Chapter 15 - Victor Learns Martha Will Testify
Victor received the news from his attorney.
Martha had agreed to testify before a federal grand jury.
She would identify the property transfers.
The dinner with Keene.
The hidden documents.
Victor’s threats.
The handgun.
The break-in.
Victor remained silent for nearly a minute.
Then he asked, “Did Lauren make her do it?”
“No.”
“She can’t handle court.”
“Your wife has counsel.”
“She is still my wife.”
“She filed for divorce.”
“That doesn’t change what she is.”
The attorney leaned forward.
“What is she?”
Victor answered without hesitation.
“Mine.”
The attorney closed the folder.
“That statement will not help you.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“You think this is about the law?”
“Yes.”
“It is about Lauren.”
“No. It is about you entering a residence with a firearm.”
“She attacked me.”
“She disarmed you.”
“She broke my shoulder.”
“Medical records show a minor strain.”
“She humiliated me.”
The attorney looked at him.
There it was.
The true injury.
Not the shoulder.
Not the bruised cheek.
Humiliation.
Victor believed control was his identity.
Lauren took it from him in four seconds.
Martha took it again when she refused to return.
Now his hidden financial network was collapsing.
“Tell Martha not to testify,” he said.
“I cannot contact her.”
“You can deliver advice.”
“I represent you, not her.”
Victor leaned closer.
“If she speaks, she loses everything.”
“Most of the assets were already hers.”
Victor’s expression changed.
His attorney realized something.
“You never thought she would examine the accounts.”
“She doesn’t understand them.”
“She understands enough.”
Victor looked toward the wall.
He still saw Martha as the woman who trembled when he raised his voice.
He had not seen her sit with federal investigators.
He had not heard her correct transaction dates from memory.
He had not watched her recognize Keene’s signature.
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He did not know that fear and weakness were not the same thing.
👉 Victor believed Martha would collapse before testifying—but the first person she asked to face was him.
