Chapter 13 - Wade Explains the Company
Wade chose to testify.
His attorney reportedly advised caution.
Control demanded explanation.
He started with Owen.
“My brother was a hero.”
The word sounded complicated.
Then:
“I stayed home.”
He described running Mercer Alpine.
Payroll.
Winter bookings.
Insurance.
Equipment failures.
Thomas getting older.
Owen deploying.
Then Owen dying.
“Everyone grieved.”
He looked at Claire.
“Somebody still had to open Monday.”
That was true.
Then Lena’s accident.
He drove to hospitals.
Paid hotel rooms.
Handled claims.
Held Lena after surgery.
All true.
Then:
“I started thinking of all the money as one family system.”
His attorney asked:
“Did you intend to steal?”
“No.”
“Why duplicate reimbursements?”
“Accounting confusion.”
“Why management fees?”
“For work I performed.”
“Why dilute trust?”
“The company needed capital.”
“Did you know 2016 amendment?”
“I forgot.”
Then emails.
He admitted remembering it in 2019.
Shift.
“I thought it no longer applied.”
Then his lawyer asked:
“Did you hurt Claire?”
“She attacked me.”
“Did you lock basement?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She was hysterical.”
“Seven hours?”
“I went looking for Lena.”
Then:
“Did you intentionally hurt Lena?”
“No.”
“Why grab her?”
“To keep her from walking into adult conflicts.”
Then guardianship.
“I was preparing in case Claire disappeared.”
The prosecutor cross examined.
“When did Claire first disappear?”
“She didn’t.”
“So why did your petition already say abandonment three weeks before the incident?”
“Template.”
Then:
“Why did you photograph bruises you caused and label them unexplained injuries under Claire’s care?”
Wade stared.
“I did not cause all of them.”
“Did you cause these?”
Silence.
“Some.”
Then:
“Did you tell Lena her prosthetic cost more than your truck?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Joke.”
“Did she laugh?”
“I don’t remember.”
Then company.
“Original ownership?”
“Thirty five.”
“After dilution?”
“Fifty one.”
“You became majority.”
“Yes.”
“Claire consent?”
“I believed…”
“Signed consent?”
“No authenticated original.
“No.”
“Grant Mercer proxy?”
“I was told…”
“Did he sign?”
No.
Then emails.
I signed your ridiculous amendment.
Wade:
“Yes.”
So he remembered.
Then key man insurance.
Management company.
Land.
Undisclosed fees.
Then:
“Mr. Mercer, did you work hard?”
“Yes.”
“Did you keep company alive?”
“Yes.”
“Did that make Owen’s shares yours?”
Wade stared.
“No.”
The word barely came out.
Then Claire.
“Did helping her make her trust yours?”
“No.”
Then Lena.
“Did carrying her after surgery make her medical settlement yours?”
“No.”
Then:
“Did being her uncle make her body yours to grab?”
Silence.
“No.”
The prosecutor sat.
May you like
Sometimes a case does not need a final dramatic trap.
Sometimes it needs someone to say no four times after years of living as though the answer were yes.
