Chapter 13 - Derrick’s Version
Derrick arrived at his deposition wearing a gray suit and an expression Marcus recognized from childhood.
Defiance disguised as boredom.
Marcus watched remotely from Porter’s office.
Derrick’s attorney sat beside him.
Porter began with employment history.
Then access.
Then the profit-sharing certification.
Derrick denied knowingly processing a forged approval.
Porter showed the form.
Derrick shrugged.
“I assumed Marcus signed it.”
“Did you speak to Marcus?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Vanessa handled it.”
“Was Vanessa authorized to speak for Marcus regarding plan certifications?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were operations manager.”
“I handled operations, not marriage.”
Porter moved to Crown Oak.
“Did you receive payments?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“Consulting.”
“What consulting?”
Derrick shifted.
“I helped Gloria understand construction investments.”
Porter showed records.
“Thirty-six thousand dollars.”
“Over time.”
“Did Gloria ever attend a meeting with you?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Did you ever send Gloria a report?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Email?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Invoice?”
Derrick’s jaw tightened.
“I’d have to check.”
Porter changed direction.
“March eighteenth. Did you enter Reed Restoration after midnight?”
Derrick looked at his attorney.
His attorney leaned over and whispered.
Derrick answered.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To retrieve personal items.”
“You carried a company file box out.”
“It contained copies.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t recall.”
Porter placed still images from the security footage on the table.
“Did Vanessa ask you to remove vendor records?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was secretly transferring marital funds?”
Derrick looked toward the camera.
For one second, Marcus felt Derrick staring directly at him.
“She told me Marcus was hiding money first.”
Porter’s voice stayed level.
“That was not my question.”
“Yes.”
Marcus felt no surprise.
Only confirmation.
“How much did you know?”
“Not exact amounts.”
“Did you know about Bennett Legacy?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know marital funds were used to buy rental properties?”
“She said it was money she earned.”
“From where?”
“Household management. Work she did for Reed Restoration. Marriage.”
Porter paused.
“So your position is that she was entitled to take money secretly because she contributed labor.”
“I didn’t say secretly.”
“Did Marcus know?”
“No.”
“Then secretly is accurate.”
Derrick’s attorney objected.
Porter continued.
“Why help her?”
Derrick looked down.
Then something in him changed.
“She was right about him.”
Marcus leaned closer to the monitor.
Porter asked, “Right about what?”
“Marcus thinks if he pays for something, he owns the decision.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
Derrick continued.
“That company was family until he got successful. Then suddenly everybody needed credentials. Policies. Permissions.”
“You were paid a salary.”
“I helped him when nobody knew Reed Restoration.”
“And then you removed company records after midnight.”
Derrick looked away.
Porter’s voice sharpened slightly.
“Did resentment toward Marcus influence your decision to help Vanessa?”
“I helped somebody who deserved a fair share.”
“By falsifying records?”
“I didn’t falsify anything.”
“By accepting payments from a sham company?”
“Crown Oak existed.”
“That was not my question.”
Derrick’s attorney intervened.
Porter moved on.
Finally he produced the forged letter.
“Have you seen this?”
Derrick glanced at it.
“Yes.”
“Who showed it to you?”
“Vanessa.”
“Did it affect your belief that Marcus intended to deprive her financially?”
“Yes.”
“Did you verify whether Marcus wrote it?”
“No.”
Porter paused.
“If you learned Vanessa fabricated this document, would that change your view of what she told you?”
Derrick’s face went still.
His attorney whispered something.
Derrick looked at the letter again.
“She made it?”
Porter said nothing.
Derrick swallowed.
For the first time, his confidence cracked.
“She told me he gave it to her.”
Marcus watched his cousin’s face.
The betrayal did not disappear.
But another truth emerged.
Vanessa had manipulated Derrick too.
After the deposition, Marcus sat alone in Porter’s office.
Porter entered.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Useful answer.”
Marcus gave a tired smile.
“Derrick hated me enough to believe anything.”
“Maybe.”
“And I gave him reasons.”
Porter sat.
“Marcus.”
“I fired him in front of three supervisors.”
“Why?”
“He called me a selfish bastard during a budget meeting.”
“Professional response?”
“No.”
Marcus looked down.
“I could have handled it differently.”
“Yes.”
“But he still helped steal.”
“Yes.”
Marcus nodded.
He was learning to hold two truths without allowing one to erase the other.
Porter opened his notes.
“There’s one more thing Derrick said after the formal deposition ended.”
Marcus looked up.
“He asked his lawyer whether cooperation could protect him from civil claims.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning Derrick may be ready to tell us what happened to the missing vendor files.”
“And?”
“He said they were not destroyed.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Where are they?”
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Porter looked directly at him.
“Derrick says Vanessa has them.”
