Page 347 of Wicked Brutal

She looks at Roman. “My father.”

Arthur turns to the judge. “No further questions, Your Honor.”

I finally breathe. It lasts about thirty seconds.

Then Roman’s attorney stands, and buttons his jacket, and walks toward the witness stand like the last hour didn’t happen. Like there’s a version of this where he comes out looking like anything but what he is — a man being paid to make an eighteen-year-old relive her mother’s murder and then imply she made it up.

“Ms. O’Toole. You testified that you were afraid of your father.”

“Yes.”

“But you lied to him. Regularly.”

Arthur is already up. “Objection. Argumentative.”

“Sustained.”

The attorney doesn’t miss a beat, just changes the wrapping on the same knife. “You maintained a secret romantic relationship for months.”

“Yes.”

“With Ryan Harrington.”

“Yes.”

He says my name like it’s a smudge on the record. I stare at the side of his head and think about all the ways I would enjoy this if the setting were different.

“You lied to your parents about where you were going, to see him.”

“Sometimes.”

“You communicated with him in secret.”

“Yes.”

“You became sexually involved with him, knowing your father had expressly forbidden that relationship.”

Ally doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t drop her eyes. She’s answered harder questions in the last hour than anything this man can invent. “Yes.”

My whole body has become a live wire.

Dad leans in without looking at me.“Sit.”

“I am sitting.”

“Stay that way.”

The attorney’s eyes flick toward me like he can smell it. I hope he chokes on his own tie.

“You also became pregnant during that secret relationship.”

“Yes.”

“And concealed that pregnancy from your father. For months. Because you knew he would disapprove.”

“No.”

The attorney pauses, thrown off his rhythm. “No?”