Chapter 11 - The Woman Who Knew Where the Money Went
The first person who offered to help us after the family meeting was Margaret.
That alone should have warned me.
She called Elaine's office on Friday afternoon and said she had information about the Northbridge transactions.
She wanted to meet privately.
Without Gerald.
Without Richard.
And, most importantly, without Clare.
Elaine told me about the call.
I laughed.
"She's either terrified or she's negotiating."
"Possibly both."
"What does she want?"
"She hasn't said."
"Then why meet?"
"Because sometimes people become more forthcoming when they believe their interests are changing."
I considered that.
"Where?"
"Here."
"Security?"
"Building cameras, staffed reception, and a meeting room with two exits."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You're thorough."
"One survives legal practice by being less trusting than one's clients."
At three o'clock, Margaret arrived in a cream-colored coat with a designer handbag and an expression of cultivated distress.
She looked around Elaine's conference room.
"How provincial."
Elaine offered her a chair.
Margaret sat.
Then she looked at me.
"You're enjoying all of this, aren't you?"
"No."
"Don't lie."
"I'm not."
She seemed genuinely disappointed.
Perhaps anger would have made more sense to her.
I had spent fifteen years as the family's rebellious daughter.
Margaret needed me to remain that person.
A composed woman asking careful questions about financial records didn't fit the story.
Elaine opened a notebook.
"You said you had information."
Margaret adjusted her handbag.
"I may."
"What information?"
"That depends."
I leaned back.
"On?"
"Whether Evelyn is prepared to stop destroying her father's life."
I almost smiled.
Elaine didn't.
"We're not offering concessions in exchange for information that may or may not exist."
Margaret's expression hardened.
"You're both remarkably arrogant."
"Then this meeting is over," I said.
I stood.
She reached out.
"Wait."
I stopped.
For several seconds, Margaret stared at her hands.
Then she opened her handbag.
She removed a small flash drive.
Elaine remained motionless.
"What's on it?" she asked.
Margaret swallowed.
"Copies of some financial statements."
"From where?"
"Richard's office."
"When did you obtain them?"
"Last year."
"How?"
Margaret looked uncomfortable.
"I had access."
Elaine leaned forward.
"Margaret, I need you to understand that we won't review material obtained unlawfully without first assessing the circumstances."
Margaret waved a hand.
"They were in a shared office folder."
"That isn't the same as having permission to disclose them."
She looked furious.
"Do you want the information or not?"
"We want to handle it properly."
Margaret stared at Elaine.
Then she turned toward me.
"Your father has no idea how complicated this has become."
I sat down again.
"Then explain."
She took a breath.
"Richard has been moving money through companies Gerald doesn't fully control."
I watched her.
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw the statements."
"Why were you looking?"
Her face reddened.
"Because I believed he was hiding money from your father."
I glanced at Elaine.
She wrote something down.
Margaret continued.
"For years, Richard told Gerald that certain investments had underperformed."
"Which investments?"
"The trust assets."
I felt my shoulders tighten.
"Mom's assets?"
"Some of them."
"Who approved the transfers?"
She looked away.
"That isn't simple."
"It rarely is."
Margaret's eyes flashed.
"You think you're so clever."
"I think you're avoiding the question."
She gripped the handbag.
"Gerald believed Richard was handling the details."
"Gerald signed the documents."
"He signed what Richard prepared."
"Then he should be able to explain them."
Margaret leaned forward.
"You have no understanding of how people in that world operate."
I held her gaze.
"Margaret, I grew up in that world."
She opened her mouth.
I continued.
"I watched people laugh at jokes they didn't find funny because my father controlled their contracts."
"I watched employees apologize for errors they hadn't made."
"And I watched him turn every act of generosity into a debt."
I paused.
"Don't mistake my leaving for ignorance."
Something flickered in her face.
It wasn't shame.
It was recognition.
For the first time, I wondered whether Margaret had spent years convincing herself she was different from the people Gerald controlled.
Elaine spoke.
"Why bring the flash drive now?"
Margaret stared at the table.
"Because Richard is preparing to blame Gerald for everything."
I looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"He told me."
"When?"
"Wednesday night."
The night before our meeting.
Elaine set down her pen.
"What exactly did he say?"
Margaret swallowed.
"He said Gerald had become a liability."
My pulse quickened.
"And?"
"He said there were documents that could make it appear Gerald had acted alone."
I leaned forward.
"Did Richard say those documents were false?"
"No."
"Did he say they were accurate?"
"No."
"Then what did he say?"
Margaret looked at me.
"He said Gerald would be the one holding the bag when the lawyers finished."
Elaine made a note.
"Did Gerald know about that conversation?"
Margaret hesitated.
"No."
I watched her carefully.
"Why not tell him?"
For the first time, her composure cracked.
"Because he wouldn't believe me."
The room grew quiet.
She looked suddenly older.
"I've spent fourteen years telling your father what he wants to hear."
Her voice became bitter.
"Do you know what happens when you stop?"
I thought of Clare's apartment.
My suitcase.
My mother's letters.
"Yes," I said.
"I do."
Margaret looked up.
For a moment, something human passed between us.
Then it vanished.
She straightened.
"I didn't come here for sympathy."
"Then what did you come for?"
She looked at the flash drive.
"Protection."
Elaine folded her hands.
"Protection from what?"
Margaret swallowed.
"From the agreement Richard made me sign."
I stared at her.
"What agreement?"
She was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said, "The one transferring my ownership interests if Gerald dies or becomes unable to manage the company."
Elaine's face changed.
"Margaret, do you own shares in Ulette-Hail Risk Management?"
She nodded.
"How did you acquire them?"
Margaret looked down.
"Gerald gave them to me after Eleanor died."
I stared at her.
"Shares that used to belong to my mother?"
Margaret didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
The silence said enough.
Then she whispered, "Richard told me Eleanor had agreed to the arrangement."
I looked at Elaine.
Her jaw was tight.
Margaret began to cry.
Not gracefully.
Not in the polished manner she used at charity lunches.
Her shoulders shook.
"I didn't know what he was doing."
I watched her.
I wasn't certain whether I believed her.
But I understood that the situation had changed.
Richard wasn't just a business partner anymore.
He was a man accumulating leverage over everyone around him.
Even the woman who had helped my father erase me.
I looked at Margaret.
"What does he have on you?"
Her face went white.
"Nothing."
"Margaret."
She shook her head.
I leaned forward.
"If you want Elaine to help you understand your legal position, you need to tell her what happened."
Margaret covered her mouth.
Then she whispered a name.
"Daniel Price."
I went cold.
"What about him?"
Her eyes filled.
"Richard made me sign a statement about his accident."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then I asked the question I was suddenly afraid to hear answered.
"What did the statement say?"
Margaret stared at me.
"That Gerald was at home with me on the night Daniel's car went off the road."
I swallowed.
"And was he?"
May you like
Her lower lip trembled.
"No."
