The hearing was held on a cold morning in February.
The courtroom was full. Ava was there, in the front row. Maria was there, even though she had said she couldn't testify; she sat in the back and said nothing, but her presence was enough. Ruth was there with a stack of documents and a calm that I had come to rely on. And Daniel was there, with Howard and two new lawyers, because his first lawyer had quit.
The attorney general's office sent a representative, a young woman in a grey suit who took notes and said nothing.
Ruth presented the evidence. The 1998 records. The foundation filings. The wire transfers to Patricia. The Cayman accounts. The emails. She presented it all, and by the end, the courtroom was silent.
Howard tried to argue that the evidence was obtained improperly. The ju
