The deposition took place in a conference room downtown, all glass walls and expensive carpet, opposing counsel already seated when Ivy arrived with her mother and Ms. Alvarado — a sharp-featured man named Richard Kessler who introduced himself with a handshake too firm to be entirely friendly.
"Just remember what we practiced," Alvarado murmured, once they'd settled at the table, the court reporter setting up her equipment with brisk efficiency. "Calm, honest, only what's asked."
Marina's deposition went first, and Ivy sat quietly at the side of the room, watching her mother field question after question with a steadiness that would have seemed impossible six weeks ago — Kessler probing at every detail of Dmitri's career, the family's finances, the timeline of everything Ivy had uncover
