Chương 9
“The reception too.”
“Okay.”
“The venue should serve the food.”
Jenna’s eyebrows rose.
I looked at her.
“It’s already paid for.”
“That is incredibly Claire of you.”
“What does that mean?”
“You just publicly ended your engagement and you’re worried about wasting chicken.”
“It’s short rib.”
“Even more Claire.”
The coordinator was trying not to smile again.
“Food gets served.”
“And the bar.”
“Keep it open.”
Jenna stared at me.
“Maybe not unlimited.”
The coordinator nodded seriously.
“I can switch to beer and wine.”
“Do that.”
“Any announcement?”
I stared at the chapel doors.
“No statement from me.”
“Understood.”
“If anyone asks, the wedding has been canceled and the couple requests privacy.”
“The couple?”
I corrected myself.
“The families request privacy.”
That sounded false too.
But public language was often designed to sound clean precisely when nothing was.
The coordinator left.
Jenna sat on the floor beside my chair.
Her dress wrinkled beneath her knees.
“You know half those people will stay for lunch.”
“They traveled.”
“Some of them will stay because they’re nosy.”
“That too.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“No.”
“Good.”
I looked at her.
“Good?”
“If you said yes, I’d assume you’d hit your head.”
The chapel doors opened.
Paul stepped into the hallway.
He closed them carefully behind him.
His expression gave nothing away.
“May I?”
He gestured toward the chair beside mine.
I nodded.
He sat.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Paul had the old-fashioned habit of arranging his trouser crease before sitting, something my father used to tease him about.
He did it now.
The normality steadied me.
“First,” he said, “are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe Grant has access to your home?”
I stared at him.
“Yes.”
“Keys?”
“Yes.”
“Alarm code?”
“Yes.”
“Financial accounts?”
“Some shared household accounts.”
“Business accounts?”
“No.”
“Personal investment accounts?”
“No.”
“Your email?”
“He knows some passwords.”
Jenna turned her head slowly toward me.
I ignored her.
Paul nodded.
“Change them.”
“Not tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re going to preserve evidence, I’d rather we document access first.”
The word evidence cooled the room.
“This is really happening.”
Paul looked at me.
“Yes.”
The softness in his voice made my throat tighten.
I looked down at my father’s ring.
“Was Grant right about anything?”
“Be specific.”
“The management power.”
Paul’s jaw shifted.
“Your mother asked me six weeks ago whether there was a way to simplify decision-making if you became medically unavailable during pregnancy or childbirth.”
My stomach went cold.
Jenna sat straighter.
“What did you tell her?”
“That your existing documents already address temporary incapacity.”
“Did she mention Grant?”
“Yes.”
I looked away.
Paul continued carefully.
“She asked whether a spouse could be given broader authority.”
“What did you say?”
“That you could execute a power of attorney if you chose.”
“Did she ask you to prepare one?”
“No.”
“Did Grant?”
Paul hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
“When?”
“Eleven days ago.”
Jenna muttered something under her breath.
“What exactly did he ask?”
“He said you had discussed streamlining household and business decisions before the baby came.”
“I never discussed that.”
“I suspected as much.”
“Then why didn’t you call me?”
There was more anger in my voice than I intended.
Paul accepted it.
“I did.”
I frowned.
“When?”
“Tuesday afternoon.”
I searched my memory.
Tuesday had been dress alterations, a supplier call, a prenatal vitamin making me sick in the parking lot, my mother complaining about place cards.
“My phone was chaos.”
“I left a voicemail.”
I closed my eyes.
I had probably seen it.
Maybe I had listened to the first five seconds and decided anything from Paul could wait until after the wedding.
Another decision I could no longer undo.
“What did Grant ask for?”
“A draft.”
“Did you give it to him?”
“No.”
“Did you tell him you wouldn’t?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He became irritated.”
“That sounds mild.”
“It was not especially mild.”
Jenna leaned forward.
“Did he threaten you?”
“No.”
Paul considered.
“He implied Claire wanted him included in discussions and that I was making family integration unnecessarily difficult.”
I laughed once.
“That sounds like him.”
Paul glanced at my hand.
“What is that?”
I opened my fingers.
His face changed when he saw the ring.
“Oh.”
I closed my hand again.
“I gave it to him this morning.”
Paul took off his glasses.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
For a moment, he looked much older than he had inside the chapel.
“Your father would have hated that.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He replaced his glasses.
“I mean he would have hated seeing you blame yourself for it.”
The sentence irritated me because it was kind.
“I’m not blaming myself.”
Paul gave me the look adults gave children when they had obviously lied.
I looked away.
“What’s in the gray folder?”
“Copies of the trust amendments your father signed two years before he died.”
“Why did you bring them?”
“Because you asked me to.”
“I know, but why those?”
“Robert guessed that was what you meant.”
“I didn’t mean anything.”
“That appears to be a theme today.”
I almost smiled.
Paul leaned back.
“Claire, there is something you need to understand before you confront anyone else.”
“I already confronted two hundred people.”
“Which is why I am trying to prevent three hundred.”
Jenna covered her mouth.
I glared at both of them.
Paul continued.
“Your father anticipated pressure after his death.”
“What kind?”
“Marriage.”
The word seemed ridiculous after what had just happened.
“He didn’t trust Grant?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“He did not structure your inheritance around Grant specifically.”
Paul paused.
“He structured it around anyone.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
“Your voting shares remain individually controlled unless you affirmatively transfer authority.”
“I know that.”
“You know the general version.”
“Paul.”
He looked toward the chapel doors.
“The Lakeview property cannot be pledged as collateral without approval from the trust protector.”
My pulse changed.
“Who is the trust protector?”
“Robert.”
May you like
I stared at him.
Grant had said he would use Lakeview as collateral after getting my signature.
