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Anton is starting to look a little green, and hedoesglance back to Lorenzo for a brief moment, looking even worse after doing so. I almost feel bad for the guy. When he gives his attention back to the document in front of him, I wonder if he will need a bucket soon.

“LeeAnn Kinsley and…Lorenzo Casiraghi.”

There’s an outburst behind me, Lorenzo starting to shout in Italian as a collective murmur sets off through the room, but I give none of it my attention, already thanking Mr. Andrews for his time and calmly passing the witness even as Judge Harding starts banging her gavel to try to get control of the room.

Bianca’s eyes are bright and wet when they meet mine as I join her back at our table, and she reaches to pat my cheek silently even as chaos ensues around us. It’s one of the most gratifying moments of my life, and my entire being radiates with pride and fulfillment as Bianca mouths a quietThank you.

I shake my head to let her know no thanks is needed; this moment is all I need.

Andinthis moment…all I can think about is the one person I wish were here to see it.

•••

Lorenzo is longgone when we exit the courtroom; once we adjourned, I caught him shouting at a blank-faced Eli in a mix of English and Italian before he stormed out of the room in a rage, and honestly, who can blame him? I imagine losing half yourfortune because you can’t keep your dick in your pants has to be a heavy blow. I almost feel sorry for him, knowing that his woes are far from over. Almost.

Bianca and I promise to meet in the following week to finalize things, and as much as I would like to tell her about the rest of the revelations I stumbled across this week, it feels wrong not to tell Ezra first. I can only hope that she won’t be too angry when she learns I wasn’t immediately forthcoming about them.

But the last thing I expect after winning the biggest case of my career against all odds, I think, is for Eli Hart to find me after, his fingers touching my elbow gently to get my attention. I expect him to have some sort of cutting words for me, to leave me with one last barb to assuage his ego, so what heactuallysays nearly floors me.

“You did a good job in there.”

I rear back, thinking I’ve misheard him. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t get a big head,” he chuckles. “But it was impressive.”

“Did you sustain some sort of brain injury before you got here?”

“I can see why he likes you,” Eli muses, leaving me gaping.

“What?”

“I am a lot of things,” he says with a smile that looks unpracticed. “But stupid is not one of them. My brother isn’t exactly subtle.”

“You have no idea what you’re—”

“It’s fine, Danica,” he placates me, holding up a hand to stop me. “I’m not going to say anything. Actually, I…” He frowns, his expression weary, and I notice for the first time today how tired he looks. So unlike his normal confident aloofness. “I wanted to give you something.”

I rack my brain for anything that Eli Hart could possibly wantto give me, coming up with nothing. Which means I say nothing as he reaches into the breast pocket of his suit, handing me a flash drive.

“I want you to give this to my brother,” he tells me.

“To Ezra?” I take the flash drive gingerly. “Why can’t you?”

“I doubt he wants to hear from me,” he says, a sad smile forming on his mouth. “And honestly, I don’t blame him. I have some work to do before I can see either of them.”

“Either of them?”

Eli cocks his head. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Um…no. We haven’t…spoken in a while.”

“Ah.” He looks at his feet, frowning. “He quit the firm last week. Then he went straight to our parents’ house and took my mother away. My dad is furious, of course, but so far, he hasn’t done anything.” He looks back up at me, nodding toward the flash drive I’m still holding in my hand. “That will ensure that he never can.”

“What’s on it?”

“Everything I was able to copy from my father’s laptop,” he tells me. “Hopefully, it will be enough.”

I feel shock coursing through me. “You’re really going to help them? Why?”