Chapter 8 - THE HEARING ABOUT FEAR
The no-contact hearing was packed.
Not with reporters.
With lawyers.
Ryan testified first.
He wore a dark suit.
No visible anger.
“My marriage has been difficult for months.”
True.
“Ava has been under extraordinary pressure since inheriting Bennett Urban.”
True.
“She becomes intensely emotional when she believes she is losing control of her mother’s company.”
Sometimes true.
Then he described the poker.
He did not mention the countdown until Ava’s attorney asked.
“Did you count backward from five?”
Ryan paused.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To calm her.”
Ava almost laughed.
Ryan continued.
“It was something we used during arguments. A grounding technique.”
Grounding.
He had renamed terror.
“What happened at one?”
“Usually we stopped speaking and took space.”
Naomi showed the broken bedroom door.
Ryan said Ava had barricaded herself while threatening self-harm.
False.
But hard to disprove.
Then Naomi produced camera logs.
“You disabled hallway recording.”
“For privacy.”
“You activated kitchen recording.”
“Because Ava had become violent.”
“Before she picked up the poker?”
“I was concerned.”
Then Naomi showed the prewritten police statement.
Ryan’s face changed.
Only slightly.
“I draft notes when situations escalate.”
“Before they happen?”
“Ava threatened me earlier.”
“Where is that in the recording?”
“There was no continuous recording.”
Because he disabled it.
The judge noticed.
So did everyone else.
Then Naomi showed the phrase:
She pursued me into the kitchen.
Ava had actually run from him.
Ryan answered:
“That was my expectation based on previous fights. I edited the statement later.”
A reasonable explanation.
Not a good one.
Then Naomi asked:
“Why did your draft mention removing Ava from company decisions?”
Ryan looked toward Ava.
“Because our private crisis had already entered the business.”
“Forty-seven minutes before the poker?”
Silence.
For the first time, Ryan had no elegant answer.
The judge extended the no-contact order against both parties and prohibited Ryan from entering Ava’s temporary residence.
Not guilt.
Protection.
Then the judge said:
“I am particularly concerned that Mr. Carter’s written narrative substantially predates the event it describes.”
Ryan’s face tightened.
Outside court, Northstar suspended negotiations.
May you like
Ryan had lost time.
And time was exactly what his eight-million-dollar bonus required.
