Jeffrey continued.
“And I heard her in our kitchen.”
My chest tightened.
The judge glanced at Rachel.
“Mrs. Ellis’s kitchen?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What did you hear?”
Jeffrey looked at me as though asking permission.
I nodded.
“She told Grandma if Grandma gave her part of the company, she’d drop the custody case.”
Vanessa went white.
Her attorney leaned toward her and whispered something.
George stepped forward.
“I heard it too.”
The judge turned to him.
“What did you hear, George?”
“She said fifty-one percent.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
George continued.
“She said if Grandma didn’t give it to her, she’d take us away.”
The judge’s face hardened.
Rachel opened a folder.
“Your Honor, we have documentary evidence relevant to exactly that statement.”
Vanessa’s attorney stood.
“We have not established—”
Rachel held up her hand.
“Two text messages from Ms. Reed to Mrs. Ellis.”
The messages had already been preserved and disclosed through the legal process.
