I actually wouldn't be surprised if Cori would handle that by having Zephiel not be Desmond's son. Maybe he'd be actually be Murdock's son or something - even if the timeline was wrong. Yeah, I know Cori Falls was fervently for the Sacred Institution of Marriage, but her romance-novel morals could probably allow for 'seeking comfort within an abusive marriage'. We know Desmond and Helene were an arranged marriage, so they never loved each other in the first place, and Cori'd probably make up some mystic nonsense about it 'never being a real marriage'. (Maybe the priest who married them wasn't a reeeeal priest or something. Or maybe he wasn't secretly Wiccan enough!) XP

[And no, Desmond wouldn't get let off for having the same issue on his end. After all, he abused Poor Woobie Zephiel! He must DIE!]

I'll agree it's interesting to think of how she'd handle a situation outside her usual formulas. She'd probably find SOME way to hammer it into place, but it would at least be entertaining to watch her attempts. :P ;)