Brian’s attorney began objecting again.
The judge instructed my father to describe the circumstances without assuming the recording would automatically be admitted.
Dad nodded.
“The message is forty-seven seconds long.”
He paused.
“Brian wanted me to persuade Nicole to stop fighting over the remaining settlement.”
I stared at him.
“He said she’d listen to me,” Dad continued. “And that I should convince her to accept his terms.”
Then his voice became quieter.
“He also said she would regret making him leave that house.”
The courtroom fell silent.
Brian suddenly sat upright.
“That’s not what I meant!”
His attorney grabbed his arm.
The judge looked at him firmly.
“Mr. Lawson, you will speak through your counsel.”
Brian sat back down.
Dad continued.
“He said that if Nicole wanted the house so badly, she could have it exactly the way he decided to leave it.”
A chill moved through my body.
