“That's another thing you're going to stop doing.”
Solomon stared.
“Doing what?”
“Speaking as though my husband controls my thoughts.”
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Eleanor continued.
“I found the records. I read Henry's correspondence. I asked the questions. Caleb helped me, but these decisions are mine.”
Solomon looked furious.
He leaned closer.
“You have no idea how much damage you can do to yourself.”
Eleanor felt fear rise.
But she also felt something stronger.
She remembered the frightened girl beside the river.
The lonely widow writing letters at a boardinghouse table.
And the enormous mountain man who had stood beside the fireplace with tears in his eyes, begging her not to run.
She looked directly at Solomon.
“Then let the court decide the facts.”
His expression became cold.
For a moment, she thought he might continue threatening her.
Instead, he straightened.
Then turned toward his attorneys.
“Very well.”
He walked away.
Reuben Graves followed.
But before disappearing into the hearing room, Solomon looked back toward Caleb.
His eyes narrowed.
“You should have stayed dead, boy.”
The words fell into the corridor like stones.
Caleb went still.
Eleanor felt her breath catch.
Then he answered quietly.
“My father spent nineteen years keeping me alive.”
Solomon stared.
Caleb continued.
“And I'm done apologizing for surviving.”
For several seconds, the old man seemed unable to speak.
Then he turned and disappeared through the door.
Eleanor looked toward her husband.
His face was pale.
She reached for his hand.
He squeezed it.
Neither spoke.
Then Martin Pierce approached.
“Are you both ready?”
Eleanor took a breath.
“Yes.”
Caleb nodded.
And together they entered the courtroom.
The hearing concerning Eleanor's legal autonomy began with documents.
Solomon's attorneys presented the petition describing her need for assistance and alleging that she was unable to manage complicated financial matters. They referred to her size, restricted mobility, reliance on custom furniture, and history of allowing Henry to handle household affairs.
They described those circumstances as evidence of vulnerability.
Martin Pierce objected to the unsupported conclusions.
The presiding judge, Amos Burke, required the parties to distinguish physical limitations from proof of incapacity.
He also asked what concrete evidence supported the claim that Eleanor couldn't understand her affairs.
Solomon's attorney struggled to answer.
He mentioned that Henry managed the estate accounts.
Martin responded with records showing that Henry restricted Eleanor's access to financial information.