Chapter 12 - The DepositionTwo weeks later, the civil deposition for my divorce took place in a glass-walled conference room on the 30th floor of a downtown skyscraper.
Diego sat across from me, looking disheveled and pale. His expensive suit looked baggy on him, and his hair was uncombed. His lawyer sat next to him, looking deeply stressed.
On my side sat Clara, looking like a high-tech gladiator with her laptop and stacks of sorted files.
"Let the record show," Clara began, "that we are conducting the deposition of Diego in the matter of his divorce from Valerie."
For the next four hours, Clara ruthlessly dismantled Diego. She didn't just ask about the assault; she laid out the financial documents, the forged signatures on the loan applications, and the offshore accounts.
"Mr. Diego," Clara said, sliding a document across the table. "Is this your signature next to the forged signature of my client on this $1.2 million loan application?"
Diego glared at the paper. "I... I don't recall."
"Let me remind you," Clara said, playing a video clip on her laptop. It was security footage from the bank, showing Diego standing at the teller desk, signing the very document in question.
Diego’s attorney leaned over, whispering frantically in his ear.
"My client asserts his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination," the attorney said, his voice shaking.
"Very well," Clara said, smiling coldly. "We will let the federal prosecutors handle that part. Now, let’s talk about the assault. On the night of the family dinner, did you or did you not smash a ceramic plate over your wife’s head because she refused to hand over her personal, paid-off apartment?"
Diego snapped. He slammed his fists on the table, leaning forward, his eyes wild. "She deserved it! She’s my wife! Everything she has belongs to me! My family needed that apartment, and she was being an ungrateful, selfish b—!"
"Diego, shut up!" his attorney yelled, but it was too late.
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The admission was on the record. Recorded, transcribed, and sealed.
I looked at Diego, my face completely expressionless. "Thank you, Diego. That's all I needed to hear."
