Mason’s Version of Love
Chapter 12 - Mason’s Version of Love
Mason’s attorneys offered a public defense built around devotion.
They said he followed Audrey’s vehicle because he feared she was suicidal. They claimed Pierce sedated her without Mason’s knowledge. They described the suspicious DNR as a document Audrey signed privately during a period of depression.
Photographs of Mason and Audrey filled television screens: charity galas, beach holidays, hospital fundraisers and the engagement announcement.
Every image looked like love.
Margaret knew how dangerous appearances could be.
Prosecutors recovered messages showing Mason had monitored Audrey’s devices, restricted her spending and threatened employees who spoke with her alone. He kept detailed notes on her sleep, medication and menstrual cycle.
One recording captured Audrey asking why her mother’s messages never reached her.
Mason answered, “Because I decide what enters this house.”
The prosecution asked Audrey whether she could testify at trial.
She could now whisper short sentences, but speaking caused pain and fatigue. Elias warned that cross-examination might slow her recovery.
Audrey chose to testify by recorded deposition.
Mason watched from the defense table as her face appeared on the courtroom screen.
She described how charm became isolation gradually. He first offered to manage stressful details, then treated every independent choice as betrayal. When she questioned finances, he accused her of becoming like her “unstable mother.”
Audrey admitted she stayed after recognizing the abuse.
The defense attorney seized on the admission.
“Because you loved him?”
“Yes.”
“Because he loved you?”
Audrey paused.
“Because he needed me to believe that.”
The answer silenced the room.
She explained that love did not require passwords, forged orders, false restraining papers or an unconscious body beside a crashed car.
Mason looked away for the first time.
May you like
His version of love had always depended on Audrey remaining unable to describe it.
Now the woman he tried to silence was speaking slowly enough for every word to be recorded.
