“We’re co-existing. Then snarking at each other. Apologizing. And repeating the whole process. I miss you so much it hurts all over, so I have to do something to fix it.”

“I miss you, too.” Carly dropped her head. “It has been a bit of a pressure cooker. My doing.”

Lauren walked around the bed and closed her suitcase. “Call me when you’ve had some time, okay?”

Carly nodded and accepted the kiss Lauren placed on her forehead. She sat on her bed and watched Lauren roll her suitcase out of the bedroom. Tears pooled in her eyes. She thought she heard sniffling from down the hall. Her heart clenched. Yet she had no idea how to stop any of it.

* * *

“Picture’s up. Roll camera. Roll sound. And…action.”

Lauren took her cue and slowly raised her gaze to the actor playing the prosecutor. “That’s exactly why I’m here.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. You’re here to make sure that Victor goes to jail.”

“Yes.” She glared at the defendant, lacing her gaze with menace as she trembled. She blinked back tears, keeping them at bay momentarily, then losing the battle. This was their ninth take and Lauren’s close-up shot. That meant she had to bring it.

“And you want him to go to jail because he killed your child,” the prosecutor boomed.

“Yes,” she said, eyes still trained on Victor. She blinked out of it and looked to the prosecutor. “No. I mean no.”

“But you said yes. Is it true that you hate Victor for getting away with killing your child, and you’ve now framed him for the murder of Amy Trinidad, his own wife.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again, looking around the courtroom in emotional unravel. “Killed my child,” she mumbled.

“What did you say?”

“Victor killed my child and he’s not getting away with it.” Lauren let the angry tears fall.

“And…cut.” Rick moved toward her and leaned over the witness stand. “I think that one was it. Let me check the picture and we’ll see if we’ve got it.”

“Sounds great,” Lauren said, accepting a tissue from a production assistant and hoping her makeup wasn’t a screaming mess, which, of course, production might have preferred. “Thank you.” She dabbed her eyes and stood, waiting on word.

“And we’re good,” Rick said. “That was our martini shot. Thanks, everyone. That’s a wrap for Lauren Prescott.” The cast and crew on set immediately broke into applause for the work she’d done.