Chương 7
“I did have a version.”
“You had facts.”
“I had anger too.”
“You were allowed.”
“Allowed anger can still hurt people.”
Anna folded Richard’s letter again. “Are you defending him?”
“No.”
“You sound like you are.”
“I’m defending accuracy. It is one of the few things left.”
The next morning Margaret called the alterations shop and said she would not come in.
Her manager, Lidia, paused before answering. “Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Family?”
“In a way.”
“You sound strange.”
“I have had a strange morning.”
“Yesterday you said the pharmacy declined your card.”
“It was the wrong kind of card.”
Lidia waited, perhaps expecting an explanation.
Margaret looked at the distribution papers spread across her table.
“I may need a few days.”
“You have three sick days.”
“I know.”
“You used two when your furnace broke.”
“The furnace is still broken.”
“That does not make them renewable.”
“I understand.”
Lidia sighed. Sewing machines buzzed behind her.
“Take today. Call me tonight.”
“Thank you.”
“I did not say the rest of the week.”
“I heard you.”
Margaret hung up and wrote find lawyer on the back of an envelope from the electric company. Then she stared at the words.
During the divorce, she had hired a lawyer recommended by a woman from church. He had billed in six-minute increments and spoke to Richard’s attorney with a warmth he never used with her. When Margaret questioned the settlement, he reminded her that litigation was expensive and uncertainty had a cost. She later understood that he had not been corrupt. He had simply believed Richard’s financial disclosures because challenging them would have required work Margaret could not afford.
Anna sent three names before nine o’clock. Two worked at large firms. One, Evelyn Park, ran a small practice specializing in fiduciary disputes and financial exploitation.
Margaret called.
The receptionist asked for a short description of the matter.
“My ex-husband put nearly seven million dollars in a trust after stealing the first two million from me.”
The receptionist was silent for half a second.
“I’ll see whether Ms. Park is available.”
Evelyn came on the line herself.
“Mrs. Williams, do not sign anything. Do not forward the original letter. Photograph every page, front and back, and place the originals somewhere secure.”
“The bank already has copies of some documents.”
“Not the letter?”
“They claim they don’t.”
“Good. Keep it that way for now.”
“You believe me quickly.”
“I believe you have documents worth reviewing. Belief in the rest comes later.”
Margaret appreciated the distinction.
Evelyn’s office occupied the second floor above a Korean restaurant in West Ridge. The stairwell smelled of sesame oil and wet coats. A brass plaque listed three attorneys, though only Evelyn appeared to be present when Margaret arrived that afternoon.
She was in her late forties, small, sharp-eyed, and dressed in black trousers with a cardigan buttoned unevenly.
“Sorry,” she said, noticing Margaret’s glance. “Court this morning. I changed in a rideshare and lost an argument with the buttons.”
She did not have a conference room. They sat at a round table near a window overlooking a parking lot.
Evelyn read Richard’s letter without interrupting. She read the trust summary twice and the proposed release three times.
“This is aggressive,” she said.
“Illegal?”
“I did not say that.”
“Everyone becomes careful when I use that word.”
“Because illegal is a conclusion. Aggressive is an observation.”
She tapped the release.
“They are offering full distribution in exchange for releasing claims you do not yet understand. That is not unusual in a settlement. What is unusual is the amendment Richard attached. If authentic and still effective, it may prevent them from conditioning distribution on a release before disclosing material history.”
“Can they keep my money?”
“They can delay while identity, tax, and administrative issues are resolved. They may also argue that some assets remain subject to restrictions. But if the trust is fully distributable, they should not be able to hold undisputed funds merely because you refuse a separate settlement.”
“Should not.”
“Lawyers live in that space.”
Margaret removed her gloves. “The bank offered twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“Take it only after I review the receipt.”
“I thought you would say no.”
“You need heat.”
Margaret looked at her.
“The bank’s intake notes mention a failed pharmacy transaction and a condo lien inquiry,” Evelyn said. “They included those pages.”
“A lien inquiry?”
“Your association’s attorney checked public records last month.”
Margaret felt heat rise beneath her collar.
“I’m not in foreclosure.”
“I did not say you were.”
“I owe a special assessment.”
“How much?”
“Eighteen thousand six hundred.”
“How far behind?”
“Three payments.”
Evelyn wrote the figure down.
“Any medical debt?”
“A tooth.”
“That is not a debt.”
“It will become one.”
Evelyn waited.
“About four thousand,” Margaret said.
“Credit cards?”
“Eleven.”
“Eleven cards?”
“Eleven thousand dollars.”
Evelyn stopped writing. “Good. I was concerned for a moment.”
Margaret almost smiled.
Evelyn looked at the trust documents again.
“You are in immediate financial distress. The amendment uses that exact concept. We will inform the bank that I represent you, demand the undisputed distribution without release, and request all records necessary for informed consent.”
“How much will this cost?”
“My normal rate would be difficult for you.”
“That is a graceful way to say impossible.”
“I can take a smaller retainer from the advance and defer part of the fee. If litigation becomes necessary, we can discuss a hybrid arrangement.”
“Meaning you get a percentage.”
“Meaning I get paid for assuming risk.”
“Richard’s lawyers always made self-interest sound structural.”
Evelyn capped her pen. “Self-interest is structural. The question is whether it is disclosed.”
Margaret looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
They sent the demand that afternoon.
Claire called at six twelve.
“I received a letter from Ms. Park.”
“That was the idea.”
“The bank is reviewing it.”
May you like
“Of course.”
“I also wanted to tell you that the twenty-five-thousand-dollar advance can be released tomorrow. Ms. Park proposed revisions to the receipt. We have accepted them.”
