Chapter 9 - GARRICK’S VERSION
Garrick testified at the protective-order hearing.
He wore charcoal instead of burgundy.
Maybe his lawyer advised him to look less aggressive.
It did not matter.
Maya began carefully.
“Did you slap your wife at dinner?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She was escalating.”
Maya paused.
“You slapped her because she was escalating?”
He corrected.
“I lost my temper.”
Better.
Then:
“Did you tell her the sling would not be enough next time?”
He looked down.
“Yes.”
“Did you mean to threaten further injury?”
“No.”
“What did you mean?”
Silence.
Then:
“I wanted her to stop challenging me.”
There.
Not safety.
Control.
Then the staircase incident.
He admitted grabbing my arm during an argument.
Denied intending the fall.
That matched my memory enough to matter.
Intent uncertain.
Conduct clear.
Then financial access.
“Did you access Sienna’s trust portal?”
“Yes.”
“Did she authorize continued access?”
“No.”
“Did you download asset schedules?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To understand our future.”
“Our?”
“Marriage.”
Maya said:
“Did Sienna tell you the trust was marital property?”
“No.”
“Did her trust documents?”
“No.”
Then the incapacity draft.
Garrick admitted discussing my “financial judgment” with Miriam.
Denied asking for conservatorship.
Emails showed he knew a petition was being considered.
Not full authorship.
Not ignorance.
Again.
Complexity.
Then the life-insurance change.
Garrick said he believed I knowingly signed.
Maybe.
Digital packet review remained pending.
Then Maya asked:
“Did you love Sienna?”
His lawyer objected.
The judge allowed limited relevance.
Garrick cried.
“Yes.”
I believed him.
That was painful.
Then:
“Did you believe loving her gave you authority to decide what she should do with her money?”
Long silence.
“Yes.”
There.
The belief.
The hearing granted protective restrictions.
No direct contact.
No access to trust accounts.
Temporary possession orders.
Then outside court, Miriam shouted at reporters that I was destroying a historic family.
The clip spread.
May you like
I hated it.
Because once again, a woman asking for safety became the person “destroying” something that had already been broken.
