miranda,” the lawyer replied. “Be very careful how you talk to me,” Samuel raged. “I'm paying you!” “Nooooo. Miranda is paying me, but you and I both know she doesn't give a damn about you. She just wants to hurt Nick Bennet's wife, and you're a pawn in her game,” Miller retorted. “So here's your problem. If the girl talks, you're finished.” “Why? She probably won't say anything—” Baxter muttered. “You’d better pray that’s true, because don't kid yourself, no matter what I say in court, you're a

“Well, I'd rather go with my dad.” That answer came as a surprise even to Judge Adams. So much so that she had to ask again for confirmation. “Alice, when you say you want to go with your dad, do you mean Nick or Samuel?” she asked. “Samuel, Samuel Baxter, my biological father. I want to go with him.” Valeria and Nick looked at each other with incredulity, and Connor sighed with concern. The judge looked at them all and returned to the questioning. “Alice, do you love your dad, Samuel, very much?” The girl looked up at him and shivered. “No,” she answered honestly. “I don't like him one bit. He's always been mean to me, and he calls me mean things, like ‘stupid’.” The silence in the room was absolute as Baxter turned red with rage. “Then why do you say you want to go with him, honey?” Judge Adams asked, wrinkling her forehead. “Because he told me that if I didn't say that, he was going to hurt my sister—” “That's a lie!” Samuel shouted, standing up, but several bangs from th

If bombs had human expression, they should look just like Samuel Baxter looked at that moment: red, bloated, and out of control. “Mr. Miller! I asked you a question.” The judge was growing impatient. “Does your client have the financial means to afford to raise a child with special needs like Alice?” Miller snorted helplessly. “Your Honor, my client and I would like to request a continuance for—” “For what?” Connor interrupted him. “For making up records that we know are inexistent? Please! You just filed a child support suit, Miller! Even the statuette of justice knows your client has no income to support the child! For God's sake, just hand over the records to the judge and let's get this over with!” Miller gave him a look of hatred, but as soon as he turned to the Judge he could tell by her impatient face that she was not going to give him any more leeway. He picked up the records that were inside his briefcase and brought them to the judge, who flipped through them, incredulou

  Valeria felt that the ground was shaking under her feet. That soon the world would begin to turn and she would forget everything. Nick's mouth was intoxicating. His hands were strong and addictive, and she just wanted to be there, be there forever and— Her body suddenly tensed, and Nick stopped kissing her. She breathed heavily, controlling the excitement she had, and closed her eyes for a second. Then he leaned down, picked up Valeria's blouse from the floor and put it back on. “Nick—” “Don't say anything,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I'm not stupid, troublemaker. You don't trust me, or rather, you trust me for other things, but not when it comes to this.” “I'm sorry,” Valeria said, stepping down from the desk without looking at him. She wasn't ready, she couldn't forgive him yet. “You're right, I trust you for a lot of things, but... I still—I can't. I'm sorry.” “Don't be sorry,” Nick replied, getting dressed. “That fear you have is entirely my fault. But I

Nick stopped breathing at that very second. He blinked and was about to shout that this was a preposterous lie, when Connor pushed him toward the station exit. “That’s imposible, Connor! She was with me all night! I swear on Alice!” “I know! But getting hysterical isn't going to solve anything,” Connor reprimanded him, “let alone getting yourself locked up for causing a disturbance.” “Someone had to have paid him!” Nick exclaimed. “Obviously, but we're not going to yell Valeria out of here. Our best move is to place your faces on the city's security cameras, so get out there and trace the damn circuit as soon as possible.” Richard went out after them and pulled Nick's arm, climbed into the driver's seat himself, and made him give him the address. It was obvious that Nick was affected by what had happened, but Richard couldn't imagine it would get this bad. For his part, Connor returned inside the precinct and requested a brief meeting with the station chief. “You're asking a lot