“The logs are important for the legal part, too.” She informs Hannah, without telling her how seriously, it would be her pleasure. “And so is your peace of mind.”

Hannah does what Caroline can only describe as regarding her, for long enough that it should be uncomfortable. But it isn’t and she doesn’t flinch, even as she wonders what Hannah’s looking for.

***

Okay, so maybe she is a bit more invested in this than all of her cases. She can admit that to herself by early February.

There’s a certain attachment she has to just about every client she takes on. Sure, some are business as usual – her most wealthy clients, usually, often ones that the firm assigns to her. But for her to come up with her best case, she always finds the angle she needs to fight for them. To feel for them.

But there’s also a wall that her caring has to hit. She can’t let herself get invested on a personal level, or she’ll never keep a clear head.

She’s not in that deep – her head is clear. But the facts of the matter are these: she’s never been able to stand Michael Dalton and she can picture every single act of indiscretion, manipulation, and sheer intimidation Hannah describes.

She thinks about the dozens of times she’s seen Hannah after their first meeting, knowing she’d written her off after seeing that she’d been married to Michael. And logically, she knows that she can’t blame herself for not seeing their marriage problems.

But she feels guilty about lumping Hannah in with Michael, taking her aloofness and smiles that never reached her eyes as judgment or coldness. Now that she knows what was really going on beneath that surface, she can see how trapped Hannah had felt. How desperate and alone.

She asks questions because she has to, to know all of the details. But there’s also a very real want to know the answer, too.

“Who do you have for support? Family? People who can watch Abbie or act as a character witness?”

Hannah blows out a deep breath, shrugging her shoulders. “Growing up, it was just me and my mom. She’s –” She swallows hard. “She died, almost two years ago. Jo, my boss, she could be a character witness. I don’t have many friends.” She admits, looking, as she often does, guilty and embarrassed. “I was pretty isolated when we were married… Robyn, who watches Abbie most of the time if I’m not home. She’s my best friend, I suppose. And, um, she was our housekeeper. That’s how we met.”