Chapter 8: Thursday Morning
The courtroom was smaller than Alvin expected.
Judge Harmon was a compact woman in her sixties with reading glasses on a chain and no patience for theater.
She had reviewed the filings the night before.
Alvin could tell by the way she looked at Derek's attorney before he had said a single word.
Inez presented first.
She was precise and unhurried.
Original deed.
Fraudulent transfer.
Notarized signatures obtained under false pretenses — Veronica's sister as notary.
The forged will.
The intercepted bank transfers.
Manuel's handwritten notes, authenticated.
Eight months of financial records.
She laid each document on the table as she spoke, one at a time, like cards in a hand she had been holding for a very long time.
Derek sat beside Garrett in a gray suit.
He kept his eyes forward.
Veronica was not in the room.
When Inez finished, Judge Harmon looked at Garrett.
"Counsel."
Garrett stood.
He argued that the deed transfer had been a voluntary estate planning decision, properly executed.
That Carmen's signature was valid.
That the LLC structure was a legitimate financial instrument.
Judge Harmon let him finish.
Then she picked up Manuel's handwritten notes and read one section aloud.
*"Carmen did not understand.
I was in the next room.
I heard Veronica tell her it was the tax renewal form."*
She set the paper down.
"Mr.
Garrett, your client used his mother's signature — obtained through deliberate misrepresentation — to transfer a property worth approximately one point two million dollars into a company he controls.
He then intercepted the income his brother was sending for his parents' care.
And he housed two elderly people in a storage shed." She removed her glasses.
"Is there anything in your filing that addresses these specific facts?"
Garrett shifted his weight.
"Your Honor, the financial transfers were—"
"I've read your filing, Mr.
Garrett."
A silence settled over the room.
Derek's hand moved on the table.
He pressed it flat and kept it there.
Judge Harmon turned to Inez.
"The deed transfer is voided.
The property reverts to Manuel and Carmen Serrano effective immediately.
The LLC is dissolved by court order." She made a note.
"I am also referring the matter to the district attorney's office for review of potential elder financial exploitation charges." She looked over her glasses at Derek directly.
"Mr.
Serrano, you are ordered to vacate the property within seventy-two hours."
Derek stood up.
"Your Honor, with respect—"
"You're dismissed, Mr.
Serrano."
Garrett put a hand on Derek's arm.
Derek shook it off.
"This isn't over," Derek said.
His voice was low and tight.
He was looking at Alvin now, not the judge.
"You think you've fixed something.
You haven't fixed anything.
They're old, Alvin.
What happens when you go back to New York?
Who takes care of them then?
You?"
Alvin looked at his brother across the table.
"Yes," he said.
"Me."
Derek's mouth opened.
Then closed.
He picked up his jacket from the back of the chair and walked out.
Garrett followed, already on his phone.
The courtroom door swung shut.
Inez gathered her documents without rushing.
"The DA referral is significant," she said quietly.
"That's not a formality.
Harmon doesn't make referrals she doesn't expect to go somewhere."
"I know."
"What do you want to do about the Charlotte lender?"
"Send them the court order today.
Copy the DA's office."
May you like
"Already drafted." She snapped her briefcase shut.
"Go tell your parents."
