“And the remaining balance?”
“Still held in the trust for Commander Mercer.”
My father leaned toward Pike.
I couldn’t hear what he said.
But Pike’s expression darkened.
Shaw moved to the next document.
“The petitioner characterizes the transferred funds as his military pension. Let’s examine how he reached that conclusion.”
He placed the bank statement Pike had submitted beside the complete records.
I recognized the page.
My father had enlarged the relevant section and highlighted several numbers in yellow.
It showed an account summary.
One portion displayed his retirement-related banking information.
Another displayed the trust account, which appeared in the same banking overview because his outdated custodial contact designation remained in the system.
The forty-thousand-dollar transfer appeared beneath the trust section.
But in the version submitted with the petition, the information separating those accounts had been cut away.
The remaining image made the withdrawal appear connected to my father’s finances.
Shaw indicated the original page.
“This is the complete statement.”
The judge examined it.
“The petition exhibit omits the account identifiers.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Pike immediately stood.
“My client supplied the document.”
Judge Sloan looked at him.
“Did you verify the underlying account information before alleging that Commander Mercer had taken pension funds?”
Pike hesitated.
“We relied on the information provided by Mr. Mercer.”
The judge made a note.
“Continue, Captain.”
Shaw placed the authenticated transfer history beside the statement.
“The forty thousand dollars did not originate from Harold Mercer’s pension account. It was transferred from the trust account to the beneficiary’s savings account.”
He pointed to the account identifiers.
“Both records match.”
I watched the judge compare them.
Then she looked toward my father.
“Mr. Mercer, can you identify a corresponding forty-thousand-dollar withdrawal from your pension account?”
Harold leaned forward.
“I know what I saw.”
“Can you identify the transaction?”
He looked at Pike.
Pike searched through the documents.
There was a long silence.
Finally, he said, “We do not have evidence of a separate pension-account withdrawal, Your Honor.”
My father slammed his palm against the table.
“Because she moved it!”
The bailiff took one step forward.
Judge Sloan’s voice turned cold.
“Mr. Mercer, you will stop interrupting.”
