Chapter 2 - The Whispers In The Dark
A collective hush blanketed the courtroom. Outside the heavy double windows, the autumn rain slashed against the glass, blurring the skyline of downtown St. Louis into smudges of gray and charcoal.
“What’s inside Barnaby, Leo?” Judge Norris asked, her voice steady and calm.
Julian lunged forward against the counsel table, knocking his water glass over. Water pooled across the glossy surface, soaking the legal briefs and dripping onto the carpet. “Your Honor, objection! This is hearsay, this is tainted evidence, this violates every rule of civil procedure—”
“Bailiff, remove Mr. Vance’s hands from the table!” Judge Norris ordered, slamming her gavel down with a crack that made Clara jump in her seat. “One more word from you, sir, and you will watch the remainder of this hearing through the monitor in a holding cell!”
Julian slumped back, breathing heavily, his tie loosened at his neck. His arrogance was cracking, peeling away like cheap paint to reveal the panicked animal beneath.
Leo squeezed the stuffed rabbit tightly. “Mommy told me before she went away that Barnaby keeps secrets safe. When Daddy brought the mean lady to our big house, they thought I was sleeping. But the vent in my room goes right down to Daddy’s office.”
I closed my eyes, a wave of nausea washing over me. For months, while I was hospitalized on strict bed rest for severe preeclampsia, Julian had assured me that Leo was staying with his maternal grandmother in Springfield. He had lied. He had kept Leo in the house, an invisible ghost wandering the hallways while Julian and his business partner’s daughter turned our family home into their playground.
“What did you hear through the vent, Leo?” Judge Norris asked gently.
“Daddy was shouting at first,” Leo said, his tiny voice trembling as it echoed through the speakers. “He told the mean lady that the auditors from the bank were coming on Tuesday. He said if Audrey didn't sign the divorce papers today, giving up her fifty percent of Vance Logistics, the federal people would freeze all the accounts.”
David Ramos shot up from our table, his pen poised in mid-air. “Your Honor, Vance Logistics was founded jointly by my client and Mr. Vance four years before their marriage. It is the primary marital asset, which Mr. Vance claimed in his financial affidavits was bankrupt and worthless.”
“He told her it was worth nine million dollars,” Leo continued, innocently dropping the number into the courtroom like an explosive. “The mean lady laughed. She said, ‘Audrey is so stupid, she thinks she’s being a martyr for her brat. She’ll sign whatever you put in front of her just to run away.’”
Clara’s face went completely bloodless. “That’s a lie! That child is coached! He’s repeating things she fed him!”
“Quiet!” Judge Norris roared, her eyes blazing with fury. “Ms. Sterling, you are a spectator in this room. Speak out of turn once more and I will have you shackled.”
Leo didn't flinch this time. He looked down at Barnaby. “Daddy gave the mean lady a shiny black drive. He said, ‘Everything is on here—the offshore shell company in Belize, the fake vendor receipts, and the altered safety records from the freight trucks.’ He told her to put it in the safe behind the painting in the dining room.”
Julian’s face had drained of all color. He looked sick, his mouth hanging slightly open as he stared at his son. He wasn't looking at a six-year-old boy anymore; he was looking at his executioner.
“Did she put it in the safe, Leo?” the judge asked.
“No,” Leo said plainly. “She put it in her purse. But then they went into the kitchen to drink wine. And while they were kissing against the counter, I took it out of her bag. Because Daddy said whoever had the black drive owned the whole company.”
The courtroom was so quiet you could hear the steady drip of Julian’s spilled water hitting the carpet floor.
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“Where is the drive, sweetheart?” I asked, unable to keep the tears from spilling down my cheeks.
Leo looked directly at me, a tiny, triumphant smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I cut Barnaby’s tummy open with my safety scissors, Mommy. And then I used the blue band-aids from the bathroom to tape him shut.”
