Chapter 10: The Witness From His Past
The courtroom doors closed behind the woman.
For a moment, nobody moved.
She stood there holding a small black laptop bag, her eyes scanning the room until they stopped on David.
And David changed.
Not dramatically.
Not enough for anyone who didn’t know him.
But I saw it.
The confident man who had walked into my son’s wedding believing he controlled everything suddenly looked like someone who had been caught standing over a broken lock.
The judge looked toward the woman.
“Miss, do you have a reason for interrupting this hearing?””
She nodded.
“Yes, Your Honor.””
Her voice was calm.
“I have evidence related to this case.””
David’s attorney immediately stood.
“Your Honor, we have no idea who this person is.””
The woman looked at him.
“You will.””
David whispered something under his breath.
She heard him.
And smiled sadly.
“Still trying to make everyone else look like the problem, David?””
The courtroom became silent.
Marcus looked at me.
“Who is she?””
“I don’t know.””
But I knew one thing.
David knew her.
The judge motioned.
“Approach.””
The woman walked forward.
“My name is Natalie Brooks.””
She placed the laptop bag on the table.
“I worked with David Carter for four years.””
David’s attorney frowned.
“And your relationship to Mr. Carter?””
Natalie looked directly at David.
“I was his business partner.””
David laughed.
“That’s not true.””
She didn’t react.
“It was true before he stole everything from me.””
The judge looked at her carefully.
“Miss Brooks, do you have documentation?””
“Yes.””
She opened the laptop.
“I have emails, contracts, and recorded conversations showing Mr. Carter’s methods.””
David leaned forward.
“This is ridiculous.””
Natalie looked at him.
“No, David. What’s ridiculous is that you thought I would stay silent forever.””
I watched Marcus.
He looked overwhelmed.
The last few hours had changed everything he believed.
The woman he planned to marry.
The friend he trusted.
The mother he rejected.
Everything had turned upside down.
Natalie connected the laptop.
The first document appeared on the courtroom screen.
A business agreement.
David Carter and Natalie Brooks.
The second document appeared.
A list of targeted individuals.
The room went quiet.
Richard stood.
“Your Honor, may I approach?””
The judge nodded.
Richard walked closer.
I watched his expression.
He had seen thousands of documents in his career.
But this one shocked him.
“What is it?”” I whispered.
He looked at me.
“Mrs. Anderson…”
He paused.
“This changes everything.””
The judge looked at the screen.
“Explain.””
Richard turned.
“This document shows a pattern.””
The opposing attorney objected.
“Pattern of what?””
Richard pointed at the screen.
“Targeting wealthy families. Gaining access through relationships. Creating internal conflicts. Then using legal pressure to seize assets.””
My stomach tightened.
Marcus looked at David.
“You did this before?””
David’s face hardened.
“Don’t listen to them.””
Natalie laughed quietly.
“That’s exactly what he always says.””
The judge looked at her.
“Miss Brooks, continue.””
She opened another file.
“This is the original plan.””
The document loaded.
At the top was a title.
“Project Anderson.””
My blood went cold.
My name.
My family.
My company.
Everything.
Marcus whispered:
“No…”
Natalie looked at him.
“I’m sorry.””
He looked confused.
“What?””
“You weren’t the target.””
Everyone looked at her.
“What do you mean?”” Marcus asked.
She hesitated.
Then said:
“Your mother was.””
The courtroom went silent.
David immediately stood.
“This is nonsense.””
The judge slammed the gavel.
“Sit down.””
David obeyed.
But his eyes were full of anger.
Natalie continued.
“David studied your family for almost a year before approaching Marcus.””
Marcus looked sick.
“A year?””
“Yes.””
“He knew me before we met?””
“Yes.””
I felt something break inside me.
Not because David had targeted me.
Because he had used my son as the weapon.
Natalie looked at Marcus.
“He learned your weaknesses.””
Marcus lowered his head.
“He knew I wanted to prove myself.””
“Yes.””
“And he used that.””
“Yes.””
The judge looked at the documents.
“Miss Brooks, why are you coming forward now?””
Natalie became quiet.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
“Because I made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“I helped him.””
Everyone froze.
Marcus looked up.
“What?””
She looked at him.
“I created some of the financial reports.””
David smiled slightly.
“There it is.””
Natalie continued.
“But I didn’t know his full plan.””
The judge leaned forward.
“Are you admitting involvement?””
“Yes.””
The room erupted.
Richard looked at me.
“This could be dangerous.””
I nodded.
Because I understood.
Truth wasn’t always clean.
Sometimes the people who revealed the truth were part of the mess.
Natalie opened one final file.
“I kept this because I knew one day David would betray me too.””
She clicked.
A video appeared.
David’s face filled the screen.
Recorded months earlier.
His voice echoed through the courtroom.
“Once Marcus signs everything, the mother becomes irrelevant.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
The judge watched.
The video continued.
David laughed.
“She built the empire. He’ll destroy it.””
The courtroom became completely silent.
Then David said the words that changed everything.
“She won’t even realize the transfer was never the real goal.””
I looked at the screen.
My heart started beating faster.
Because that sentence meant one thing.
The company was only a distraction.
David had been after something else.
Something bigger.
The video continued.
“And when I get what I really want…”
The screen froze.
The audio stopped.
Natalie looked at the judge.
“That’s where the recording was damaged.””
Richard stood.
“Your Honor, we need the complete file.””
The judge looked at David.
“Mr. Carter, what exactly was the real goal?””
David said nothing.
May you like
For the first time, he had no answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
