Chương 8
“He didn’t,” I said.
“No.”
“Daniel offered to do it.”
“Yes.”
“In exchange for money.”
“No.”
Daniel gave a sharp laugh.
Julian paused.
Then he said, “Not at first.”
That mattered.
I waited.
“He contacted me after the funeral.”
Julian’s voice was low now.
“He said he had known about me for years.”
Caroline muttered something I could not hear.
“He said our father had been a coward.”
Daniel looked away.
“He said he wanted to repair what Richard had done.”
For one disorienting second, I could imagine Daniel saying it sincerely.
That was the terrible thing about him.
His lies often began beside something he believed.
Julian continued.
“He introduced me to lenders and project partners.”
“Miami?”
“Yes.”
“He said the project was temporarily undercapitalized.”
Noah muttered, “That’s one word for it.”
Julian heard him.
“Mr. Grant?”
Noah leaned toward the receiver without taking it.
“Yes.”
“I read your email.”
Noah nodded automatically, then looked embarrassed because Julian could not see him.
Julian went on.
“When Daniel asked for the first loan, I thought helping the company would help establish my place in the family.”
Caroline spoke loudly enough for the phone.
“You already had a place.”
Julian went silent.
Caroline’s eyes filled.
“It was just a terrible one.”
Nobody looked at her.
Julian finally said, “Hello, Caroline.”
“Hello.”
Her voice cracked on the second syllable.
Daniel turned away as if their recognition disgusted him.
I asked Julian, “Why contact us today?”
“Because Daniel asked me yesterday to sign a declaration.”
Daniel spun around.
“What declaration?”
Julian ignored him.
“A statement saying you knew about the trust collateral.”
I felt the room contract.
“And?”
“I refused.”
“What else did it say?”
“That you had become erratic after discovering Daniel’s relationship with Ms. Cole.”
Vanessa stood so quickly the sofa cushion lifted behind her.
“My name was in it?”
“Yes.”
She stared at Daniel.
He said, “You don’t know what he was sent.”
Julian replied, “I know how to read.”
Vanessa crossed the room.
“You used me in another document?”
Daniel’s patience broke.
“No one used you.”
“You put my name in a statement about Evelyn being unstable.”
“It was a draft.”
“You keep saying draft like that makes it imaginary.”
He looked at her with an expression I had once mistaken for patience.
“You knew Evelyn had threatened you.”
“I knew someone had.”
“You knew she was following you.”
“I knew someone photographed her near places I had been.”
“Exactly.”
“No.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“That is not exactly.”
Daniel glanced at his watch.
It was such an ordinary gesture that rage went through me.
Guests would begin arriving in less than an hour.
He was still measuring the evening against a schedule.
I spoke into the phone.
“Julian, send Miriam everything Daniel sent you.”
“I already have.”
“Everything.”
“Yes.”
“Do not delete originals.”
“I won’t.”
Daniel said, “You’re making a serious mistake.”
Julian was quiet.
Then he said, “Perhaps.”
That answer seemed to unsettle Daniel more than defiance.
Julian continued.
“I have made several.”
Caroline covered her mouth.
“I need to ask you something,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Did Richard ever tell you about the Preservation Trust?”
“No.”
“Did Daniel?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That Richard had created it to keep Caroline and me from receiving our fair share.”
Caroline stood.
“That son of a bitch.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You think I invented that?”
“Yes.”
“Dad excluded Julian from everything.”
“He excluded him publicly.”
“Same result.”
“No, it isn’t.”
They stared at each other.
I had spent years believing their estrangement was about Caroline leaving the company after Richard’s death.
Now I could see another structure beneath it.
I asked Julian, “What did Daniel say about me?”
A longer pause.
“That you controlled the trust because Richard trusted you more than his children.”
“That part is true,” Caroline said.
Daniel’s head snapped toward her.
She did not look away.
Julian said, “He told me you enjoyed that power.”
I almost laughed.
“What else?”
“That you would never voluntarily release it.”
“Would you?”
“No.”
The answer came from Miriam.
Everyone turned toward her.
She was reading the documents on her phone.
“No competent trustee would voluntarily release unencumbered assets to secure debt this ugly.”
Daniel said, “You have no idea what the underlying projects are worth.”
“Noah does.”
Noah lifted a hand slightly.
“Unfortunately.”
Daniel glared at him.
I asked Julian one final question.
“Did Daniel ever tell you he planned to have me removed?”
Silence.
Then Julian said, “Not directly.”
My pulse accelerated.
“What did he say?”
“He said that after the gala, the trust would have a new trustee.”
Daniel lunged for the phone.
I stepped backward.
He stopped himself before touching me.
That hesitation was almost worse.
Julian continued.
“He said the transition would be regrettable but necessary.”
I looked at Daniel.
His eyes were on the receiver.
“When?”
“Three weeks ago.”
“And you didn’t ask why?”
“I did.”
“What did he say?”
“That you were ill.”
Vanessa sat down again.
Caroline stared at her brother.
Miriam stopped typing.
Nobody needed to ask what kind of illness.
I lowered the receiver.
The hotel room seemed painfully bright.
Daniel’s face had gone beyond anger into something flatter.
“We’re done here.”
I put the receiver back to my ear.
“Julian, do not contact Daniel again tonight.”
Daniel laughed.
“You don’t control him.”
“No.”
I looked at my husband.
“I’m beginning to understand that controlling people was always your department.”
Julian said my name.
“Yes?”
“There is one more thing.”
I waited.
“The signature page Daniel sent me was not the only document.”
Noah leaned closer.
“What else?”
“A physician’s letter.”
My stomach dropped.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Just once.
Just long enough.
Julian said, “It stated that your cognitive judgment was deteriorating and that immediate changes to the trust should be considered.”
I could hear my own breathing.
“Whose letterhead?”
Julian named the doctor.
May you like
Dr. Feldman.
For several seconds, all I could see was the marriage counselor’s office and Daniel sitting beside me with his concerned husband’s face.
