Sarah showed him a payment record tied to a false compliance notice delivered to Marcus. Paul identified the consulting contractor and confirmed that Derek had approved the expenditure. Under cross-examination, Morrison emphasized Paul's interest in receiving leniency if he faced charges in the federal case. Paul acknowledged it. He also confirmed that the bank records existed independently of his hope for leniency and that his statements could be compared with the recordings.
The courtroom grew unusually quiet when Sarah played Derek's recorded voice. A few jurors looked directly at Derek, who stared at the table. His earlier testimony about retiring Marcus with dignity sat beside the recorded discussion of cutting off the old man's support network. The contradiction did not require Sarah to raise her voice. She allowed the recording to finish and waited until the court reporter marked the exhibit.
"Mr. Vance," she asked, "when Mr. Collins said to target the boy who worked at the diner, who was he referring to?"
"Tommy Washington. The kid who helped after school."
"Why would that matter to a business negotiation?"
Paul swallowed. "Because Marcus cared about him. Derek thought he could make Marcus afraid enough to give up."
Tommy gripped his mother's hand in the gallery. Denise kept her eyes on the witness, her expression still. Marcus stared at the jury instead of turning around, because he knew that looking at the boy would make the room blur. The threat that had kept him awake for weeks was finally being described by someone who had heard it from the man who ordered it.
Additional witnesses testified about similar pressure campaigns. Evelyn Parker, the former florist, described an offer followed by repeated complaints and a suspicious landlord notice. Vernon Reed, whose barbershop had closed, produced messages connecting threatening visits to a negotiator working with one of Derek's affiliates. Isaiah Boone explained how an apparent repair dispute had preceded his own lease surrender. Their accounts did not prove every accusation Marcus had made, but they demonstrated that the circumstances surrounding Derek's visit were neither harmless nor unprecedented.
The court permitted Tommy to give narrow testimony about the photographs and threats he received, with his mother nearby and careful limits on questioning. He told the jury he had been followed after school and shown messages implying his family would suffer if Marcus refused to cooperate. He did not pretend to know who sent every message. He identified what he had received, when it arrived, and how he felt when a stranger mentioned his mother.
"I was scared," he admitted. "I didn't want Mr. Marcus to know because he'd try to help and get in more trouble."
Sarah asked, "What did he tell you when he found out?"
"To tell my mom everything. To stay safe. He said I didn't have to be brave for anybody."