The Palm Beach Murders by James Patterson (the read aloud family .TXT) 📕

a few notes, and then, in a very calm and quiet manner, said, “How long before the wedding date was the prenuptial agreement presented to you by Mr. Moore?”

“Two days before the date we had set.”

The judge said, “Did Mr. Moore offer any ultimatums? Did he ever say anything like ‘If you don’t sign this, we’re not getting married’?”

This was another important question. I gathered my thoughts and said, “Brennan said his dad needed the agreement signed, and if not, we’d start off our life together broke. I told him I was used to not having any money. He said he wasn’t and then just stood silently until I signed the agreement. I later learned that he was really concerned about his own assets.”

I stood, trying to hide my smile at having been so concise in showing duress, coercion, and false financial disclosure in my brief exchange with the judge. I had hit this one out of the park.

But then it was Brennan’s turn.

Chapter 13

The judge had some of the same questions about background and how we met. Brennan pointed out that he’d graduated from Georgetown and worked in finance. I guess if you manage your family’s hedge fund you are, sort of, working in finance.

Then the judge asked him about the intent behind the prenup.

At that moment, I wished Marty was sitting next to me so I could hold his hand. Also, I wanted him to see firsthand how pompous Brennan was.

Brennan finally got to the meat of his answer. “The intent of the prenuptial agreement was to protect not only my assets, but assets that had come to me through my family. The prenuptial agreement was something I had discussed with my parents and lawyers long before I’d ever met Christy.”

“Did you feel you waited too long to present the agreement?”

“No, Your Honor. Not at all. We’d talked about it for months before I presented it to her.”

That was a lie, but my lawyer’s death grip on my arm told me we’d get a chance to straighten out the record.

The judge said, “Would you still have married Mrs. Moore if she had not signed the agreement?”

This was what I was waiting to hear. This was a question I had been asking myself since Brennan had tossed me out.

Brennan said, “It never came to that, Your Honor. Christy signed immediately. I never had to consider any alternatives. I loved her, Your Honor, but I do have certain responsibilities. I’m glad I didn’t have to make that choice.”

The judge said, “Do you feel the absence of a prenuptial agreement would have affected the marriage in any way?”

I had never even thought about the agreement until Brennan dumped me. So clearly the damn thing had not affected our marriage one bit. At least from my perspective.

Brennan said, “Looking back, Your Honor, I feel Christy might have been more interested in my lifestyle than me. And the fact that we’re having this hearing confirms that theory.” Then he added, “I can’t say she ever showed any genuine emotion toward me.”

There was no reason for Brennan’s last remark. He knew it wasn’t true. I’d loved him and thought he loved me.

He just stood there as if he expected applause.

I felt a tear well up in one eye. Why was I crying now? Maybe because not only was it over, but I was realizing that nothing had ever actually existed between us. I was just some kind of trophy for him.

The judge said, “Thank you, Mr. Moore. You may sit down now.”

My husband, because he was still my husband, in fact and in the eyes of the law, turned in his chair and looked right at me. When he had my full attention, he winked and gave me a smug smile.

The judge considered everything he’d heard and told the attorneys to hold their questions. Then he looked up and cleared his throat. This was it. He had recognized that I’d signed the agreement under duress, I’d been coerced, and Brennan had presented me with false financial data. I looked at my attorney, who was also smiling. He was optimistic too.

The judge said, “Gentlemen, I have carefully considered your motions on behalf of your clients, and after hearing from both Mr. and Mrs. Moore, I’ve concluded that Mrs. Moore is a very intelligent, educated woman who signed the agreement willingly, without undue pressure or while under duress; therefore…”

I didn’t hear the rest, but then again, I didn’t really need to. All I heard was the judge’s final comment. “Mrs. Moore’s motion to dismiss the prenuptial agreement is denied.” He looked up at both tables and said, “Let’s start to move this along now, shall we.” Then it was over. My best shot at recovering part of my old life had been a failure.

Brennan stood with a broad smile on his face and shook all of his lawyers’ hands like he was O. J. Simpson and had just avoided a double murder rap.

I spent the next few moments consoling my attorney, who felt like he had let me down. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and hugged him. He sniffled and nodded.

As Brennan passed me on his way out of the courtroom, he stopped and leaned down. “You look great, babe. Sorry about your little motion.”

“Why are you doing this? Why humiliate me on top of everything else?”

Brennan just grinned and said, “Because I can, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it.”

Chapter 14

Outside the courthouse, my lawyer said it was all his fault. As I looked at him and his off-the-rack suit and Supercuts haircut, my thick file tucked under his right arm, I realized he had no idea the hearing had been fixed. He’d followed the rules and assumed everyone else would as well. I’d done the same, and look where that had gotten me.

My lawyer said, “I’ll keep looking for something we can exploit. But at some point you have to get on with your life. Christy,