Chapter 14 - THE VIDEO FROM THE CAR
The dashboard recording became the emotional center of trial.
Not the slap.
Not the funeral.
The car.
At 10:42 p.m.:
Dr. Reed’s voice through speaker:
“Call 911 now.”
Daniel:
“If emergency services come, there will be custody complications.”
Reed:
“I don’t care. Your child may stop breathing.”
Then later.
Vanessa crying.
“She’s not waking up.”
Daniel:
“We’re almost there.”
“Pull over!”
“If cops get involved, Monday is dead.”
That sentence.
Monday is dead.
Sofia was dying.
Daniel was thinking about Monday.
The defense argued he meant the trust meeting was irrelevant if he got arrested, not that he valued it over Sofia.
Maybe.
Then 11:07 message.
If beneficiary dies before seven, voting pool stays under current stewardship.
Daniel:
Under me and Mom?
Assistant:
I think so.
Daniel:
Do not tell anyone I asked.
The jury listened.
I sat beside Rebecca.
My hands stayed folded.
Reporters later called me stoic.
I was dissociated.
Not strong.
There is a difference.
The defense cross-examined me.
“You and Daniel were in a bitter separation?”
“Yes.”
“You threatened to seek sole custody?”
“I said I would if he kept hiding information.”
“You disliked Vanessa?”
“After I learned she was sleeping with my husband, yes.”
“You showed the funeral video publicly?”
“To Daniel and Vanessa in a room full of witnesses.”
“You wanted to humiliate them.”
“Yes.”
Truth.
Then:
“You want Daniel convicted.”
I looked at him.
“I want the jury to decide from evidence.”
“Personally?”
“Yes.”
I wanted him convicted.
I was allowed a personal feeling.
May you like
Jurors were not instructed to borrow it.
The trial continued.
