Chapter 14 - The Woman Who Held My Wallet
Lila entered the deposition room wearing a plain gray dress.
No diamond earrings.
No expensive watch.
No perfect smile.
She looked younger than I remembered.
And much more frightened.
I sat beside Hannah while the attorneys prepared their questions.
The proceedings were formal.
Recorded.
Every answer mattered.
Lila swore to tell the truth.
Then the questioning began.
At first, she confirmed ordinary facts.
Her employment dates.
Her responsibilities.
Her access to company files.
Her role in preparing payment schedules.
Then the attorney representing Adrian's interests asked whether she had seen me discuss trust matters with my husband.
"Yes."
My heart tightened.
"Did Mrs. Vale ever express knowledge of the company's financing arrangements?"
Lila hesitated.
"She asked questions."
"Did she ever approve transfers?"
"No."
The attorney paused.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
I looked at Hannah.
She remained still.
The attorney tried another approach.
"Did Mrs. Vale routinely sign documents Adrian presented?"
Lila lowered her eyes.
"Sometimes."
"Without reading them?"
"Sometimes."
"Would you characterize that as consent to his management of the trust?"
Lila looked up.
"No."
The attorney frowned.
"Explain."
Lila took a breath.
"Adrian frequently pressured her."
A silence fell.
The attorney looked toward his notes.
"In what way?"
"He would tell her she was embarrassing him."
My throat tightened.
"He told her she wasn't smart enough to understand the paperwork."
I stared at the table.
"He sometimes threatened to cancel her access to household accounts if she refused."
The room became very quiet.
Lila continued.
"And Vivian would tell her that questioning her husband was disrespectful."
I closed my eyes.
Someone else had seen it.
Someone else had heard it.
For seven years, I had wondered whether the things happening in my marriage were as bad as they felt.
Now the woman who helped humiliate me was describing them under oath.
The attorney shifted.
"Ms. Morgan, weren't you involved in some of the disputed transactions?"
"Yes."
"And aren't you cooperating with investigators?"
"Yes."
"Wouldn't it benefit you to blame Mr. Vale?"
Lila looked directly at him.
"I am responsible for what I did."
He leaned forward.
"Which includes helping prepare documents that may have contained false information."
"Yes."
"Then why should anyone believe you?"
Lila's eyes filled.
"Because I'm telling the truth now."
After a short recess, Hannah began her questions.
"Ms. Morgan, do you remember the evening Adrian Vale left his wife at a bus stop?"
Lila closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"Where were you?"
"In the back seat of his car."
"Did Mrs. Vale have her wallet?"
"No."
"Who had it?"
"I did."
"Why?"
"Adrian told me to hold it."
"What did you say to Mrs. Vale?"
Lila swallowed.
Then repeated the words I would never forget.
"You don't need money tonight. You need discipline."
The room fell silent.
Hannah waited.
"Did you believe that was appropriate?"
"No."
"Why did you say it?"
Lila's face crumpled.
"Because I wanted Adrian to think I was loyal."
I stared at her.
For years, I had wondered whether Lila was having an affair with my husband.
She wore his favorite perfume.
She traveled with him.
She laughed at his jokes.
She called him late at night.
Now I realized the truth might be uglier than simple romantic betrayal.
She had wanted access.
Approval.
Security.
And Adrian had encouraged people to mistreat me as proof of loyalty to him.
Hannah continued.
"Did Adrian ever discuss replacing Mrs. Vale as a beneficiary of the trust?"
Lila went pale.
"Yes."
My heart stopped.
"When?"
"About eight months ago."
"What did he say?"
Lila stared at her hands.
"He said once the Meridian project was completed, he would no longer need Claire's cooperation."
I felt Hannah turn slightly toward me.
She asked the next question carefully.
"What did he mean?"
Lila began crying.
"He said Vivian had found a way to make the trust management arrangement permanent."
Hannah paused.
"Did he explain how?"
Lila nodded.
"He said Martin Kessler could prepare the documents."
My stomach twisted.
"And did Mr. Vale say anything about his marriage?"
Lila covered her face.
"Yes."
"What?"
She whispered, "He said after everything was transferred, Claire could leave with whatever personal belongings she wanted."
I stared at her.
Seven years.
Seven years of birthdays.
Anniversaries.
Holidays.
Promises.
And my husband had been planning to discard me once he had finished taking what my father left me.
The attorney opposite us objected to the question's form, and the proceeding continued.
But I barely heard the next few minutes.
I was thinking about the bus stop.
The rain.
The taillights.
Adrian hadn't abandoned me because he suddenly lost his temper.
His cruelty had become easier because he believed he no longer needed me.
When the deposition ended, Lila approached Hannah.
She asked whether she could speak to me.
Hannah looked at me.
I nodded.
Lila stood a few feet away.
"Claire."
I waited.
"I'm sorry."
I looked into her eyes.
"I believe you're sorry now."
Tears slid down her cheeks.
"But that doesn't erase what you did."
"I know."
"You could have helped me long before that night."
"I know."
I took a breath.
"I hope you keep telling the truth."
She nodded.
Then I turned away.
Forgiveness wasn't the same as trust.
And I didn't owe her either.
Outside the building, Rebecca was waiting.
She looked serious.
"We have a new lead."
I stopped.
"What happened?"
"Investigators located Samuel Price."
The name struck me immediately.
The vehicle maintenance contractor.
The man Margaret Ellis had seen with Vivian before my mother's accident.
"Is he alive?"
"Yes."
"Will he talk?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"He has already made a statement."
My heart pounded.
"What did he say?"
She looked directly at me.
"He says he was paid to alter the maintenance records for your mother's car."
I stopped breathing.
"By whom?"
Rebecca swallowed.
"By a company controlled by Vivian Vale."
May you like
Then she added the words I had been waiting twenty years to hear.
"The original accident is now being formally reexamined."
