Chapter 8 - CALEB’S COUNTERSTORY
Caleb hired attorney Marcus Vale.
Good lawyer.
Calm.
His story appeared through filings.
Rebecca had long known about business debt.
True generally.
Rebecca had authorized Caleb to use household assets to maintain the company.
Partly true.
I once told him:
“Do what you need to keep payroll going.”
Not a legal guarantee.
But words.
Rebecca was emotionally unstable after her father’s death.
My father died five years earlier.
I attended therapy.
True.
Rebecca abused prescription sleep aids.
False.
Then complicated.
I occasionally took zolpidem.
Properly prescribed.
Caleb produced texts:
I can’t sleep without something anymore.
Out of context.
Still mine.
He said I took pills before visiting the construction site voluntarily.
I had.
He said I became agitated over finances.
Yes.
Then stumbled near the stair opening.
That was the lie I could not yet disprove.
His lawyer also produced my old urgent-care note.
Cabinet injury.
Then an angry text I sent Caleb afterward:
One day you’re going to make me do something crazy.
My words.
Grief.
Anger.
May you like
Bad phrasing.
Evidence does not care whether you regret your vocabulary later.
