Chương 12
Jared sat at the kitchen table.
His knee bounced.
"I've paid that company rent for four years."
"How much?"
"About twelve grand a month."
Claire whistled softly.
I did the math badly in my head.
"That's over half a million."
"Yeah."
"From your restaurant."
"Yeah."
"Into a landlord you don't know."
"Yeah."
Claire looked at him.
"You really are bad with money."
He glared at her.
"Not helping."
"Accurate, though."
He almost smiled.
Then my phone buzzed.
Rebecca.
Call me.
I called.
She answered on the first ring.
"Where did you get Marwick?"
"Jared."
There was a pause.
"Is he with you?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
"I told you not to confront him."
"I didn't."
Jared leaned toward the phone.
"She kind of did."
I gave him a look.
Rebecca sighed.
"Put me on speaker."
I did.
"Jared, I'm Rebecca Sloan."
"Hi."
"I need you not to log into any business account, move any money, delete anything, call your accountant again, or contact your parents about financial records."
His knee stopped bouncing.
"Why?"
"Because Marwick Property Group is connected to your mother."
He went completely still.
"How?"
"The managing member appears to be an entity controlled by Susan Hale through a nominee."
Claire said, "English."
Rebecca answered, "His mother appears to control his landlord without appearing directly on the public filing."
Jared stared at the table.
"So I've been paying rent to Mom."
"Indirectly."
"With money from the restaurant she says she invested in."
"Yes."
He laughed.
Not because it was funny.
His face folded in on itself for a second.
"How much does she own?"
"We're still tracing."
I asked, "Does Marwick connect to my trust?"
"Yes."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"How?"
"The property was purchased partly with funds originating from an account tied to your beneficial interest."
Jared stood so quickly the chair scraped backward.
"She bought my building with Naomi's money and made me pay rent on it?"
Rebecca said, "That's a simplified version."
"I need simple right now."
"Then yes, that is one plausible reading of the records."
He paced toward the window.
"That is insane."
Claire looked at me.
"What does this do legally?"
Rebecca was silent for a moment.
"It makes the pattern much more important."
"What pattern?"
"Using Naomi's assets to purchase or support companies that generate revenue for structures controlled by Susan."
I rubbed my forehead.
"How many?"
"We don't know yet."
"How many have you found?"
"Seven."
The number hung there.
Jared turned around.
"Seven properties?"
"Seven entities with similar flows."
My mouth went dry.
"How much money?"
"We are not at a final number."
"Estimate."
"Naomi."
"Estimate."
Rebecca exhaled.
"Across original transfers, appreciation, distributions, and current asset values, your potential interest could be several million dollars."
Jared sat again.
Claire leaned both hands on the counter.
I felt nothing.
The number was too large.
It floated above my life without touching it.
I thought about Johnny arguing with me over whether to replace our twelve-year-old refrigerator.
I thought about clipping coupons for Gemma's school clothes.
I thought about the time I worked two weekends in a row because our furnace died in February.
Several million dollars.
Somewhere inside that number were a thousand ordinary decisions I had made because I believed there was no alternative.
"Naomi?"
Rebecca's voice brought me back.
"I'm here."
"There's something else."
Of course there was.
"We found a payment from Marwick to a private investigator."
My skin prickled.
Claire straightened.
Jared said, "What kind of private investigator?"
"Licensed firm."
"When?"
I asked.
"Two months before the accident."
My throat tightened.
"Who were they investigating?"
"We don't know yet."
"How much?"
"Twelve thousand five hundred."
"For what?"
"The invoice description says litigation support."
Claire frowned.
"Was there litigation?"
"None we can find involving Marwick at that time."
I gripped the edge of the counter.
"Can we get the investigator's records?"
"Possibly, but not by asking nicely if Susan was the client."
Jared said, "I can call."
"No."
Rebecca and I said it together.
He raised both hands.
"Fine."
Rebecca continued.
"I am sending everything we have to the attorney Johnny consulted."
"Who?"
"Martin Keller."
I knew the name from the folder.
"I haven't spoken to him yet."
"You should."
"Today?"
"Yes."
Claire nodded at me as if she could make the appointment happen by force.
Rebecca said, "He already knows part of the history."
"Because Johnny told him?"
"Yes."
I looked at Dad's letter.
"Did Johnny tell him about the separate confrontation with my mother?"
Silence.
"Rebecca?"
"I don't know."
"Can you find out?"
"When?"
"Now."
She paused.
"Naomi, this is the point where you stop treating the folder as a family secret."
I stared at the papers spread across my table.
"What does that mean?"
"It means preserve records, get counsel, and let professionals determine what is financial misconduct and what is only ugly family behavior."
"And the investigator?"
"Same answer."
I closed my eyes.
I hated careful answers.
I needed them.
"Okay."
After we hung up, nobody spoke for nearly a minute.
Jared finally said, "I want to call Dad."
Claire said, "No."
"I didn't ask you."
"No."
He looked at me.
"What if he knows who the investigator was following?"
"He probably does."
"So we should ask."
"If you ask, Mom knows we're looking."
"She already knows."
"She doesn't know about Marwick."
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"I can't just sit here."
"Welcome to my week."
He looked at me.
The words had come out crueler than I intended.
I didn't apologize.
Not immediately.
He nodded once.
"Yeah."
That made it worse.
I sat across from him.
"I shouldn't have said that."
"You should."
"No."
"Naomi."
His voice was quiet.
"I was on a beach."
I looked away.
"I could've gotten on a plane."
He swallowed.
"Mom said it wouldn't change anything."
Claire turned toward the sink.
She suddenly became very interested in rinsing an already clean spoon.
Jared continued.
"I told myself she was right."
May you like
My chest tightened.
"I saw the flight prices."
