‘Well, is it possible you’re lying to the court because you loved your friend Kendra and you don’t want the world to think she was mentally ill enough to kill herself? Are you lying to us to protect her reputation?’

‘No.’

‘Or perhaps you’re lying to yourself because you can’t bear to believe Kendra rejected you as a friend? You’d rather believe some fictional version in which my client forced her to end the friendship, is that so?’

‘No,’ Damien responded.

He was distressed, no question. But then Anita watched this remarkable young man transform his distress into power, right in front of her in that courtroom. The more Woodburn pushed him, the more firmly Damien planted himself on his feet.

‘I was upset when Kendra cut contact. I missed her very much. But my main emotion was fear that she was in trouble.’

‘I see.’ Woodburn nodded with fake thoughtfulness. ‘You were afraid because you knew Kendra was struggling with anorexia, had a dysfunctional relationship with her mother, and worried she would never achieve success in her acting career? Afraid because you knew Kendra Bartlett had fragile mental health?’

Damien Ross was shaking visibly, squeezing away tears with brisk eye scrunches. His whole body was blazing with rage but his voice came out steady and strong.

‘I’m not pretending my friend didn’t have a few problems—like most people do. But Kendra’s biggest problem was John Santino. Her problem was being trapped in a relationship with a controlling, violent monster. Do you reckon any woman with a few problems deserves to be chucked off an overpass? Kendra was a beautiful person. She didn’t deserve any of the shit he put her through. Not the thousand sneaky humiliations. Not the constant surveillance. Not the bashing. Not killing her. None of it.’

Anita’s heart was thumping in a glorious rhythm. As soon as there was a break, she found a quiet corner of the corridor to leave Paula a voice message.

‘Hi. It’s me. Just now, in court, Kendra’s friend Damien—fucking hell, Paula, he was fierce for her. He was magnificent. I wish you could’ve seen it. Anyway, talk soon.’

Once Damien Ross stepped down as a witness, Irene Pileris brought the Crown narrative around to Kendra’s final day.

There was testimony from a tradesman who’d gone to the Santino apartment that last morning. A carpenter who did small home repair jobs, he was hired to replace the splintered wooden jamb of the bathroom door. It was the kind of damage you would expect from a locked door having been kicked open. (The defence’s version was that Santino had broken into the bathroom to stop Kendra from slashing her wrists.)