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“Mr. Steele, why did you leave your hometown of Destiny and your brother?” The plaintiff’s lawyer looked so smug.
Walter Steele smiled. “I was just a young man and thought I knew everything.”
Ashley moved next to Phoebe and placed a copy of the birth certificate on the table. She whispered, “Did you get Jena’s text?”
“We did.” Phoebe scanned the certificate and passed it to him and Sylas. “This isn’t an official copy, Ash.”
The imposter continued to drone on and on. “I decided to take off on my own. I moved to Florida and started my life. My brother and I were close. Very close.”
“We could ask the judge for a stay on the grounds of this new information,” Sylas suggested quietly. “We could get an official copy by tomorrow. It’s new evidence.”
“I doubt the judge would grant us a stay, and even if she did give it to us I believe it would ruin our advantage,” he told them.
Phoebe leaned forward. “How would it ruin our advantage, Nic? Our position isn’t very good right now.”
“We’d have to disclose this to his counsel and what do we really have? How do we prove that this birth certificate is the plaintiff’s?”
Walter Steele slammed his fists on the rail. “And then suddenly my brother stopped calling and writing. I never knew why until recently when I learned he married her.” The man pointed his crooked finger at Jennifer.
“Please let the record show that Mr. Steele is referring to the defendant, Mrs. William Steele,” his lawyer said. “Please go on.”
There was fire in Ashley’s eyes. “The best way to prove this is that bastard’s certificate is to get him to admit it, Phoebe. During your cross you could trip him up.”
Phoebe’s eyes narrowed. “My cross?”
“Yours, or Nic’s, or Sylas’s. Whoever. Just hit Trollinger’s imposter hard and don’t let up.”
Nic was impressed at the passion Ashley was showing.
The bastard on the stand shook his head. “That woman must’ve been the reason my brother never reached out to me again. I wouldn’t have known that he died if I hadn’t tried to look him up on the Internet at the library last year. That’s when I realized why she’d kept us apart. She wanted my family’s ranch all for herself.”
“Objection, your honor.” Phoebe stood. “Conjecture.”
“Sustained,” Ethel said.
“No further questions, your honor.” The attorney took his seat. “Your witness.”
“One moment, your honor, while I confer with my associates.”
“Do you need a recess?”
Phoebe shook her head. “No, your honor. Just one moment.”
Ethel nodded.
Phoebe turned to Ashley. “You’re up.”
“What? Me?”
“You clearly have an idea of how to cross the man. You’re the one who found this certificate.”
“But Jennifer is depending on this,” Ashley said.
“And that’s exactly the reason you’re going to do the cross.”
Ashley turned to him and Sylas. “You agree with this?”
“She’s the boss, but yes,” Sylas said. “You’re ready.”
