Chapter 8 - The Hearing
The emergency guardianship hearing began three days after Corinne's call.
Blair entered the courthouse beside her mother, who wore a dark blue cardigan to hide the bruises she did not want strangers staring at.
Nolan was already seated beside his attorney.
He looked relieved to see them.
That expression frightened Blair more than a scowl would have.
He still believed he could turn the room.
His attorney described Corinne as erratic and claimed Nolan had acted out of concern.
Camille rose and introduced the physician's death certificate.
The judge examined it.
“Counsel, your petition relies on an examination allegedly performed by a deceased man.”
Nolan's attorney stared at the page.
“We were provided this record by our client.”
The judge turned toward Nolan.
“Mr. Vickers, is that correct?”
Nolan shifted in his seat.
“I was told it was valid.”
“By whom?”
“I'd have to check.”
The judge made a note.
Camille then produced an independent capacity assessment confirming Corinne could make her own decisions.
She added the renovation records, the dated photographs, and the contractor's statement concerning the removed fireplace.
Nolan's attorney objected to litigating the alleged assault in a guardianship hearing.
The judge agreed that criminal facts belonged elsewhere, but permitted relevant evidence concerning reliability and urgency.
The distinction mattered.
Blair respected it.
A case could collapse when people demanded a courtroom decide more than it was authorized to decide.
Corinne took the stand.
Her answers were measured.
She described her medication, her bills, her volunteer schedule, and how she had refused to sign a trust she had never requested.
She did not exaggerate.
When asked whether she resented Nolan, she answered, “I resent being treated like a signature instead of a person.”
The judge denied emergency guardianship and ordered the questionable affidavit referred for investigation.
Corinne breathed out.
Blair squeezed her hand.
For an hour, it felt like a victory.
Then Camille's investigator approached them in the hallway.
“Cedar Vale Holdings isn't just planning to buy the house,” he said.
“The company already recorded a lien against it.”
“How?” Blair asked.
He handed her a scanned document.
A signature at the bottom read CORINNE ASHFORD.
Her mother looked at it once.
“That isn't mine.”
The document had been notarized two months earlier.
May you like
The notary's name was Diane Mercer.
