Chapter 7 - THE DEPOSITION
Claire did not confront David in a dark parking garage.
She confronted him in a conference room with attorneys, a court reporter, and cameras recording every word.
Her lawyer asked first.
“Did you know Thomas Carter before hiring Claire Carter?”
David’s attorney objected to form.
David answered anyway.
“I knew of him.”
“You searched his name before Claire’s interview?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He worked for the predecessor business.”
“Did you believe his family retained company records?”
David hesitated.
“Possibly.”
Claire’s lawyer continued.
“Did you believe Claire possessed the Bell & Sterling capital ledger?”
Another objection.
Then:
“Yes.”
Claire’s hands tightened beneath the table.
“You hired me because of my father?”
David looked toward his attorney.
“I hired you because you were qualified.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
He said nothing.
The lawyer continued.
“Why was Ms. Carter moved from accounts payable after identifying duplicate vendor invoices?”
“Operational needs.”
“Why did wage payments stop?”
“Cash-flow issues.”
“Why were payments exceeding six hundred thousand dollars made to an LLC created using her identity during that same period?”
David’s attorney instructed him not to speculate.
Then Claire asked the question herself.
“You watched my daughter go hungry because you wanted an accounting book?”
David snapped.
“I did not make your daughter hungry.”
Claire stared.
“You withheld seventy-seven days of wages.”
“You had options.”
That answer ended something.
Not legally.
Morally.
After the deposition, Claire sat outside the conference room shaking.
Vincent approached but kept several feet between them.
“I’m sorry.”
“For your father?”
“For not knowing whether I should be.”
Claire appreciated the answer more than an apology he had not earned.
Then Marcus came out carrying another file.
“We found the ownership release.”
Claire looked up.
“What ownership release?”
“A document Sterling counsel prepared twelve years ago.”
The signature line was blank.
Required signer:
THOMAS CARTER, TRUSTEE, OR LAWFUL SUCCESSOR
Claire stared at her father’s name.
Then hers appeared beneath an internal note.
If Carter deceased, determine successor authority before final release.
David had known.
May you like
He had not merely been searching for Thomas’s records.
He had been searching for Thomas Carter’s successor.
