Now the judge was waiting for an answer while staring at the signatures on the bottom of the contract. “I remember signing some papers for the estate, but I was never told I was giving away my inheritance,” I said clearly.
Harrison tried to mutter a rebuttal, but the judge ordered him to stand up and face the bench. The sound of the chair scraping against the floor made me flinch, and the judge did not miss my reaction.
“Did you present your wife with documents that transferred her inherited property into a shell corporation under your sole control?” the judge asked. Harrison tried to claim that married couples shared assets as a matter of course, but the judge was not interested in his generalizations.
Harrison’s lawyer finally stood up and requested a private moment with his client to discuss the new evidence. “You will have all the time you need after I finish securing the record for this hearing,” the judge responded coldly.
Tiffany tried to edge away from the table, but the bailiff moved to block the aisle with a firm stance. The judge then turned his attention toward Tiffany and called her name with a tone of voice that suggested he was deeply unimpressed.
“I did not do anything wrong,” Tiffany blurted out before the judge could even ask her a question. That immediate defense made several people in the room turn their heads in suspicion.
The judge looked at the text messages in the packet and noted that Tiffany had contacted my obstetrician’s office while pretending to be a family member. She had attempted to gain access to my medical records and my private emergency contact information without my consent.
I felt a chill run down my spine as I looked at the woman who had been lurking in the shadows of my life for months. Harrison’s jaw tightened in that specific way that usually preceded a loud argument or a broken dish at home.
“Mrs. Prescott, did you ever authorize this woman to speak with your doctors or handle your private information?” the judge asked. I said no with a voice that felt steadier than I ever thought possible in such a high pressure environment.
I realized that Harrison could no longer silence me or tell me that I was overreacting to his cruelty. He could not turn the car around or lock me out of the bedroom for daring to have an opinion of my own.