For the first time, I saw genuine fear.
I produced a flash drive.
Michael whispered, “No.”
My house had six security cameras.
Michael knew about them.
What he did not know was that after my husband, Henry, became sick, I replaced two cameras with newer models that automatically backed up to an encrypted server.
Michael disconnected the obvious hallway camera.
He never discovered the smaller camera hidden inside the smoke detector.
The courtroom watched the footage.
Rachel stood in my hallway holding several papers.
“Sign it.”
“No.”
“It only gives us temporary access.”
“No.”
“Michael is trying to help you.”
“He can help me by leaving my house.”
Rachel seized my wrist.
Hard.
Her knuckles turned white.
“Stop fighting us.”
Then Michael appeared.
He did not stop his wife.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Mom, you’re making this worse.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Judge Bennett folded his hands.
