Chapter 6 - THE TIME THEY GAVE MY BODY
The first hearing took place six days after the abandonment.
I attended remotely from a protected apartment arranged through Rachel’s office.
Evelyn sat beside me as a witness, not as a judge.
She did not contact the court privately.
She did not use her title to influence the assigned judge.
Her power came from the evidence she had preserved and the credibility of saying only what she personally observed.
Kyle appeared beside Brad, Chase, and Martin Pike.
He wore a navy suit and the expression he used in apology videos.
Tired eyes.
Lowered head.
Controlled regret.
He said the prank was poorly judged.
He claimed the brothers intended to return after ten minutes.
He said my medication remained inside the truck because he forgot it was in the purse.
Brad supported him.
Chase said the heat felt less dangerous inside the air conditioned pickup.
Their own footage contradicted them.
Rachel played the gas station recording.
Before leaving, Brad asked how long they should wait.
Kyle answered:
“Forty five minutes. She will sign once she thinks we are serious.”
Chase laughed.
“What if she passes out?”
Kyle replied:
“Then Nolan’s report finally becomes useful.”
Nobody inside the hearing room moved.
The recording did not prove Nolan knew about the abandonment.
It proved Kyle expected a medical event and had already connected it to an incapacity claim.
Another clip showed Brad reading my prescription label.
He told Kyle the medication had to be taken on schedule.
Kyle placed the pouch beneath his seat.
“Forgetting” was no longer believable.
Pike argued the conversation was exaggerated humor among brothers.
The judge did not decide criminal intent.
She denied Kyle’s request for temporary company control and continued the evidence freeze.
An independent receiver was appointed to preserve Mercer Road Media without allowing me or Kyle to remove assets.
I agreed.
I did not want to become wealthy through videos built from other people’s humiliation.
The receiver discovered that channel income had been underreported.
Sponsorship payments moved through G M Advisory and several smaller companies.
My personal tax identification appeared on filings I had never seen.
Kyle had used refunds from my design income to cover channel expenses.
He also opened a home equity line against the small Chicago townhouse my mother left me.
I believed the property remained debt free.
The loan documents carried my electronic signature.
The money financed the pickup, editing studio, and luxury trips featured in the channel.
They built an audience from my embarrassment with money taken from my home.
Kyle posted another video after the hearing.
He stood alone in our kitchen and cried.
He said I had abandoned the marriage.
He showed photographs from our wedding.
He described every gift he had purchased.
He did not mention that my accounts paid for most of them.
He asked viewers not to attack me, knowing that naming me would send them toward my pages.
Threats increased.
One message contained the address of my mother’s house.
Rachel requested additional protections.
Kyle claimed he could not control strangers.
His channel moderators had shared the address inside a private supporter group.
The receiver suspended the group.
Brad became angry.
Chase became frightened.
For the first time, the brothers no longer appeared united.
Chase contacted Rachel through his own attorney.
He wanted to provide the original cloud password.
In exchange, he asked for protection from Kyle and Grant.
“Grant is alive?” Rachel asked.
Chase nodded.
“He has been directing everything.”
“Where is he?”
“I do not know.”
“Why are you afraid of him?”
Chase looked toward the camera.
“Because Nebraska was supposed to be the last prank before he took the company.”
Grant planned to receive the acquisition money through G M Advisory.
Kyle and his brothers would keep smaller shares.
I would keep the legal liability.
Chase opened the unedited cloud archive.
The final file showed Grant sitting inside the pickup the night before the road trip.
He looked directly at Kyle.
“Leave Lena scared enough to sign, but alive enough to authenticate.”
May you like
Evelyn recognized him immediately.
Continue to the next part: Chase turns against his brothers and reveals that Grant Mercer has been following Evelyn Ward since the moment her minivan entered the gas station.
