Chapter 14 - Under Oath
The hearing room was smaller than the graduation auditorium, but Bea found it harder to enter.
There were no banners, no music, and no parents holding flowers.
There were lawyers, trustees, witnesses, and a clerk making a careful record of each statement.
Liam stayed with Hannah in an adjacent family room.
Bea kept his little red blanket folded in her bag.
She was asked to explain the false scholarship rejection and the hardship caused by the missing award.
She spoke about tuition debts, prenatal appointments missed because she could not afford transportation, and the shame of asking neighbors to watch Liam during examinations.
She did not exaggerate.
She did not need to.
Victor's attorney suggested that Bea was benefiting from the publicity and that she had not suffered measurable financial harm.
Bea unfolded a notebook containing four years of expenses.
She described the work hours and the unpaid bills.
"These are the costs," she said.
"The time with my mother before she died is what nobody can repay."
Lucinda then testified about the foundation's accounting.
She identified payments that lacked proper approval and reports that differed from their supporting records.
When the false rejection form was projected on a screen, Cruz acknowledged the signature resembled his former assistant's handwriting.
The assistant, Teresa Villanueva, had not yet been interviewed.
Carmina's counsel objected repeatedly to conclusions about intent.
The panel instructed everyone to distinguish verified documents from allegations.
Bea agreed with that instruction, even when it slowed the hearing.
Then Celeste testified about the transfers from her own scholarship account.
Victor rose abruptly during her statement.
The chair ordered him to sit.
Carmina watched her niece with an expression Bea could not read.
At the end of the day, Teresa entered the room through a side door.
She looked older than the woman in the staff directory photograph.
Her hands shook as she was sworn in.
"Did you sign this form?" the examiner asked.
Teresa stared at the projected page.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Who instructed you to do so?"
She looked toward Victor.
Then toward Cruz.
"I have documents that explain it," she said.
May you like
From her bag she removed a sealed brown packet.
