with not two but three lawyers, and two bodyguards. My skin got all clammy again, and I turned away, unwilling to engage in a stare-off with my father.
“Never let them see your fear,” Lexi breathed in my ear.
The judge came in then and I forgot everything else as the hearing began.
“Ms. Fuchs, where are you?” The judge looked around as if she didn’t recognize me, and I stood.
“I’m here, Your Honor.”
“Oh. Very good.” She nodded at Madeline. “Ms. Aronson. I trust you’ll be civil today.”
“Of course, Your Honor.” Madeline smiled like a cat eyeing a canary. And right now, it seemed like my father was the damn canary.
“Mr. Fuchs.” Judge McDonald turned to my father. “I see you’ve brought half the lawyers in L.A.”
“There’s nothing I won’t do to protect my daughter,” he replied in a firm but quiet voice.
There was so much sincerity when he spoke, I wanted to puke. No wonder I was considered a decent actress; I’d gotten my skills from him.
“Well, let’s get this started.” She looked through some papers in front of her. “So. Ms. Aronson, you sent me a veritable boatload of evidence of wrongdoing. Where would you like to start with this?”
“Whatever pleases the court, Your Honor.”
Judge McDonald arched her brows. “Since there are several layers of allegations, on both sides, I’d like to hear from the professionals, the doctors. I see Dr. Mannon on the list.” She glanced up and nodded at her. “And on the other side, we have Drs. Cruz, Duncan, and Mulhaney. I want to hear from Dr. Mannon.”
Dr. Mannon had just stood up when the door opened and there was murmuring throughout the courtroom. I turned to see who it was, and I was astounded to see Tyler in a sharp, three-piece suit, followed by Marcus, an older couple I’d never seen before, and… Oh, sweet Jesus, he was here. King Erik had just walked into the courtroom.
“Excuse me.” Judge McDonald frowned at them. “Can I help you?”
“I apologize, Your Honor.” Erik spoke up before anyone else. “It’s my fault. I’m Erik Hasani, from—”
“Oh, I know who you are, Your Majesty. Are you here for Ms. Fuchs?”
“I am.” He smiled. “And we are truly sorry we’re late. Traffic from the airport was atrocious, and we only landed two hours ago.”
Judge McDonald smiled and nodded. “Apology accepted. Please have a seat.”
I was in tears, so happy to see Erik, and he reached over to squeeze my shoulder as he slid into the row behind me with Tyler and Marcus on either side of him and the older couple sitting on the end.
I didn’t dare make eye contact with Tyler because I was too afraid I might burst into tears, but I did glance at the older couple curiously. The man gave me a soft smile, and his twinkling blue eyes were just like…Tyler’s? It took a minute for the information to process, but then I realized it had to be his father.
What on earth was going on here? Why had Tyler come and brought his father? And maybe his mother? She was smiling at me, too, and I quickly turned back to the judge because Dr. Mannon was going up to the witness box.
She spoke articulately, telling a story about a young woman who was intelligent, thoughtful, and slightly traumatized by her manipulative and overbearing father. She also said she’d seen zero signs of any mental illness beyond a normal situational reaction to the amount of stress I was currently under. It was odd listening to her talking about me in such a clinical way, but she knew her shit, and by the time she finished, I felt a little relieved. At least until Dad’s attorney got up to ask her questions.
“Dr. Mannon, approximately how much time have you spent with Miss Fuchs?”
“I’ve known Ms. Fuchs about two weeks.”
“Two weeks. Do you believe that’s an adequate amount of time to fully diagnose someone with the complicated mental health issues Miss Fuchs has?”
“It depends,” she replied. “If I had found a complicated issue with Ms. Fuchs, then no, it wouldn’t be. But since I found no sign of mental illness, I think our four two-hour sessions were more than enough.”
“And how much were you paid for your services?”
“My standard rate.” She gave him a dour look.
“You weren’t paid extra for the last-minute appointments and taking time off to be here today?”
“As I’ve already stated, I was paid my standard hourly rate.”
They went back and forth for another few minutes before