Chapter 18 - Under OathDarius's lawyer prepared him for two days.
"Do not minimize."
"I know."
"Do not become angry."
"I know."
"Do not answer the question you wish they'd asked."
"I know."
Grace raised an eyebrow.
"You say 'I know' a lot for someone whose problems began by assuming he knew things."
Darius stared at her.
Then laughed.
"Leah liked you too much."
"Leah paid me to disagree with wealthy people."
The hearing concerned temporary family-safety orders and Nia's attempt to establish standing for contact with Ava while the divorce and criminal matters continued.
Nia's attorney attacked Darius first.
"Mr. Carter, did you have an alcohol problem after your first wife's death?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever become violent?"
"I punched a wall once."
"Did you break objects?"
"Yes."
"Did your staff hide your car keys?"
"Malik took them when I had been drinking."
"Did you seek treatment?"
"Yes."
"Only after several months."
"Yes."
"Would you describe yourself during that period as stable?"
"No."
The courtroom grew quiet.
Nia watched him.
Darius refused to look away.
Her attorney continued.
"At the pool party, did you order Rex destroyed?"
"Yes."
"Before investigating what happened?"
"Yes."
"So you remain impulsive."
Darius paused.
"Sometimes."
The attorney seemed surprised.
Darius continued.
"But I stopped the order. I preserved evidence. I cooperated with child welfare. I disclosed my history to police. And I am in therapy again because being Ava's father matters more than winning an argument about whether I've ever made mistakes."
Grace did not smile.
But her pen stopped moving.
Emily testified later.
She described the push.
The rescue.
The accusation.
Nia's delayed crying.
The medication questions.
Her notebook.
Then Malik testified.
Then Helen Ward.
The recovered photographs were introduced under seal because Ava was a minor.
The security logs followed.
Nia did not testify.
Her lawyer argued.
For nearly forty minutes.
When the judge returned, she denied Nia's request for contact with Ava.
The no-contact restrictions remained.
Darius retained custody.
The judge also spoke directly to him.
"Mr. Carter, wealth does not excuse poor judgment."
"No, Your Honor."
"You appear to understand that today."
"I do."
"Make sure you understand it tomorrow."
"I will."
Outside the courtroom reporters shouted questions.
Darius ignored them.
Nia passed him with her lawyer.
For the first time since the pool party, they stood less than six feet apart.
She looked at him.
He saw no tears.
No trembling lip.
No victim performance.
Only rage.
"You think you won," she said quietly.
Her attorney immediately told her to stop talking.
Darius answered anyway.
"This was never about winning."
Nia smiled without warmth.
"It always is."
Then she walked away.
That evening Ava waited at home with Emily and Malik.
When Darius entered, she ran to him.
He lifted her.
"Where you go?"
"To talk to some people."
"About Nia?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
Ava touched his cheek.
"Nia no come?"
"No."
Ava nodded.
Then she asked, "Can Rex have cookie?"
Darius laughed.
"That's your next concern?"
"Yes."
For a three-year-old, justice was apparently less complicated.
Rex received half a dog biscuit.
Darius sat on the floor beside Ava.
For the first time since the party, the house felt slightly less like a crime scene.
Then Grace called.
The forensic accountants had completed the deeper audit.
Nia's debts were not the only financial secret.
Someone had been moving money through Sable Ridge before Nia ever married Darius.
The first transfer occurred three years earlier.
While Leah was still alive.
Darius stared at the date.
"That's impossible."
Grace answered softly.
"No."
"Who made the transfer?"
A pause.
"Victor."
May you like
The conspiracy had roots older than Nia.
And Leah may have discovered them before she died.
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