Chương 8
“He used her in that photograph.”
“Then argue about decision-making, not love.”
“He blocked me from the house.”
“Document it.”
“He is under investigation.”
“So are you.”
Emma left the office angry enough to walk six blocks in sleet before realizing she had forgotten where she parked.
Nathan’s first supervised visit with Lily took place at a family-services center in early January. The room contained board games, plastic bins of toys, and a camera mounted in the corner. A social worker named Ms. Greene sat near the door with a clipboard.
Emma helped Lily remove her coat.
“Do I have to hug him?” Lily whispered.
“No.”
“Will he be sad?”
“Yes.”
“That makes it feel like I have to.”
Emma knelt. “You can be kind without pretending.”
Nathan entered carrying a gift bag.
He looked thinner. His expensive coat hung open, and stubble shadowed his jaw. For an instant Emma remembered him at twenty-nine, arriving at her warehouse with two coffees and a spreadsheet that saved the company from missing payroll. Back then, he had worn shirts with frayed cuffs because he said money should be spent on the business.
Lily stood still.
Nathan set down the bag.
“Hi, bug.”
She hated the nickname now. Emma saw it in the way her shoulders lifted.
“Hi.”
“I brought your Christmas presents.”
“Christmas is over.”
“I know.”
He smiled helplessly. “I was hoping we could have our own.”
Lily looked at Ms. Greene. “Is that allowed?”
“Yes,” the social worker said.
Nathan opened the bag. Inside were a dollhouse, a tablet, and a velvet box containing a bracelet.
Emma recognized the bracelet. It had belonged to Vivian’s mother.
Lily did not touch it.
“Grandma said the investigators took her jewelry.”
“They cataloged it,” Nathan said quickly. “They didn’t take anything.”
“Then why do I have this?”
“She wanted you to keep it safe.”
Emma stood. “Nathan.”
“It’s a gift.”
“It may be subject to the asset order.”
“It’s a family heirloom.”
“Then return it to the safe.”
His face changed. “You don’t get to turn every object into evidence.”
“I’m following the order.”
“You mean the order you requested.”
Ms. Greene rose. “This conversation needs to stop.”
Lily picked up the velvet box and held it out to Nathan.
“I don’t want to keep anybody’s stuff safe.”
He stared at her hand.
“Okay,” he said.
The word came out rough.
Emma waited in the hall during the visit. Through the small window, she watched Nathan help Lily assemble the dollhouse. He read the instructions incorrectly, attached a wall backward, and laughed when Lily corrected him. For twenty minutes they looked like themselves.
Then Lily asked something Emma could not hear.
Nathan’s smile disappeared.
He glanced toward the window and saw Emma watching.
After the visit, Ms. Greene told Emma that Lily had asked why Brooke had been in the photograph. Nathan said Brooke was an employee helping his parents. Lily asked why employees wore diamond earrings and held his arm.
“What did he say?” Emma asked.
“That adults sometimes stand close without it meaning what children think.”
Emma closed her eyes.
“He lied.”
“He avoided.”
“That distinction is generous.”
Ms. Greene clipped papers together. “Your daughter does not need either of you to win. She needs both of you to tolerate being disappointing.”
The investigation found the first major break two days later.
Bridgewell Advisory had received the four point eight million dollars. Within forty-eight hours, it distributed funds to six recipients. One payment covered delinquent debt on three properties owned by Charles Reed Family Holdings. Another went to a restoration contractor at Hawthorne House. A third paid legal fees related to an undisclosed lender dispute. Nine hundred thousand dollars moved to an entity called Alder Row Consulting.
Alder Row was owned by Brooke Lawson.
Emma received the summary from Denise during a snowstorm.
“How much remains in Alder Row?” she asked.
“About two hundred thousand.”
“Where did the rest go?”
“A condominium down payment, taxes, and transfers to another account.”
“For Brooke?”
“Title records show the condominium is in her name.”
Emma stood at Maya’s kitchen counter staring at the falling snow.
Brooke had bought a condominium in October, the same month Emma confirmed the affair. She had told coworkers it belonged to an aunt.
“Does this prove she knew?” Emma asked.
“It proves she received money.”
“She was Nathan’s assistant. She prepared the reports.”
“It may prove knowledge. It may also prove he compensated her through a disguised arrangement she did not fully understand.”
“She understood enough to hide the condo.”
“People hide affairs for reasons that overlap with fraud and reasons that don’t.”
Emma disliked Denise most when she was useful.
That evening, Brooke called from a number Emma did not recognize.
“I need to see you,” she said.
“No.”
“I have messages you need.”
“Give them to Hale.”
“I can’t.”
“Then give them to your lawyer.”
“My lawyer says I should say nothing.”
“For once, listen.”
Brooke was silent.
“There’s an account Nathan hasn’t disclosed,” she said.
Emma gripped the counter.
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you in person.”
“This isn’t a movie. You don’t get to arrange secret meetings.”
“I’m not trying to be dramatic.”
“You bought a condo with company money.”
“I didn’t know it was company money.”
“What did you think it was?”
“His.”
“He was married.”
“That’s not the same question.”
Emma looked through the kitchen doorway. Lily and Maya were playing cards at the table.
“Send the information to Martin Hale.”
“If I do, Nathan will know where it came from.”
“He will know anyway.”
“No,” Brooke said. “He’ll think Charles gave it up.”
Emma went still.
May you like
“Meet with my attorney present,” she said.
They chose a hotel restaurant near the courthouse in the middle of the afternoon, crowded enough to discourage a scene. Brooke arrived without makeup and wore a gray sweater beneath an ordinary wool coat. Without the emerald gown and diamonds, she looked less like a replacement wife and more like a woman who had not slept.
