He Mocked His Wife’s Lack of a Lawyer… Until Her Mother Entered the Courtroom

The courtroom air had shifted. It was no longer stale; it was electric.

The few spectators in the back—mostly bored law clerks and retirees—were now leaning forward, their phones out, texting friends that something major was happening in courtroom 304.

Judge Henderson rubbed his temples.

“Mr. Ford, do you wish to cross-examine? Well, I suppose there is no witness yet. Ms. Bennett, you have the floor.” The judge said.

“Thank you, your honor.” Katherine said, standing tall.

“I call Keith Simmons to the stand as a hostile witness.” She announced.

Keith froze. He looked at Garrison Ford.

“Do I have to?” He asked.

“You’re the plaintiff, you idiot!” Garrison whispered harshly, wiping sweat from his upper lip.

“Get up there, and for the love of God, don’t lie. She knows everything.” Garrison warned.

Keith walked to the witness stand; his legs felt heavy. He sat down, and the bailiff swore him in.

He looked out at the court, trying to regain his composure.

He was Keith Simmons. He was a successful businessman.

He was the man who made the deals. This old woman was just bluffing.

Katherine walked to the podium. She didn’t bring any papers; she just rested her hands on the wood and looked at him.

“Mr. Simmons,” She began, her voice deceptively light.

“Let’s talk about the traffic you mentioned earlier. The traffic that delayed my daughter.” Katherine said.

Keith scoffed nervously.

“It was a figure of speech. She’s always late. She’s disorganized.” Keith replied.

“Disorganized?” Katherine repeated.

“Is that why you handled all the finances in the marriage? Because Grace was too disorganized to understand numbers?” She asked.

“Exactly.” Keith said, gaining confidence.

“Grace is a dreamer. She paints. She volunteers at the animal shelter.” Keith continued.

“She doesn’t understand ROI or equity positions. I did everything to protect our future.” He stated.

“To protect your future.” Katherine noted with a nod.

“Is that why you purchased a condo in Miami on March 14th of this year? The one listed under Simmons Holdings LLC?” She asked.

Keith blinked.

“That—that was an investment property for the portfolio.” He stammered.

“Strange,” Katherine said.

“Because according to the credit card statements associated with that property—statements you tried to shred, but which your assistant, poor overworked Ms. Higgins, forgot to delete from the digital recycling bin—you bought furniture for a nursery.” Katherine revealed.

Grace gasped in the gallery. Her hand flew to her mouth.

Keith turned pale.

“It—it was staging for resale value.” Keith said.

“Staging?” Katherine asked, stepping closer.

“And the diamond tennis bracelet purchased from Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue three days later? Was that for staging too, or was that for the woman living in the condo?” She questioned.

“Objection!” Garrison Ford stood up, though he looked like he wanted to be anywhere else.

“Relevance, your honor! New York is a no-fault divorce state. Infidelity doesn’t impact the division of assets.” Garrison argued.

“It does when marital funds were used to facilitate it.” Judge Henderson ruled, his eyes narrowing at Keith.

“Overruled. Answer the question, Mr. Simmons.” The judge commanded.

Keith gripped the railing of the witness box.

“I—I don’t know what she’s talking about.” He muttered.

Katherine smiled. It was the smile of a predator who tasted blood.

“You don’t? Okay, let’s move on from the mistress for a moment. We’ll circle back to Sasha later.” Katherine said.

Keith flinched at the name.

“Let’s talk about your company, Apex Ventures.” Katherine continued.

“You swore in your affidavit that your income last year was $400,000.” She stated.

“That’s correct.” Keith said quickly.

“The market was down.” He added.

“The market was down.” Katherine mocked.

She turned to the jewelry box, which was empty as this was a bench trial, then back to the judge.

“Your honor, I have here bank records from the First National Bank of Cyprus.” Katherine announced.

“They show a wire transfer of $2 million entering an account controlled by Apex Ventures on the exact same day Mr. Simmons claimed the market was down.” She revealed.

She held up a piece of paper.

“And here is the withdrawal slip. Mr. Simmons, can you tell the court what you used that $2 million for?” Katherine asked.

Keith stayed silent. His throat was dry.

“I’ll help you.” Katherine said.

“You bought cryptocurrency. Specifically, an untraceable coin that you stored on a cold-storage hard drive.” She stated.

“A hard drive that is currently sitting in a safety deposit box at the Grand Central branch of Chase Bank. Box number 404.” Katherine revealed.

Keith’s jaw dropped.

“How—how did you?” He stammered.

“I’m Katherine Bennett.” She said simply.

“Finding money is what I do.” Katherine added.

“Now, here is the problem, Keith. You didn’t declare that $2 million. You didn’t declare the crypto, and you certainly didn’t share it with your wife.” She stated.

Katherine leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried across the silent room.

“You mocked my daughter for not having a lawyer. You thought she was stupid.” She said.

“But the only stupid thing in this room, Keith, is thinking you could steal $2 million, hide it in a box, and then parade your girlfriend around Miami while my daughter clipped coupons to buy groceries.” Katherine declared.

“I didn’t steal it!” Keith shouted, cracking under the pressure.

“It’s my money! I earned it!” He screamed.

“She just sat at home painting stupid pictures! She didn’t contribute anything! Why should she get half of my genius?” Keith ranted.

The courtroom went dead silent.

Judge Henderson looked at Keith with pure disgust.

“Mr. Simmons, did you just admit on the record that the money exists and that you intentionally hid it to prevent your wife from receiving her equitable share?” The judge asked.

Keith looked at the judge, then at Garrison. Garrison had his face buried in his hands.

“I—” Keith stammered.

“No further questions for this witness.” Katherine said, turning her back on him.

She walked back to the table and sat down next to Grace. Grace was crying silently.

Katherine reached out and took her daughter’s hand, squeezing it tight.

“It’s okay.” Katherine whispered.

“He’s done.” She said.

Garrison Ford was a man who prided himself on survival.

He had navigated the treacherous waters of New York high-society divorces for twenty years. He knew when to fight, when to settle, and most importantly, when to cut a rope to save his own neck.

As Keith Simmons stumbled down from the witness stand, looking like a man who had just gone twelve rounds with a heavyweight boxer, Garrison was already doing the mental calculus.

Keith had just admitted to perjury and fraud in open court.

The judge was furious. And sitting across the aisle was Katherine Bennett, a woman who had the power to not only win this case but to file ethics complaints that could strip Garrison of his license.

“Garrison,” Keith hissed as he collapsed into his chair.

“Fix this! Do something! Object to the hard drive evidence! Say it was obtained illegally!” He pleaded.