Chapter 24 - I GIVE UP THE VERSION THAT MAKES ME LOOK STRONGER
Clarissa testified next.
Lena asked:
“Did you want Seren living in your house?”
“Yes.”
“Did you want Morwenna there?”
“Initially.”
“Under whose rules?”
“Mine.”
Honest.
“Did you later support Morwenna recovering elsewhere while baby stayed?”
“Yes.”
“Did Morwenna agree?”
“No.”
“Why continue?”
“I thought she would change her mind.”
Then:
“Did you know signature was forged?”
Clarissa paused.
“Not when he first showed me.”
“When did you suspect?”
“Before the party.”
There.
“What made you suspect?”
“He would not tell me when she signed.”
“Did you ask?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“‘It’s handled.’”
“Did you continue encouraging use?”
Silence.
“Yes.”
There.
Then:
“Did you threaten to disinherit your son?”
“I told him I would reconsider my estate.”
“Did you threaten his promotion?”
“I told him I could not support him for COO if he let his marriage destabilize the company.”
“Was Morwenna’s refusal to live with you ‘destabilizing’?”
“At the time I thought so.”
“Now?”
“No.”
Then husband’s lawyer asked me something unexpected:
“Did Clarissa ever say she wanted to permanently take Seren from you?”
I wanted to say yes.
Because that was how it felt.
But no.
“No.”
“Did she file for custody?”
“No.”
“Did she physically prevent you from leaving with the baby?”
“Seren was not born at the party.”
“Correct.”
Then:
“Do you agree your earlier phrase ‘steal my baby’ overstated Clarissa’s proven conduct too?”
“Yes.”
Giving that up felt like surrender.
It wasn’t.
Truth was not surrender.
Then Lena asked:
“Does correcting that phrase mean Clarissa respected your parental authority?”
“No.”
“What did she do?”
“She helped build a plan where my baby’s location would be used to pressure my location and financial choices.”
There.
Precise.
Stronger.
Then Clarissa’s emails were authenticated.
No dispute.
My husband’s emails.
Miriam Cole’s warnings.
The full timeline.
One missing question remained:
May you like
Was the forged signature intended only as psychological comfort for my husband, or actual evidentiary use?
The next day, Lena would introduce the materials that answered it.
