Chapter 17 - EMMA TESTIFIES
Emma wore navy.
No spectacle.
No dramatic limp.
She looked like herself.
That mattered.
She told the jury:
Trust meeting.
Ridgeway.
Discovery.
Eleanor arriving.
Tea.
Feeling heavy.
Graham’s papers.
No.
Phone.
Shove.
Lily.
Transport.
Ashcroft.
Memory gaps.
The defense asked:
“You disliked Eleanor?”
“Yes.”
“You intended to remove her as trustee?”
“Yes.”
“You believed her Ridgeway deal was improper?”
“Yes.”
“You wanted control?”
“No.”
“You had authority to remove her.”
“That is oversight, not ownership.”
I almost smiled.
Emma continued:
“I wanted an independent audit.”
Defense:
“You never saw Eleanor place medication into your drink?”
Emma paused.
“No.”
Honest.
“Then you cannot say she did.”
“I can say I did not knowingly take it.”
“Could you have taken something and forgotten?”
“No.”
“Because?”
“I do not take Eleanor’s prescription medication.”
Simple.
Then the shove.
Defense suggested Emma lost balance while impaired.
Emma:
“She put both hands on me.”
Lily corroborated.
Then psychiatric behavior.
“Were you agitated at Ashcroft?”
“Yes.”
“Angry?”
“Yes.”
“Confused?”
“Yes.”
“So Dr. Graves was not inventing symptoms.”
“No.”
Good.
Truth.
“Why were you agitated?”
Emma looked at the jury.
“Because I had been drugged, separated from my child, and strangers were telling me my mother-in-law said I was mentally unstable.”
No theatrics.
The jury understood.
Then defense asked about me.
“Your husband initially dismissed your concerns about Eleanor?”
“Yes.”
I felt it.
Public.
True.
“You investigated without him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought he would protect his mother.”
I looked down.
That was my part.
No shame now.
After testimony, Emma found me in courthouse hallway.
“You okay?”
I laughed.
“You just testified you didn’t trust me.”
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“Still.”
I took her hand.
“We’re not editing history to make me look better.”
May you like
She kissed my cheek.
That was marriage now.
