Chapter 2 - The Stuffed Rabbit's Secret
Julian stood up so fast his chair scraped violently against the floorboards. "Your Honor, this is a highly inappropriate stunt orchestrated by my wife's legal team! My daughter is highly sensitive and has been struggling with the divorce. She shouldn't be here."
"I didn't bring her, Julian," I said, my hand trembling against my pregnant belly. "I haven't seen Maya in three weeks since you locked me out of the house."
"Quiet, Mr. Cross," Judge Thornton warned, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the terrified little girl. She leaned forward, her tone softening into something incredibly gentle. "Hello, sweetheart. What is your name?"
"Maya," she whispered, taking a step closer to my side of the aisle.
"Maya, why did your daddy tell you to be quiet?" the judge asked.
Maya looked at Julian, who was staring at her with a look of silent, desperate warning. Then, she looked at Vanessa, who had suddenly lost her triumphant smile and was sitting frozen, her hands gripping her designer purse.
"Because of the pretty lady," Maya said, pointing her small, trembling finger directly at Vanessa.
"What about the pretty lady, Maya?" Judge Thornton asked, her pen hovering over her notepad.
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"Daddy and Aunt Vanessa made me play a game," Maya said, her voice shaking. "They told me to hide the flat black key inside Barnaby." She squeezed the stuffed rabbit. "They said it was a magic key that had all of Mommy Clara’s family money on it. They told me if I showed Mommy Clara, the police would take Mommy to jail and the new baby would belong to Aunt Vanessa."
The courtroom went entirely, breathlessly silent.
