Chapter 9: Friday
The courtroom was smaller than I expected.
Wood paneling, fluorescent lighting, two long tables facing a raised bench.
Ruth sat beside me at the left table, her files arranged in a precise row in front of her.
Julian sat at the right table with a man I didn't recognize — younger, visibly underprepared, his briefcase not quite closed.
Julian didn't look at me when I walked in.
He looked at the table.
The judge was a woman named the Honorable Patricia Dunne.
She was in her early sixties, with the particular stillness of someone who had heard a great many things and been surprised by very few of them.
She reviewed the filings for several minutes before she spoke.
"Mr.
Voss," she said.
"Your original motion claims spousal interest in the property at 4814 Creekside Drive based on joint occupancy and financial contribution to maintenance.
Is that correct?"
Julian's new attorney stood.
"That's correct, Your Honor."
"And you were aware, when filing, of the original deed showing sole ownership in Ms.
Sterling's name?"
"We were, Your Honor.
Our position is that eight years of joint occupancy and shared financial contribution effectively—"
"I've read the filing." Judge Dunne set it down.
"I've also read the supplemental response filed at three-seventeen this morning." She looked up.
"Including the notarized affidavit from the original grantor establishing separate property intent, the complete tax records showing sole ownership, and the private communications between Mr.
Voss and an unnamed third party discussing the commingling strategy by name, twenty-two months prior to this filing."
Julian's attorney sat down.
The judge looked at Julian directly.
"Mr.
Voss, I'm going to ask you a question and I'd like you to answer it yourself, not through counsel.
Were you aware, at the time you filed this motion, that the property in question had never been transferred into joint ownership and that no joint financial instruments had ever been attached to it?"
A long pause.
Julian's jaw moved.
"I believed there was a legal argument—"
"That isn't what I asked."
Another pause.
Shorter.
"Yes," Julian said.
"I was aware."
Judge Dunne looked at him for a moment.
Then she looked back at her papers.
"The motion is dismissed with prejudice," she said.
"Ms.
Sterling's separate property claim is confirmed.
I am granting the motion for sanctions and will set the fee amount at a subsequent hearing." She set the file aside.
"Mr.
Voss, I want to say something to you directly, and I want you to hear it."
Julian looked up.
"You filed this motion the morning after your son's funeral," Judge Dunne said.
"The documentation in this case suggests you began planning it while that child was still alive and in the hospital.
I don't have jurisdiction over your conscience.
But I want you to understand that this court sees exactly what happened here, and the record will reflect it."
Julian said nothing.
His attorney gathered his papers.
The briefcase clasp finally clicked shut.
"We're adjourned," Judge Dunne said.
Ruth put her hand briefly on my arm.
Just for a second.
Then she began organizing her files.
I looked across the room.
Julian was still sitting at the table.
He hadn't moved.
His new attorney was already at the door.
I stood up.
Julian finally looked at me.
His expression was difficult to read — not remorseful exactly, not defiant.
Something more like a man who had miscalculated and was still trying to understand where the math had gone wrong.
"Clara—" he started.
"The house is mine," I said.
"It was always mine.
And you knew that."
I picked up my bag and walked out.
Ruth caught up with me in the hallway.
We walked to the elevator without speaking.
When the doors closed, she exhaled slowly.
"It's done," she said.
"Yes."
"How are you feeling?"
I thought about it honestly.
"Like I want to go home."
May you like
Ruth nodded.
"Then go home."
