The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 282

For the past few days, I hadn’t been getting near enough sleep.

Not after Hart Sullivan’s hands had closed around my throat.

Not after Claire had called me, informing me of the call she’d received from Hart. Apparently he’d called Claire that night, and offered to testify against Eva.

The evidence he’d handed me was another variable that kept me up at night.

Still, when I arrived at the police station the following morning, I forced myself to push all of that aside.

A courtroom wasn’t the place for emotions. Neither was an interrogation room.

I had spent too many years in this profession to let personal feelings interfere with judgment.

Unfortunately, Eva and Hart Sullivan made that difficult.

Claire and I were seated across from each other in the interrogation room.

She looked completely exhausted.

I didn’t blame her.

I didn’t have to take a second look at her to know she’d barely slept.

She kept staring at the table, her fingers tapping against her knee.

I had known her long enough to understand that she was skeptical.

Finally, she looked at me. “I still don’t trust this.”

I knew exactly what she meant. “Hart?”

She nodded. “I keep thinking this might be a setup.”

I leaned back in my chair. “And why do you think so?”

She gave me a look. “Because he attacked you less than a week ago.”

My fingers instinctively brushed the side of my neck.

The bruises were almost gone now, though somehow, I could still feel them every time I swallowed.

“And then,” Claire continued, “he calls me and says he’s willing to cooperate.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense.” She said, almost as though she was trying to convince herself.

“No,” I admitted. “It doesn’t.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s not exactly reassuring.”

I smiled faintly. “But people aren’t always logical— not with things like these.”

“Hart is.”

“No.” I folded my hands on the table. “Hart is predictable in one particular way: he’s loyal.”

“Exactly.” Claire leaned forward. “That’s why I don’t understand this.”

I studied her. “I think something happened.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.”

It’d been on my mind since I got the call from Claire. Something must have transpired between Hart and Eva to make him make up his mind about testifying against her.

I glanced toward the observation window. “Something changed between the time I left yesterday and the moment he called you.”

Claire remained silent.

“People like Hart don’t abandon someone they’ve spent ten years worshipping because a lawyer gave them a convincing argument.” I reasoned aloud.

“He hasn’t abandoned her just yet,” Claire muttered.

“I believe he has.”

She didn’t argue— because she knew it was likely true.

I continued.

“Eva must have said something. Or done something.”

“And you think that was enough?”

“I think it might have been the final piece.”

Claire frowned. “What piece?”

“The one that made him realize exactly who he’d been protecting.”

She looked down.

I knew she was still unconvinced. “And then there’s the phone.”

Claire’s gaze lifted. “You really trust it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it has a truckload of evidence against Eva. And he gave it to me.”

“He could have planted it.” Claire reasoned.

“He could have.”

I didn’t dismiss the possibility, but I trusted my own judgment better than

“But he didn’t have to give me anything.” I said.

I tapped my fingers against the table. “He could have destroyed the phone. He could have hidden it. He could have refused to cooperate entirely.”

Claire stared at me.

“Instead, he handed it over.”

“Exactly.”

I had seen enough criminals to recognize the difference between desperation and an act of good faith.

Hart had done something that had surprised me— he’d chosen to give us something that could destroy the woman he’d spent a decade protecting.

That mattered.

The door opened, and two officers entered.

Hart followed.

The room became filled with quiet tension.

I watched him take a seat across from us. His wrists were cuffed in front of him, his expression sour but unreadable.

Claire stared at him with curious brown eyes.

Hart stared at her too.

Neither spoke.

I cleared my throat and began. “Good morning.”

He gave me a cold look. “Is it?”

I certainly didn’t miss his attitude.

I felt Claire shift beside me, but I chose to ignore the tension.

“Hart, before we proceed, I need you to understand that everything we discuss today is important.” I explained.

“I know.”

“You called Claire last night.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Yes.”

“You told her you were willing to accept the plea arrangement.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re still willing to do that?” I asked.

His eyes moved toward Claire, holding her gaze for several seconds, then returned to me.

“Yes.”

Claire finally spoke. “Why?”

Hart’s jaw tightened. “I already told you.”

“No,” she said calmly. “You told me what you decided. You didn’t tell me why.”

His expression hardened. “It doesn’t matter.”

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