Chapter 13 - The Deposition Where I Refused to Perform My Anger

Marcus’s attorneys deposed me for six hours.

They wanted motive.

Not facts.

Facts were inconvenient.

The forensic logs showed I had not opened the drive in years.

Rhodes records showed Julian recused himself.

Nathan Cole documented diligence concerns that predated the wedding.

The shareholder documents showed I did not invent my ownership claim.

So the questions moved toward emotion.

“You were angry at Mr. Mercer after the divorce?”

“Yes.”

“You resented Ms. Vance?”

“Yes.”

“You enjoyed seeing Mr. Mercer shocked at the wedding?”

I looked at Daniel.

He did not object.

“Yes.”

Marcus’s lawyer leaned forward.

“You took satisfaction in his discomfort.”

“Yes.”

The room became slightly quieter.

Truth is often less dangerous than the effort to avoid it.

“Did you want revenge?”

“Sometimes.”

“Did you act on that desire?”

“No.”

The lawyer studied me.

“How can we know?”

“You can review what I did.”

That answer annoyed him.

He asked about Julian.

When did we meet?

Three years after my divorce.

When did we marry?

Fourteen months before the wedding where Marcus saw us.

Did I know Rhodes Capital was considering Mercer Dynamics?

Not until Julian disclosed the conflict after learning Marcus was my ex-husband.

Did I influence Rhodes?

No.

Did I give Julian documents?

No.

Did I tell Julian not to buy the company?

No.

“Did you want him to buy it?”

“I wanted the process to be independent of me.”

The lawyer changed direction.

“Why preserve the drive for five years if you had no plan to use it?”

“Because my divorce attorney advised me to retain records.”

Rachel Singh’s preservation letter had already been produced.

He knew the answer.

He wanted it to sound sinister.

Then he showed me the old handwritten note Marcus had scanned.

How long?

How much money moved?

What do I need to protect?

“You were investigating your husband.”

“I was trying to understand our finances after discovering his affair.”

“You copied company information.”

“I copied folders from a shared home computer while preparing for divorce.”

“Without permission.”

“I did not ask the man who had just emptied our joint account whether I could preserve records related to money.”

Daniel almost smiled.

The deposition continued.

At hour five, Marcus entered the conference room.

He had the right to attend as a party.

He chose the most exhausting moment.

I felt my body react before my mind did.

Shoulders tight.

Pulse faster.

Old conditioning.

His presence still had a key to a physical lock inside me.

That angered me.

Then I remembered something Julian once said.

A reaction is not an instruction.

I drank water.

Marcus sat across the room.

His lawyer asked about the marriage.

“Did you believe Mr. Mercer was intimidated by your career?”

“Objection,” Daniel said. “Calls for speculation.”

I answered only when permitted.

“I believed he resented questions he could not control.”

Marcus laughed under his breath.

The court reporter looked up.

His lawyer continued.

“Isn’t it true you frequently accused him of dishonesty before discovering the affair?”

“No.”

“You questioned expenses.”

“Yes.”

“You questioned business travel.”

“After charges appeared on our personal accounts.”

“You monitored him.”

“No.”

Marcus shifted.

I looked at him for the first time.

“You installed cameras in our house.”

His attorney immediately objected to my volunteering.

Fair.

I stopped.

But Marcus’s face had changed.

He did not expect me to know.

That reaction was worth nothing legally by itself.

Still, it told me Chloe had revealed something he thought remained private.

The deposition ended without drama.

Outside, Daniel asked how I felt.

“Hungry.”

“Emotionally.”

“Still hungry.”

We ordered sandwiches.

The next morning, Mercer Dynamics’ special committee announced that Marcus would take a temporary leave as chief executive while the internal investigation continued.

He retained ownership.

He lost operational control.

Employees received a message from an interim CEO promising payroll continuity and independent review.

I read the announcement twice.

Not because I wanted Marcus removed.

Because the company had finally separated his fate from everyone else’s.

That mattered.

The special committee also began discussions with lenders for emergency financing.

Rhodes Capital was not participating.

Another investment group might.

The company could survive without being sold to Julian.

I felt an unexpected relief.

Then Chloe’s attorney called Daniel.

Chloe had received a settlement proposal from Marcus’s civil lawyers.

Dismissal of potential claims against her.

Financial payment.

Mutual confidentiality.

One additional term:

She would sign a declaration stating that I had known about the Ardent payment structure during my marriage.

A lie.

Marcus was still trying to build the same story.

Evelyn knew.

Evelyn participated.

Evelyn turned later.

He needed me inside the scheme because my innocence made his planning look deliberate.

Chloe rejected the proposal.

Then she gave the document to investigators.

When Daniel told me, I thought I would feel gratitude.

Instead I felt something colder.

Marcus had spent five years preparing to use my credibility as both shield and weapon.

If the scheme worked, my work made it look legitimate.

If it failed, my name could help absorb blame.

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I had never been his partner.

I had been his contingency.