ARIA’S POV
The court was full, people coming in droves, phone cameras flashing, and reporters waiting with notepads to take comments. They had gathered to see my undoing. I sat with my lawyer at the defense table. His close-cropped hair a nd brooding expression gave him the appearance of a grumpy teacher forced to grade tests on a Sunday. I didn't trust my chances with him.
It was all I could do not to panic. During the briefing, he had barely listened as I explained. He had looked up when I asked him how his questioning would.ld. He had responded with a hazy, one-shouldered shrug before pulling his attention back to the stack of papers on his lap. I got the feeling he couldn’t care less whether I went to prison or not. I was against a very powerful name. That is all any of them would se
