Chapter 14 - ROBERT’S DEPOSITION
Robert did not look powerful in deposition.
He looked old.
That unsettled Emily more than anger would have.
Gray hair.
Tired eyes.
Hands that trembled slightly while pouring water.
Rachel questioned him calmly.
“Did you use Laura Bennett’s life-insurance proceeds for Carter Construction?”
Robert’s attorney objected to relevance.
He still answered.
“Yes.”
“Was Emily beneficiary?”
“Yes.”
“Did you obtain court approval?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did you repay the custodial account?”
“The business supported Emily.”
“That was not my question.”
Robert looked toward Emily.
She did not help him.
“No.”
Then the college account.
“Yes.”
Trust reimbursements.
“Family administration.”
Lake house.
“Investment.”
Old email.
“I believed Emily approved.”
Military records.
“I was protecting myself.”
That phrase.
Rachel paused.
“From what?”
Robert’s face hardened.
“From exactly what she’s doing now.”
“Requesting an accounting?”
“Destroying the family.”
There it was.
Robert did not see himself as stealing from Emily.
He saw Emily’s resources as structural family assets.
Her independence was built partly on Army benefits, so he believed using her unused family money was practical.
Her objections were selfish.
Her boundaries were attacks.
Rachel asked:
“Why did you tell Lily Carter to walk home during a severe thunderstorm?”
Robert’s attorney objected.
Rachel explained it related to retaliation and credibility.
The question stood.
Robert looked at Emily.
“She was being disrespectful.”
Emily’s stomach turned.
“How?”
“She refused to stop screaming.”
“She was six.”
“I knew someone would get her.”
“Who?”
No answer.
“You called Emily afterward?”
“Yes.”
“To tell her where Lily was?”
Robert looked down.
“No.”
“To ask for tuition money?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Even his attorney stopped moving.
Rachel asked:
“Why?”
Robert whispered:
“Because it was due.”
That answer destroyed him more than any dramatic confession could.
He had compartmentalized Lily’s abandonment so completely that money remained the urgent issue.
After deposition, Emily sat alone in her car.
She cried.
Not because she missed the father she had.
Because she finally accepted the father she actually had.
David joined her ten minutes later.
“Want me to say something wise?”
“No.”
“Good. I don’t have anything.”
They sat.
Then David said:
“I used to think you were Dad’s favorite.”
Emily looked at him.
“So did Miranda.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
David thought.
May you like
“You were his most useful.”
That was closer.
