Chapter 13 - The Witness
Daniel was not the mastermind. But he had been closer to the beginning than I ever knew.
The courtroom was full for the evidentiary hearing.
Warren sat at the defense table.
His lawyers surrounded him.
I sat beside Evelyn.
Daniel sat behind me.
Celeste was across the aisle.
The judge called the case.
Evelyn began with the power of attorney.
Then the deployment records.
Then the notary commission.
Then the company emails.
Then the financial records.
Every piece made the next piece worse.
Warren's counsel attacked Daniel's credibility.
“He admits he signed documents without reading them.”
“Yes.”
“He admits he worked for the company.”
“Yes.”
“He benefited from the company.”
“Yes.”
“He lived in a company-owned house.”
“Yes.”
“He remained married to the plaintiff while receiving benefits from the company.”
“Yes.”
“So his testimony is compromised.”
Evelyn stood.
“My client's husband is not our case.”
She held up the restrictive covenant.
“The defendant's own documents are.”
The judge allowed it into evidence.
Then the agent testified about the financial investigation.
Warren's counsel objected repeatedly.
The judge sustained some.
Overruled others.
Then came the notary evidence.
The seal was expired.
The commission had changed counties.
The notary had worked for Baker Landworks.
She had stored company materials.
And the original option had been reassembled from a different document.
The judge stared at the page.
“Mr. Baker, did you personally review this before filing?”
Warren answered through counsel.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Mr. Daniel Baker did not possess authority to sell the property?”
“No.”
Evelyn stood.
“Your Honor, we have a document signed by Mr. Warren acknowledging exactly that.”
The judge looked at the paper.
Then at Warren.
“Would you like to explain it?”
Warren said nothing.
The judge turned to me.
“Ms. Baker, did you ever tell your husband he could sell this property?”
“No.”
“Did you ever agree to an option?”
“No.”
“Did you receive $150,000?”
“No.”
“Did you authorize anyone to sign on your behalf?”
“No.”
Then Evelyn asked for Daniel.
He took the stand.
Warren looked at his son for the first time.
“You signed twelve documents,” Warren's lawyer said.
“Yes.”
“Did you know what they were?”
“No.”
“Did your wife ever give you permission to negotiate a sale?”
Daniel hesitated.
“No.”
“Did you believe you had authority?”
“I believed my father was handling the legal side.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“No.”
The lawyer walked closer.
“Why did you sign?”
Daniel looked toward me.
Then toward Warren.
“Because I was afraid of my father.”
The courtroom became silent.
“Afraid of what?”
“He controlled my income.”
“Anything else?”
“Our house.”
“Anything else?”
“My sister's business.”
“Anything else?”
Daniel swallowed.
“My mother's memory.”
Warren's expression hardened.
The lawyer pressed.
“Did your father ever threaten you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said if I didn't cooperate, he'd make sure Rosalie lost everything.”
“Did he mention the children?”
Daniel's voice broke.
“Yes.”
The room was silent.
Warren's lawyer stopped questioning.
Then Evelyn approached.
“Mr. Baker, did you know your wife's power of attorney excluded real property?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She showed it to me before deployment.”
“Did your father see it?”
“I don't know.”
“Did your father ever ask you for it?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he needed the original.”
“Did you give it to him?”
“No.”
Evelyn held the courthouse record.
“Then how did Baker Landworks obtain a copy?”
Daniel looked at Warren.
“I don't know.”
Evelyn paused.
“And the handwritten note on the acquisition risk assessment?”
Daniel stared at it.
“Yes.”
“Your handwriting?”
“Yes.”
“Did you write it?”
“I don't remember writing it.”
“Did you know your father considered you the easiest route to Rosalie?”
Daniel looked down.
“Yes.”
Evelyn asked one final question.
“When did you realize your father intended to force the sale?”
Daniel's answer came quietly.
“The night Rosalie's mother died.”
My breath caught.
The entire room seemed to narrow around that sentence.
Evelyn stopped.
The judge leaned forward.
“What did you see?”
Daniel looked at Warren.
Then at me.
“My father took a document from your mother's desk.”
“What document?”
Daniel's voice shook.
“The original will.”
“Did you read it?”
“No.”
“Did you see what he did with it?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“He tore out the last page.”
A murmur moved through the courtroom.
I stood frozen.
My mother had left something else.
A final page.
And Warren had taken it.
Evelyn asked:
“Where did he put it?”
Daniel answered:
“In his office safe.”
The judge ordered a recess.
Then Warren's lawyer approached the judge.
“There is one matter the court needs to know.”
The lawyer handed over a sealed envelope.
The judge opened it.
His expression changed.
“Who submitted this?”
The lawyer looked at Warren.
Warren finally spoke.
“My mother-in-law.”
I stared.
“My mother is dead.”
Warren smiled.
The judge looked at me.
“Ms. Baker, the envelope contains a letter purportedly written by your mother shortly before her death.”
Evelyn took a breath.
May you like
The judge continued.
“And it appears to contradict everything we've heard.”
