Chapter 5 - The Fractured DefenseBy Tuesday noon, Austin was at my attorney’s office, red-eyed, disheveled, and breathing heavily. The immaculate corporate confidence was gone, replaced by the feral panic of a trapped animal.
"Where is she?" he demanded, slamming his palm onto my lawyer’s glass conference table. "Where is my wife?"
My lawyer, a silver-haired shark named Vance, calmly adjusted his spectacles and slid a single sheet of paper across the table.
"Mrs. Weaver is safe, Mr. Weaver. And she is not interested in an audience," Vance said smoothly. "Furthermore, your attempts to contact her have been blocked by a temporary restraining order issued this morning."
"This is insane!" Austin roared, leaning over the table. "She froze my accounts over a marital dispute? A misunderstanding? I left to help a dying friend!"
"A friend who was sleeping soundly in his own bed while you were registered at the Cliff House in Kennebunkport with Ms. Chloe Vance," Vance replied, his voice chillingly level. He slid a second folder forward. Inside were time-stamped photographs, hotel registry logs, and billing statements showing corporate funds used for private leisure travel with an employee.
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"Misappropriation of firm funds, marital waste, and perjury in an affidavit," Vance listed casually. "Your partners at the firm have already been notified of the impending audit regarding those corporate accounts. Shall we continue discussing your 'misunderstanding'?"
Austin sank into the leather chair, the color draining entirely from his face. The courtroom wizard had just realized he wasn't trying a case; he was the defendant, and the jury had already reached a verdict.
