He swore to tell the truth and felt the irony like a blade.
“Mr. Lane,” Constance’s attorney began, “is it correct that you were absent for the first two years of your son’s life?”
“Yes.”
“You did not attend the birth?”
“No.”
“You did not pay support?”
“No.”
“You did not visit, call, or inquire?”
Justin looked at Zara once before answering. “No.”
“And why was that?”
“I believed a falsified test that said the child wasn’t mine.”
“But you also believed the woman you claimed to love was capable of lying about the father of her baby.”
Justin held the rail of the witness stand. “Yes.”
The attorney smiled faintly, sensing damage. “So whether your mother manipulated the evidence or not, the essential truth remains that when tested, you chose suspicion over trust.”
Justin swallowed. “Yes.”
From the back row, he heard one of the relatives exhale with satisfaction.
Then Zara’s attorney stood for redirect.
“Mr. Lane, are you requesting sole or shared custody today?”
“No.”
