Chapter 13 - The Deposition

David’s deposition began at nine in the morning.

By eleven, he was sweating.

Rebecca started gently.

Marriage dates.

Employment.

Finances.

Property.

Then she reached Christmas.

“Did your wife ask for an ambulance?”

David adjusted his tie.

“She expressed concern.”

“That was not my question.”

His attorney shifted beside him.

“Yes.”

“Did she say she believed she was losing the baby?”

David paused.

“I don’t recall the exact language.”

Rebecca slid a transcript across the table.

“Would hearing your own recorded voice improve your memory?”

David’s jaw tightened.

“Yes.”

“Did you prevent her from calling 911?”

“No.”

“You took her phone?”

“I was trying to de-escalate.”

“Did you throw it against a wall?”

“I dropped it.”

Rebecca looked at him.

“You dropped it horizontally across approximately eleven feet of kitchen?”

His attorney objected.

Rebecca did not blink.

The video was played.

David watched himself take my phone.

Wind his arm backward.

Throw it.

The room remained silent.

Rebecca paused the footage.

“Would you like to change your answer?”

David stared at the screen.

“Yes.”

The deposition continued.

“Did you tell Anna you played golf with the sheriff?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I was angry.”

“Did you tell her you would describe her as unstable?”

“I did not mean it literally.”

“Did you tell her your colleagues would support your version?”

“I was upset.”

Rebecca leaned forward.

“Mr. Cole, you seem to become remarkably dishonest when upset.”

His attorney objected again.

David’s eyes flashed.

There he was.

The man from the kitchen.

For one second, the polished mask disappeared.

“You think you’re clever because her father—”

He stopped himself.

Too late.

Rebecca leaned back.

“My client’s father is not in this room.”

David said nothing.

“And he did not throw the phone.”

Nothing.

“He did not threaten witnesses.”

Nothing.

“He did not visit the bride’s father before the wedding and lie to both parties.”

David’s head lifted.

That hit him.

Rebecca saw it.

“So you remember that meeting?”

His attorney interrupted.

“We are taking a break.”

David stood abruptly.

His chair slammed backward.

Through the glass wall, I watched from another room.

He did not know I was there.

I watched him pace.

Watched him blame his attorney.

Watched him point at Rebecca.

Watched him demand control.

For years, that behavior frightened me.

Now it looked small.

Predictable.

Almost ordinary.

When the deposition resumed, David changed tactics.

He cried.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

He said he loved me.

He said Christmas had been the worst mistake of his life.

He said he wanted our family back.

For a moment, the old Anna might have believed him.

Then Rebecca asked one final question.

“If Anna returned tomorrow, would you accept responsibility without blaming her father?”

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David hesitated.

That hesitation answered everything.