advantage of it.
“Ms. D’Angelo?” the judge prodded.
Gina cleared her throat before replying. “Yes. Austin was abusive. Frequently.”
“But not so frequently that you quit shacking up with him, right?” Ryan quizzed.
“Objection, Your Honor!” Maude Kennedy was on her feet.
“Sustained,” the judge intoned. “Mr. Paxton, watch yourself.”
Ryan strode to a table, flipped open a folder and took out a sheet of paper. “This is a list of every hospital and emergency room within a fifty-mile radius of the dwelling you shared with my client, Ms. D’Angelo. Nowhere is there a record of you ever being treated…for anything. How do you explain that?”
“I never went to a hospital,” Gina said, her tone faltering again.
“But you were badly injured?” Paxton was clearly skeptical. “More than once?”
“Yes.”
“Describe these injuries that you claimed in your testimony were crippling.”
“Well, there were bruises on my arms and legs and b-backside, you know, when he’d shove me and I’d fall against the furniture. Sometimes I’d be limping for days. Or…or he’d twist my hair in his fist, pulling it out by the roots. He’s struck me in my face, too. One time—”
“And your co-workers never noticed these bruises? Never inquired about a black eye? Never commented when you appeared on crutches at the firm?”
“I never needed crutches.”
“Oh…” Ryan nodded slowly, unconvinced. “And the bruises?”
“Well…” Gina licked her lips and glanced at Judge Hetherington. “He was always careful, Your Honor. Usually we’d be away from Houston, like at a weekend getaway or on vacation somewhere. So by the time we returned, the bruises had faded or I could cover them with makeup.”
“Direct your answers to Mr. Paxton, Ms. D’Angelo,” the judge instructed.
Nodding, Gina obediently turned to face Ryan.
“You took vacations together during the eight years of your relationship,” he said, looking at a sheet he’d pulled from the folder.
“Yes.”
“Often, according to my client. And this list.” Ryan waved the paper in the direction of the judge. “From it, I see you were in Saint Croix, then Hawaii—two times—Europe, Canada, Boston, San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York…hmmm, four, five, six. Six times you visited New York with my client. Like New York, do you?”
“Austin liked New York.”
“Were these trips business related?”
“We attended legal conferences, yes.”
“How often?”
Gina shrugged. “Three, four times. I’m not sure.”
“I’m counting over twenty very posh vacation spots. And, by the way, how often was Jesse allowed on these trips?”
“As often as I could persuade him to let her go,” Gina said, darting a quick glance at Austin, who was sprawled behind the defendant table looking bored. She had avoided meeting his eyes during her testimony.
“How many times, Ms. D’Angelo?” Ryan pressed.
Gina was shaking her head. “Three times,” she replied hesitantly.
“But being such a caring mother, you cheerfully waved goodbye to your little girl…let’s see, about seventeen times, it appears. Leaving her with…who?”
“Her godmother.” Gina met Elizabeth’s gaze across the courtroom. “Elizabeth Walker.”
“Your close friend.”
“My best friend,” Gina said.
Ryan turned abruptly to the judge. “I don’t see a pattern of abuse here by my client, Your Honor. On the contrary, my client took Ms. D’Angelo with him when he vacationed, he opened his home to her, she lived well beyond the means she would have been able to provide for herself while keeping company with my client. Furthermore, I believe Austin Leggett is well qualified to have full custody of the child, Jesse. He acknowledges paternity, he loves his daughter, he wants only the best for her.”
“Is this your summation, counselor?” the judge asked.
Ryan gave a short, charmingly sheepish grin. “Not yet, Your Honor. Sorry about that.” He turned again to Gina. “How do you propose to support Jesse, Ms. D’Angelo?”
“I’m a qualified paralegal. I should be able to get a job at one of the major law firms in the city.”
“But do you have a job now?”
“No.”
“Why is that?”
“I was only…I left Leggett, Jones and Brunson only a month ago. They paid me three-month’s severance and—”
“If you’re so good at your job, why were you terminated?”
Gina glanced warily at Austin. “I wasn’t terminated. I resigned.”
“Why, Ms. D’Angelo?”
“Austin…suggested it.” She turned again to the judge. “I know it makes me sound sort of irresponsible, Your Honor, but Austin made it intolerable for me. He—”
“Direct your answers to counsel, Ms. D’Angelo,” the judge repeated with some exasperation. “Don’t make me repeat myself again.”
Gina’s shoulders fell as she turned back, gazing not at Ryan, but at her hands. “He was going to accuse me of irregularities in the handling of some of his clients’ matters. He specializes in estate law. He handles millions of dollars in other peoples’ assets. It would be easy to manipulate funds here and there.”
“What exactly are you accusing my client of?”
“Nothing, no. Only the threat of doing it. If I didn’t leave peacefully.” Gina pressed trembling fingers to her mouth. “In his position, it’s easy to move money around from one client’s portfolio to another without actually—”
“Come on, Ms. D’Angelo. What you’re accusing my client of is a serious charge. In fact, some might call it slander.”
“It isn’t slander if it’s true.” Gina’s tone rose with her agitation. “Do you think I’d walk out of a job where I’d worked for almost nine years if I didn’t have a compelling reason? Knowing Austin wanted to dump me and I’d be without a place to live? Knowing there’d be no way I could support Jesse? I don’t think so, Mr. Paxton,” she added bitterly.
“But you
