He pointed a finger at me. “We ask the court to rectify this gross injustice. To restore the legacy to the rightful heirs.”
I sat stone-faced. I didn’t object. I didn’t shake my head. I let him paint his picture.
“Ms. Vance?” the Judge asked. “Your opening?”
I stood up. “The defense asserts that the will is valid, Your Honor. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. I will wait to see their evidence.”
Sterling smirked. He thought I didn’t know how to make an opening statement. He didn’t realize I was saving my ammunition.
The plaintiffs’ case was a masterclass in fabrication.
My mother took the stand first. She wept on cue. She told stories about how close she was with Nana Rose—stories I knew were lies, as I had been the one holding Nana’s hand while she cried on holidays because her son hadn’t called.
“She has no career to speak of,” my mother testified, wiping a dry eye. “Elena disappears for months at a time. We don’t know where she goes. She has no stability. She clearly needed the money and forced my mother to sign that will. It was desperation.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Vance,” Sterling said gently. He turned to me with a predatory grin. “Your witness.”
I stood up. “No questions at this time, Your Honor.”
A ripple of confusion went through the courtroom. My mother looked insulted that I didn’t fight back. Judge Halloway frowned.
“Ms. Vance, are you sure? This testimony is damaging.”
“I am sure, Your Honor.”
My father took the stand next. He was more aggressive.
“My mother was senile,” he declared. “She didn’t know what day it was. Elena took advantage of that. Elena has always been the black sheep. She’s… odd. Anti-social. She couldn’t hold down a job at a fast-food joint, let alone manage an estate.”
“And did you visit your mother often?” Sterling asked.
“As often as I could,” my father lied smoothly. “But Elena blocked us! She changed the locks!”
I wrote a note on my legal pad. Perjury Count 1: Locks were changed by the nursing home, not me.
“Your witness,” Sterling said.
“No questions, Your Honor,” I repeated.
My father sneered at me as he stepped down. He thought I was freezing up. He thought I was cowed by his presence, by his suit, by his loud voice. He didn’t know I was just letting them enter their lies into the official court record. In a deposition, lies are problematic. In a trial, lies are a crime.
Sterling called a “medical expert”—a doctor who had never met Nana Rose but had reviewed her files “for a fee.” He claimed that based on her age, she must have been susceptible to influence.
“The defendant likely used emotional manipulation techniques,” the doctor speculated.
“No questions,” I said again.
