Martin Voss walked toward the center lectern with the swagger of a man who believed his paycheck alone guaranteed a total victory.
Judge Morrison turned her gaze back toward my side of the aisle, gesturing with her pen.
“Mrs. Hale, you may begin your preliminary response.”
I reached down, unclasped the brass buckles of my father’s old military briefcase, removed a single, crisp manila folder, and stood up straight.
The entire room went completely, unnervingly quiet.
Because the woman they thought was an uneducated, penniless victim hMartin Voss rested his manicured hands on the wooden edges of the podium and offered the court a practiced, polished smile.
“Your Honor, to summarize our preliminary filing, Mrs. Hale executed an unconditional waiver of equitable distribution eighteen months ago, concurrently assigning all residential rights to the Hale Family Trust.”
“As such, her present refusal to sign the final decree is nothing more than bad-faith obstruction aimed at extorting a nuisance settlement from my client.”
