Chapter 47
She handed the document to the baiff who passed it to the judge 2 days before the defendants embarked on their cruise.’ Rachel said a withdrawal was made from this trust in the amount of $25,000. The stated reason on the bank form was emergency medical surgery for Mia Slater. The courtroom went silent.
Even the air conditioning seemed to stop humming. Emergency surgery. The judge repeated looking at the paper. Rachel nodded. There was no surgery. Your honor, Mia was healthy. The money was withdrawn in cash. We traced the serial numbers of the bills used to pay for the upgrade to the royal loft suite on the icon of the seas.
Rachel paused, letting the weight of that sink in. They did not just leave Mia behind your honor. They stole her college fund to pay for the vacation they excluded her from. They used her own future to fund her abandonment. I looked at Monica for the first time. She looked down. Even she, with all her narcissism and delusion, could not spin this.
Stealing from your own child is a taboo that transcends even the darkest family dysfunctions. Rachel held up one final piece of paper. And this, she said, is the withdrawal slip. It bears the signature of William Slater. But as we have proven with a handwriting expert and Mr. Slater’s sworn affidavit, he was not at the bank.
He was at home gardening. The signature was forged by Austin Slater, who used his position as a former bank manager to override the security protocols. The judge looked at the documents. She adjusted her glasses. She looked at the signature. Then she looked at Austin. Mr. Slater. The judge asked her voice dangerously quiet.
Do you have anything to say? Austin stood up, his chains rattled against the table. He looked at me. He looked for the father who had saved him from high school bullies. He looked for the father who had paid his tuition. But that father was gone. In his place was the logistics officer who had just cut the supply line.
I Austin stammered. I was going to put it back. When the crypto went up, I was going to put it all back plus interest. So, it is true, the judge said. You gambled your daughter’s education on internet coins. It wasn’t gambling. Austin cried, desperation creeping into his voice. It was an investment. I did it for the family.