Chapter 5 - The Deposition
Six weeks later, the formal deposition took place in a high-rise conference room overlooking the Chicago River.
The room was packed with legal council. On one side sat me, Noah, our corporate counsel, and two federal prosecutors. On the other side sat Ethan, wearing a plain gray suit that hung loosely off his weight-lost frame, flanked by Arthur Sterling and two junior defense attorneys.
Ethan looked terrible. The confident, charming tech executive had been completely eroded, replaced by a hollow shell of a man with dark circles under his eyes and a nervous tic in his left jaw.
The court reporter sat at the end of the table, her fingers poised over the stenograph machine.
"We are on the record," prosecutor Federal Attorney Vance announced. "This is the deposition of Ethan James Cole regarding the matter of United States v. Cole, as well as the civil litigation Cole & Grant Tech v. Ethan Cole."
Vance turned his gaze toward Ethan. "Mr. Cole, please state your full name for the record."
"Ethan James Cole," my husband whispered.
"Speak up, please," the court reporter requested.
"Ethan James Cole!" he repeated, sharper this time, a flash of his old arrogant temper flaring up.
"Mr. Cole," Vance began, flipping through a thick binder. "I want to direct your attention to Exhibit C—a series of encrypted email exchanges between an account registered under your name and Mr. Arthur Blake, senior consultant at Nexus Global. Do you recognize these emails?"
Ethan looked down at the paper placed in front of him. His attorney, Sterling, touched his arm. "My client asserts his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination."
"Very well," Vance said smoothly. "Let's move to Exhibit D. A bank transfer of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars from an account held by Nexus Global directly into a personal account in the Cayman Islands registered under your social security number. Did you receive these funds, Mr. Cole?"
"Fifth Amendment," Sterling repeated.
I sat back, watching Ethan. He couldn't even look at me. Every time his eyes drifted in my direction, he flinched and looked down at his polished shoes.
"Mr. Cole," Vance continued, leaning forward. "Your defense team has submitted a statement claiming that your wife, Madison Cole, was aware of these transactions and authorized the transfer of intellectual property as part of a tax-mitigation strategy. Is that your testimony today under oath?"
Ethan hesitated.
This was the trap. If he lied under oath and blamed me, we had three different witnesses—including his father and the forensic IT team—ready to prove perjury, which would add another five years to his potential sentence.
Sterling whispered furiously in Ethan’s ear. "Ethan, do not commit perjury. They have the server logs."
Ethan’s breathing grew shallow. He swallowed hard, his hands clenching into tight fists under the table.
"Mr. Cole?" Vance pressed. "Did Madison Cole authorize the release of company source code to Nexus Global?"
Ethan looked up slowly. His eyes finally met mine.
In my eyes, he found no mercy, no nostalgia, and no fear. I was staring at him like a bug pinned under a microscope.
"No," Ethan choked out, his voice cracking. "She... she didn't know."
"Speak up, Mr. Cole," Vance demanded.
"No!" Ethan yelled, tears spilling over his lashes. "She didn't know! She didn't know about the money, she didn't know about Savannah, she didn't know about the code! I did it all! Okay?! Are you happy now?! I did it all!"
A heavy silence descended upon the room, broken only by the rapid clicking of the stenograph machine recording his full, unambiguous confession.
Arthur Sterling closed his eyes in defeat, leaning back in his chair. The defense was over. It was a complete capitulation.
Vance nodded slowly, satisfied. "Thank you, Mr. Cole. We have no further questions at this time."
As the lawyers began packing up their files, Ethan sat frozen, weeping softly into his hands.
I stood up, buttoning my blazer. Noah walked around the table and placed a gentle, supportive hand on the small of my back. "Let me buy you lunch, CEO," Noah murmured with a warm, genuine smile.
"I'd love that," I replied.
We walked toward the door. Just as I reached the handle, Ethan’s voice called out from behind us.
"Maddie... wait. Please."
I paused, turning around slowly.
Ethan had stood up, his face pale and blotchy. "What... what happens to me now?"
I looked at him, feeling a sudden, deep sense of clarity. The fear that had gripped me for months, the pain of his betrayal, the anger toward his family—it all evaporated, leaving behind only the calm, unshakeable strength of a woman who had reclaimed her life.
"Now, Ethan," I said softly, "you go to trial. You pay back every single dollar you stole. And then you serve your time."
"And you?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper. "What are you going to do?"
I smiled—a real, radiant, radiant smile that reached all the way to my eyes.
May you like
"I'm going to build an empire," I said. "Without you."
And with that, I walked out of the room into the bright afternoon sunlight.
