Chapter 16 - The Testimony
Ethan testified on a Thursday afternoon.
He sat beneath the courthouse seal in a dark suit that did not fit across his shoulders. Diane watched from behind Ross Bell, her face composed and pale.
Melissa asked the first questions gently.
“When did you become aware that the property would be transferred to Mercer House Holdings?”
“Before the deed was signed.”
“Who proposed it?”
“My mother.”
“Why?”
“She said the business loan required additional security and that moving the property would protect it from personal liability.”
“Did you tell Claire?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Ethan looked at Claire. “Because I knew she would object.”
The answer settled in the room.
Melissa asked about the loan proceeds, the separate account, and the transfers to MHP Administrative Services. Ethan admitted that some money had been used for business obligations and some had been routed through accounts controlled by Diane.
“Did you understand that Claire’s bonus money was being used?”
“I knew money from the household account was being transferred.”
“Did you know the sources were Claire’s bonuses?”
“Yes.”
“Did she authorize the property transfer?”
“She signed the agreement.”
“Did you explain it to her?”
“No.”
Melissa placed the recovered audio transcript before him. “Was your voice on this recording?”
“Yes.”
“Did you agree with Diane that the property should be moved before Claire found out?”
Ethan swallowed. “Yes.”
“Did you agree that she should be made afraid of the answers?”
“I did not think she would be afraid.”
“The recording says otherwise.”
“I was wrong.”
Ross Bell objected to the question as argumentative. The judge sustained it.
Melissa moved to Ethan’s contact with Claire after the separation.
“Did you send messages through family members?”
“Yes.”
“Did you violate the protective order?”
“Once.”
“Twice,” Claire whispered before she could stop herself.
The judge looked over.
Ethan lowered his head. “Twice.”
“Did you send the threat found outside Jo’s house?”
“No.”
“Do you know who did?”
Ethan looked toward Diane.
Diane’s posture changed.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Melissa did not press him.
Ross Bell’s cross-examination was sharper.
“You were in financial distress,” he said. “You believed the house was the only way to save your company.”
“Yes.”
“Your wife refused to provide additional support.”
“She had already provided support.”
“You wrote that she was controlling.”
“I was angry.”
“You wrote that she would destroy you.”
“I was afraid.”
“And she left.”
“Yes.”
“She took documents.”
“Documents she had paid for and maintained.”
Ross Bell’s jaw tightened. “You admit you failed to protect your own interests.”
“I admit I let my mother make decisions I should have made myself.”
“You are blaming her.”
“No. I am describing what I did.”
The answer weakened Ross’s argument. Claire saw it in the judge’s expression.
After Ethan stepped down, Diane asked to testify in his place. Her attorney hesitated, but she insisted.
She described herself as a devoted mother who had tried to protect a vulnerable son from a financially aggressive wife.
“Claire was always focused on money,” Diane said. “She kept ledgers of every sandwich she bought.”
Melissa presented the ledger.
“Did you remove this from the house?”
“No.”
“Did you write the category codes?”
“No.”
“Did you create MHP Administrative Services?”
“It was a legitimate company.”
“Did it receive Claire’s bonus money?”
“It received household funds.”
“Did you send a payment to a law firm for deed preparation?”
“I don’t recall.”
Melissa played the authenticated recording.
Diane listened to her own voice without expression.
“If Claire will not sign, we move the property first,” the recording said.
The judge watched Diane. “Is that your voice?”
“It may be.”
“The examiner found it was.”
“The recording could have been taken out of context.”
“What context makes that statement inaccurate?”
Diane opened her mouth and closed it.
Melissa asked one final question. “Did you believe Claire had a legal interest in the house?”
“No.”
“Then why did you need her signature?”
For the first time, Diane looked afraid.
The judge ordered a second recess.
Outside, rain began tapping against the courthouse windows, just as it had on the morning Claire left.
Melissa came to her side.
“The evidence is strong,” she said. “We still wait for the ruling.”
Claire looked at Ethan, who stood alone beside the elevators.
He was not the man she had married anymore.
May you like
Perhaps he had not been that man for a long time.
The courthouse doors opened below. A detective entered carrying a file addressed to Diane Mercer.
