Judge Whitman pressed play.
At first, there was only the rustle of fabric and a faint scraping noise.
Then Jessica’s voice came through the small speaker.
“Say it again, Lily.
She pushed you near the stairs because she was angry about the baby.”
Lily’s recorded voice answered softly.
“But she didn’t push me.”
David spoke next.
“It doesn’t matter what happened.
It matters what you tell the judge.”
The courtroom seemed to contract around us.
I turned toward David.
He refused to look at me.
On the recording, Lily began to cry.
“I don’t want her to go away.”
Jessica’s voice sharpened.
“If you keep being difficult, you will never see her again.
You will never see the baby either.”
The recording stopped for several seconds.
Then came the sound of a door closing.
David’s voice returned, farther from the recorder but still clear.
“She only has to repeat it once.
The court will think the pregnancy has made her unstable.”
Jessica laughed.
“And after she signs everything over?”
“She walks away with nothing.”
My attorney’s hand froze above his notes.
The recorder continued.
Jessica asked, “What about the loans?”
David answered without hesitation.
“Her name is on them.
By the time anyone checks the signatures, the money will be moved.”
A long silence followed.
Then Jessica said, “You promised the company would be mine.”
“It will be.
The house too.
Just keep Lily quiet until the hearing is over.”
Judge Whitman stopped the recording.
The silence that followed was heavier than any shouting could have been.
David sprang to his feet.
“That proves nothing.
The recording is incomplete.
It could have been edited.”
Jessica turned toward him.
“You said her attorney didn’t know about the transfers.”
David stared at her.
“Be quiet.”
Her face changed as she realized she had just confirmed part of the conversation in open court.
My attorney rose slowly.
“Your Honor, my client’s financial records contain several transfers from the marital business into an account connected to Ms.
Price.
The authorizations appear to bear my client’s signature, but she denies signing them.
We were prepared to request forensic examination if the asset waiver was not accepted.”
He opened the folder I had been holding minutes earlier.
Inside were copies of the transfers, loan applications, and signature pages.
I had discovered the first document while searching for an insurance form.
