“It was.”
I swallowed.
“And I don't regret staying home with our sons.”
For a moment, I could almost remember the man who had sat beside me in a hospital room, holding two newborn boys and crying because he was terrified of dropping them.
That man had once promised me that nothing would ever matter more than our family.
I looked at the three attorneys seated beside him.
“What I regret is believing that raising our children meant surrendering everything I had built before they were born.”
Judge Mercer leaned forward.
“Mrs. Lane, are you claiming that your husband diverted funds belonging to you?”
“I am claiming that the company has never paid me the distributions recorded in its shareholder ledger. I am also claiming that several transactions attributed to my authorization were completed without my knowledge.”
Daniel's lead attorney, Richard Cole, stood immediately.
“Your Honor, these are serious allegations. My client has not been provided with sufficient notice to respond.”
“I understand,” the judge said. “Mrs. Lane, do you have documentary evidence supporting these claims?”
“Yes.”
I placed another folder on the table.
“But before we examine it, I would like the court to understand why the documents use several different names.”
Cole glanced at Daniel.
The original incorporation documents identified me as Rachel Bennett. My mother's estate records used my former surname, Lane, which I had carried before restoring my father's surname.
Daniel's full legal name was Daniel Adrian Mercer-Hollis. After our company acquired Hollis Transit Systems and combined its operations with Mercer Transit Systems, he began using Adrian Hollis in business presentations and certain company records.
I had never adopted that name for him at home.
