“Nassau?” Vanessa asked, her voice high and strained. “Did you say Nassau?”

The courtroom turned to look at her.

“Yes, ma’am,” the officer said. “The flight plan is filed for Nassau.”

Vanessa looked at Evelyn, her eyes wide with sudden realization.

“Evelyn, we are supposed to go to Aspen next week,” Vanessa said, her voice trembling. “Grant told me he booked the cabin.”

Evelyn reached out to grab Vanessa’s arm, but Vanessa stepped back, out of her reach.

“He told me the custody hearing was just a formality,” Vanessa said, more to herself than anyone else. “He said we were going to build a family together.”

“Vanessa, sit down,” Evelyn hissed, her voice low and venomous. “Do not do this here.”

“Did he plan on leaving me behind?” Vanessa asked, her face turning pale under the courtroom lights.

Evelyn did not answer; she simply stared at the floor, her hands clutching her leather purse.

I saw the shift in Vanessa’s eyes—the sudden, painful dawning of the truth.

She had been the respectable cover, the politically connected fiancée used to make Grant look like a stable, family man for the court.