Chapter 21 - WADE MERCER’S LAST DEFENSE
Wade’s trial opened under intense security.
The prosecution began with Leonard Pike, not Michael. Photographs showed Leonard as a father, husband, and temporary guard—not merely the anonymous body used to complete a false story.
Carla testified that Silver Hawk representatives told her he fled with stolen property. For seventeen years, that lie denied her both grief and investigation.
Thomas testified next. He admitted falsifying vendor reviews, accepting fifty thousand dollars, signing fraudulent transfers, and abandoning Michael after saving him.
Wade’s attorney asked how anyone could trust a man who lied for decades.
“They shouldn’t trust me,” Thomas said. “They should compare what I say to the records.”
That answer weakened the attack.
Sarah authenticated Voss’s files. Experts explained which recordings were reliable and which had been excluded. Michael testified by live video with rest breaks and a court-approved communication specialist.
Wade’s lawyer suggested Arthur coached him.
Michael selected his answer slowly.
My father spent seventeen years not hearing me. He does not choose my words now.
Arthur lowered his head.
Wade’s final defense blamed Allen Hurst. Hurst bought the accelerant, approved the “cleanup,” and arranged Leonard’s shift. Wade claimed he learned of the plan only afterward and helped hide it to protect Silver Hawk.
The pager message contradicted him, but his attorneys questioned its time stamp.
Then Claire Mercer entered the courtroom carrying a sealed file from Wade’s home safe.
She had found it while inventorying assets for restitution.
Inside was Hurst’s original message to Wade: Michael and Pike are inside. Delay the burn.
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Below it, in Wade’s handwriting, were three words:
Proceed as planned.
