Sylvie's POV
The next day, I & Iver met up at our usual spot in the cafe.
"I need to tell you something, Ms. Sylvie."
His cautionary words put my heart at unease. Even though I only knew him for a few days, I was well aware that this tone meant trouble.
"What's wrong?" I managed to utter.
"Today Ashcroft's legal team gave us a call. They notified us about who's going to represent Cairo in court."
I exhaled breathily. "And… that's bad news because…"
"It's him. Cairo himself. He's decided to represent himself."
My breath hitched. "He's… what?"
"He's acting as his own counsel, Ms. Sylvie," Iver confirmed, his voice barely leaking any emotion.
My world tilted. Cairo. Representing himself. The words hit me like a physical blow, pulling the air out of my lungs. It wasn't just a lawyer I'd be facing now; it was him. His eyes, his voice, his manipulative charm, all directed at me, at the judge, at anyone who would listen to his twisted version of reality. My stomach lurched.
This wasn't about legal strategy for him. This was about power. About control. About breaking me down in front of everyone. I remembered the way his words had sliced through the silence of our home after each slap, "Suck it up before Lorelai sees you." That same cold, calculating desire to humiliate, to diminish, was now amplified, placed under a courtroom and in front of the entire world. He wanted to do it himself. He wanted to watch my spirit crack.
A wave of nausea washed over me, cold and suffocating. This was his sick game, and he was inviting me to play it on his terms.
But then Lorelai's face flashed in my mind – her bright eyes, her innocent laughter. The promise I'd made to her. I'm not going to be weak. That is not the example I want to set for you.
He wanted a show? Fine. He wanted to break me? He'd find I was no longer the woman he'd left bruised on the floor. I'd faced his cruelty for years, lived with the constant fear of his unpredictable rage. This courtroom, terrifying as it seemed, was at least a public arena. There would be witnesses. Rules.
"Why would he do that?" I asked, my voice thin, but steadier now. If he was going to play mind games, I would play them right back… but I needed to understand his twisted one first.
Iver's jaw tightened. "Because he wants to personally break you, Ms. Sylvie. And because… he thinks he can win. He thinks he can beat me."
He could try. But Lorelai was my anchor, my shield, my fire. Cairo Ashcroft could stand there himself, he could spin his lies, he could flash his arrogant smirk. But he wouldn't get her. Not if I had anything left to fight with. And for Lorelai, I had everything.
"He thinks he can win. I know you will win. There's a difference between what money can achieve and truth… truth is beyond all of it. Isn't that right, Mr. Vane?"
He looked at me and nodded, waves of doubt still visible behind his eyes. "I know you believe in truth, Ms. Sylvie. But the first truth of our justice system is it doesn't matter what happened, it matters what you can prove."
"And we have proof. We have so much proof and it's all admissible, right?"
He nodded and put his hand over mine on the table. "You're right. But I need your help now."
"My help?"
"I need to know his weaknesses. All of them. If he's going to try to break you, I am going to break him and I need to know everything that gets on his nerves."
I smirked. For the first time, it felt like the years I endured with him had added up to something.
"Sure. Let's start with his illegitimate daughter, Zoey."
________
Back at Claire's, I returned after feeling liberated as I poured every ounce of annoyance, every drop of pettiness into finding Cairo's weak spots.
Lorelai was colouring at the kitchen table, her tongue sticking out in concentration. I sat beside her, tracing the outline of her small hand.
"What are you drawing, sweetie?" I asked, trying to sound normal.
She looked up, her bright eyes wide. "It's Daddy's office!" she declared, pointing to a colourful scribble that was vaguely rectangular. Then she pointed to a smaller, darker shape in the corner. "And that's the big box where the loud bang was!"
My blood ran cold. The "loud bang"?
"What 'loud bang', Lorelai?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, trying to keep it light.
She frowned, concentrating. "When Daddy talked to the man with the funny voice. And the man made a very loud noise, and Daddy put the box in the big room. Then Daddy was angry." She gestured vaguely towards the storeroom, her tiny face a mixture of innocence and confused recollection.
A distinct memory snapped into place: Cairo's furious phone call just before the first slap. He'd been pacing, yelling about a "screw-up," something "being traced." And then, a frantic, hushed conversation with another man, followed by a violent, muffled crash from his study, like something heavy being thrown or broken. I'd ignored it then, used to his outbursts. But Lorelai hadn't.
My mind raced. Cairo's office, the "loud bang," the "big box." The precise details I had dismissed as just another incident of his rage. What if it wasn't just a physical outburst? What if Lorelai, hidden away or simply playing nearby, had witnessed something far more incriminating than just a tantrum?
"The man with the funny voice?" I pressed, my heart pounding.
Lorelai shrugged, then picked up a red crayon. "He talked funny. Like this." She mimicked a low, growling sound, almost guttural, then went back to her drawing.
It was a sound I remembered, too, a voice Cairo only used when speaking to certain "business associates" – the ones who arrived late at night, whose cars had tinted windows.
The realization hit me with the force of a tidal wave. Cairo's frantic emergency custody petition wasn't just about control, or reputation, or even just his twisted love for Lorelai. It was about silencing her. Lorelai wasn't just a child he wanted back; she was a witness to something far more dangerous, something Cairo was terrified she might reveal.
My hands trembled as I hugged Lorelai tighter, the warmth of her small body doing little to stop the icy chills around my heart. Lorelai just became the most dangerous piece on the board. Cairo was coming for her, not just for custody, but for the secrets she unknowingly knew.