Chương 6
“It does not magically undo transactions already completed.”
“Then undo those too.”
“That will take work.”
“How much work?”
“Potentially litigation.”
Robert’s face hardened.
Franklin continued.
“We can notify the banks and investment firms immediately.”
“We can send notice to Daniel.”
“We can record the revocation where appropriate.”
“We can also challenge the deed.”
“But I want you examined by an independent physician as soon as possible.”
Robert stared at him.
“I was just discharged from a hospital.”
“That is exactly why.”
“You think I’m incompetent?”
“No.”
“I want contemporaneous evidence regarding your mental capacity.”
Robert’s expression shifted.
Franklin leaned toward him.
“If Daniel claims you knowingly signed these documents and later became confused, your condition today will matter.”
“If he claims Michael manipulated you after discharge, your condition today will matter.”
I looked at him.
“Why would he claim that?”
Franklin’s silence answered me.
Robert did it aloud.
“Because Michael is married to Emily.”
Franklin nodded.
“If assets are returned to your estate or trust, Emily potentially benefits.”
I sat back.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It may be.”
“It is.”
“I am telling you what an opposing attorney might argue.”
“I drove here because everyone else was too busy.”
Tyler gave a bitter laugh.
“That part doesn’t look as innocent anymore.”
The room went quiet.
I turned toward him.
“What do you mean?”
He looked at Robert, then Franklin.
“Dad told everybody not to pick Grandpa up.”
Robert’s face changed.
“When?”
“Last night.”
I felt a cold pressure behind my sternum.
“Emily didn’t know that.”
“No.”
“Melissa?”
“She knew.”
“What exactly did Daniel say?”
Tyler rubbed his palms on his jeans.
“He said he had arranged transportation.”
“He told me if Grandpa called, not to worry about it.”
“Then why did you tell us your car was acting weird?” I asked.
Tyler winced.
“Because Dad told me not to go.”
“And you lied.”
“Yes.”
Robert looked wounded in a way the missing money had not managed.
“You were fifteen minutes away.”
“I know.”
“You knew I was being discharged.”
“I know.”
“And you left me sitting there.”
Tyler’s eyes reddened.
“I’m sorry.”
Robert looked toward the wall.
Tyler tried again.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“But I didn’t know what.”
“And I was scared of him.”
Robert’s fingers trembled against the tabletop.
“That is a miserable excuse.”
“Yes.”
“It is also apparently the family specialty.”
No one had an answer for that.
My phone buzzed.
Emily.
Then again.
Then a text.
Call me immediately.
Robert saw it.
“This has gone far enough.”
He sounded defeated rather than commanding.
“Call her.”
I stepped into the hallway.
Emily answered instantly.
“Where are you?”
Her voice was breathless and furious.
“With your dad.”
“I know you’re with Dad.”
“Daniel just called me saying you took him somewhere and turned off his location.”
“Emily—”
“Is Dad okay?”
“Yes.”
“Put him on.”
“Give me thirty seconds.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“What is happening?”
I looked through the glass wall of the conference room.
Robert sat beside Tyler while Franklin sorted documents into two piles.
“Your dad found withdrawals from one of his accounts.”
Silence.
“What withdrawals?”
“More than ninety thousand total.”
“What?”
“He says he didn’t authorize them.”
Another silence.
“Daniel handles his accounts.”
“I know.”
“That doesn’t mean Daniel took anything.”
“I didn’t say it did.”
“You’re implying it.”
“I’m telling you what we know.”
“What else?”
Her tone had changed.
Less anger.
More fear.
I told her about the deed.
She did not speak for several seconds.
When she did, her voice was barely audible.
“The house?”
“Yes.”
“To who?”
“A company called DBH Property Group.”
“Whose company?”
I looked through the glass again.
“Daniel and Melissa are both connected to it.”
Emily inhaled sharply.
“No.”
“Franklin checked the filing.”
“No, Michael.”
“I know.”
“No.”
She sounded as if refusing the word could undo the document.
Then she said, “Melissa called me yesterday.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did she say?”
“She asked if Dad had ever talked to me about selling the house.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That he’d probably die in that house because he refuses to move.”
“Did she say why she was asking?”
“She said Daniel thought Dad should downsize.”
Emily went quiet.
“Michael, I told her I agreed.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“She asked whether I’d support it if Dad resisted.”
“What did you say?”
“I said maybe.”
Her voice cracked.
“I thought she meant talking him into a condo.”
Through the glass, Franklin suddenly stood.
He had Robert’s bank statement in one hand and his phone in the other.
Something in his expression made me open the conference room door.
“I have to go.”
“Michael, don’t hang up.”
“I’m not.”
I put Emily on speaker as I walked back inside.
Franklin looked at Robert.
“I just reached someone at the investment firm.”
Robert straightened.
“Where did the money go?”
“The first transfer went to DB Holdings.”
“And the others?”
“The same.”
Tyler whispered a curse.
Franklin held up a hand.
“There is more.”
Robert watched him.
“The account representative says Daniel submitted documentation showing the transfers were for your benefit.”
“What documentation?”
“Invoices.”
“For what?”
Franklin’s mouth tightened.
“Home renovations.”
Robert stared at him.
“My house hasn’t been renovated.”
“No.”
Franklin looked toward Tyler’s phone.
“But Daniel’s has.”
Robert looked at Franklin as if the words had arrived in the wrong order.
“What renovations?”
Franklin lowered the phone.
“The representative could not give me copies without additional verification.”
“I am the additional verification.”
“You are also standing in a conference room after nine days in a hospital.”
Robert slapped his palm against the table.
“Then verify me.”
The sound startled everyone, including him.
He leaned back and pressed one hand against his chest.
I was beside him before I consciously moved.
“Sit still.”
“I am sitting.”
“Breathe normally.”
“I know how to breathe.”
Tyler reached for the water bottle.
May you like
Robert took it, then glared at us for treating him like glass.
Emily was still on speaker.
