“Emily, you can’t—”
“I have the right to represent myself pro se. Let me question him. If I’m going to lose my daughter, I’m going down swinging.”
Brenda saw the determination in my eyes. Slowly, she stepped aside and nodded toward the judge. “Your Honor, my client wishes to conduct the remainder of the cross-examination.”
The judge raised an eyebrow. “Unorthodox, Ms. Collins. But proceed.”
I stood. I didn’t look down. I didn’t make myself smaller. I walked straight to the podium and met Ryan’s eyes. For a brief second, his smug expression slipped, replaced by a glimpse of the coward I knew was underneath.
“Ryan,” I began, my voice clear and steady in the silent courtroom. “You claim I initiated these wire transfers from our home computer’s IP address. Let’s look at the dates.”
I picked up the exhibit stack. “Transfer one: October 14th. Transfer two: November 3rd. Transfer three: December 12th.”
Ryan nodded confidently. “That’s what the records show.”
“Where were you on October 14th, Ryan?” I asked.
Vance rose. “Objection, irrelevant!”
“Goes to the credibility of the evidence, Your Honor,” I immediately countered.
“Overruled. Answer the question, Mr. Collins.”
Ryan shifted in his seat. “I was… I don’t recall.”
“Let me refresh your memory,” I said, pulling a printout from my bag. “This is your public Instagram page. On October 14th, you posted a photo from a cybersecurity conference in London. On November 3rd, you were in Cabo with Victoria Sterling. On December 12th, you were at a corporate retreat in Aspen.”
“So?” Ryan sneered. “That just proves I wasn’t home to stop you.”
“No, Ryan,” I said, leaning closer. “It proves you weren’t on our home Wi-Fi.
