232 ETHAN'S SECRET

Madison slumped in the chair, the sterile whiteness of the courtroom walls blurring through a sheen of tears. Her chest heaved with each sob, each ragged gasp punctuated by choked sniffles. How could Ethan have kept this from her? All this time, while she'd worried sick, he'd been… with Sandra? Across the table, Isabella squeezed her hand, her worried frown a mirror of Madison's turmoil. "It's okay to cry, honey. Let it out." But the dam had well and truly broken. Tears streamed down Madison's face, hot and relentless. It wasn't just the revelation, the betrayal. It was the fear. The chilling truth is that Ethan, her Ethan, had been reckless and secretive. What else hadn't he told her? Isabella observed her friend's already swollen and reddened eye, sensing the profound anger within Madison. Isabella empathized with Madison, recalling a similar feeling when Luke's girlfriend had appeared some time ago. Retrieving a white handkerchief from her blue purse, Isabella offered it to Madis