“Travel,” he said. “Client meeting.”
Marcia nodded again. “Chicago?”
“Yes.”
She made a note. “Would it surprise you to learn that the corresponding location data for your vehicle places you in downtown Indianapolis that same weekend?”
A pause. Small, but there.
Scott shifted slightly in his seat. “I travel frequently,” he said. “There could be overlap.”
Marcia didn’t interrupt. She just let him finish.
Then she picked up another paper.
“Let’s talk about your Amazon account,” she said.
Scott frowned slightly. “What about it?”
“Do you use a shared account with your household?”
“We used to.”
“And purchases made through that account would generate email confirmations.”
“Yes.”
She held up a page. “Like this one.”
Scott’s eyes flicked to it. “Possibly.”
“Delivered to an address on North Illinois Street in Indianapolis,” she continued. “Does that address belong to a client?”
Another pause. Longer this time.
“I don’t recall,” he said.
The room felt different now. Quieter. Not silent, just tighter.
Marcia didn’t press. Not yet.
She moved on.
“Let’s return to financial disclosures,” she said. “You testified that all accounts and income were accurately reported.”
“That’s correct.”
She nodded. Then she placed a new document in front of him.
“Can you explain the discrepancy between the income reported here and the figures in this draft report printed from your home office last month?”
Scott’s head snapped up. Just slightly.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
Marcia didn’t answer.
“Are the numbers accurate?” she asked.
“That’s not a finalized document,” he said quickly. “It doesn’t reflect—”
“So the numbers are inaccurate?” she asked.
“I’m saying it’s incomplete.”
“But not incorrect.”
He hesitated.
Marcia waited, didn’t fill the silence.
The judge leaned forward slightly. “Mr. Mercer,” she said, “please answer the question.”
Scott cleared his throat. “They may not match exactly,” he said.
Marcia nodded once. “Thank you.”
She set that paper aside. Then she picked up the last set.
“This is documentation from a 529 college savings account in your daughter’s name,” she said.
Scott’s jaw tightened.
“Are you familiar with this account?”
“Yes.”
“Can you confirm that withdrawals were made earlier this year?”
“They were reallocated,” he said. “To business liquidity. Temporary.”
“Temporary,” Marcia said again.
She placed another document in front of him. “Can you identify any repayment to that account?”
Scott didn’t answer.
The silence stretched. I could hear the faint scratch of a pen from the clerk’s desk. Someone shifting in their seat behind me. Scott’s breathing.
He shifted again, looked at his attorney, then back at Marcia. “I don’t have that information in front of me,” he said.
Marcia let that sit. Then she took one small step back.
“Let’s move to your involvement with your children,” she said.
Scott straightened slightly. “I’ve always been involved,” he said.
“Of course,” she said. “Can you tell the court the last time you took your son to a medical appointment?”
Scott blinked. “What?”
“The last doctor’s visit,” she said. “Date, if you recall.”
“I don’t—I don’t remember the exact date.”
“Can you recall the appointment?”
He hesitated. “I handle broader responsibilities,” he said. “Dana typically—”
“So that would be no,” Marcia said gently.
She turned to the judge. “Your Honor, we’ve submitted records of over eighty documented school communications, medical appointments, and daily schedules managed exclusively by Mrs. Mercer over the past five years.”
The judge nodded slowly.
Marcia stepped back. “No further questions.”
Scott sat there for a moment, not moving, not speaking. The confidence he walked in with, it wasn’t gone, but it was cracked. You could see it.
The judge looked down at her notes, then back up.
“Mr. Mercer,” she said, “the court has concerns regarding the completeness of your financial disclosures and the accuracy of your testimony.”
Scott didn’t respond.
“Pending further review,” she continued, “temporary primary residential custody will remain with Mrs. Mercer. Financial matters will be subject to additional examination.”
A pause.
“Both parties are ordered to provide full and accurate documentation moving forward.”