Chapter 3 - The Deposition
Three days later, we gathered in a formal conference room on the 40th floor of the Sterling & Associates building for a court-mandated emergency deposition.
Felicity sat across the broad oak table, flanked by her lead attorney, Mr. Vance, and her brother, Julian Danforth. She wore a tailored black suit and maintained an air of cold, condescending superiority. Josephine sat beside me, dressed in a conservative blue dress Marcus’s team had provided. Though she looked small against the massive corporate backdrop, her chin was lifted high.
"Let the record reflect," Vance began smoothly, "that we are gathered to address the temporary custody arrangement and the ongoing civil disputes between Bennett Carter and my client, Felicity Danforth."
"Let's cut the theater, Vance," Marcus interrupted sternly, slapping a thick leather-bound binder onto the table. "We are here to lay out the evidence of a massive, multi-jurisdictional criminal conspiracy orchestrated by your clients."
Julian Danforth sneered. "This is absurd. You're taking the word of a common thief who was caught red-handed stealing family heirlooms."
"Is that so?" I interjected, sliding a stack of high-resolution digital stills across the table.
Felicity’s eyes darted down to the photos. Her composure faltered for a fraction of a second. The images were clear, high-definition captures from my mother’s estate security system—footage that Winston Perry had recovered from a wiped hard drive. They clearly depicted Felicity slipping the diamond necklace into Josephine's bedroom dresser six hours before the police were called.
"This is manipulated media," Vance stated flatly, though his fingers twitched slightly over his pen.
"We also have the original wire transfer logs," Marcus added, sliding a second set of documents forward. "Fifty thousand dollars paid from a off-shore shell account registered to Julian Danforth, transferred directly to the former hotel manager who lied about Josephine’s alleged affair. Furthermore, we have the telecom records showing over two hundred incoming calls from Josephine's phone to Bennett's private line, all redirected to a dead server managed by Danforth Enterprises' IT department."
The room went dead silent. Julian turned to look at his sister, his expression hardening with panic.
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Felicity slowly folded her hands on the table, her blue eyes icy and unrepentant. "Even if any of this were true, Bennett, you believed it," she said, her voice dropping into a dangerous bite. "You believed I was better for you than she was. You threw her out into the cold because deep down, your pride couldn't handle even the suspicion of being betrayed."
Josephine leaned forward, staring directly into Felicity’s eyes. "He believed you because you are a monster who knows how to feed on people's doubts," Josephine said calmly, her voice echoing with absolute authority. "But his weakness doesn't excuse your crimes. You tried to erase me, Felicity. But my children are alive, and their father knows the truth."
