Chương 9
“They’re people.”
“I know they’re people.”
“The credit line was supposed to cover payroll through the property sale.”
“What property sale?”
He was silent.
“Daniel.”
“The Newark project.”
“The one my father stopped funding?”
“Yes.”
“Why would a bank lend against the mansion for a project your own investors abandoned?”
“Because the site has value.”
“Then sell the site.”
“We can’t sell before environmental clearance.”
“Was the contamination disclosed to my father?”
Another pause.
“No.”
Lauren closed her eyes.
“What is under that land?”
“Industrial solvents. Mostly contained.”
“Mostly.”
“The remediation estimate increased.”
“How much?”
“Fourteen million.”
The figure made her laugh once, without humor.
“You borrowed from my father, forged the title to his house, and pledged it to cover contaminated land.”
“I did not forge anything.”
“You used it.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before he died?”
“I thought I could solve it.”
“You mean hide it.”
“I mean solve it.”
“Those are not the same.”
“They are when telling the truth destroys the company before you can fix the problem.”
“There it is again. The employees.”
“They will lose their jobs.”
“Because of your decisions.”
“Does that make unemployment easier?”
Lauren walked to the window. Traffic moved below Mara’s apartment in slow evening lines. A man stood beside a parked car arguing with someone on speakerphone. A child in a yellow raincoat jumped into a puddle while her mother pretended not to notice.
“What do you want me to do?” Lauren asked.
“Agree to temporary financing.”
“Against the mansion.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“We can place the funds in escrow. Independent oversight. No distributions without approval.”
“Whose approval?”
“Yours.”
She nearly answered too quickly.
Daniel heard the hesitation.
“Lauren, I am not asking you to trust me. I am asking you to prevent a collapse while the title is resolved.”
“And if the deed is fraudulent?”
“The company still exists. The employees still exist. The debt still exists.”
“My father’s money?”
“Also gone if we fail.”
“How much did he give you?”
“Four point six.”
“The agreement says three.”
“That was the initial amount.”
“And Margaret?”
“She moved funds through two family trusts.”
“Did you know?”
“Not all of it.”
“How much is missing?”
“I don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“Will you consider the escrow?”
“Find out first.”
Daniel exhaled.
“All right.”
Before hanging up, Lauren asked, “Why did you put the photograph in the suitcase?”
“I thought you would want it.”
“Did you know about the note?”
“No.”
“Did your mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“You always know less when she is involved.”
“That is how she designed it.”
The sentence stayed with Lauren after the call ended.
Margaret requested a meeting the next afternoon.
June insisted it happen in her office with all counsel present. Margaret arrived without Peter. She brought a different lawyer, a woman named Sylvia Grant who represented the Hayes family trusts.
Margaret wore a cream coat and carried a small navy handbag. She looked around June’s office without visible judgment, which was more insulting than judgment would have been.
“You resemble your father when you are angry,” she told Lauren.
“People keep using him to avoid talking about themselves.”
Margaret removed her gloves finger by finger.
Sylvia placed a draft agreement on the table.
The proposal allowed a six-month secured loan against the mansion. Funds would be controlled by an independent manager and used only for payroll, insurance, and environmental work. In exchange, Daniel and Margaret would consent to suspend their claim to ownership while the original deed was examined.
June read the document.
“This does not suspend their claim,” she said. “It preserves it while giving the lender priority.”
Sylvia nodded. “That is accurate.”
“So if Lauren wins the house, she wins it subject to a new loan.”
“The loan protects the property’s value by preventing cross-defaults.”
“The property’s value does not depend on Daniel’s company.”
“The lender disagrees.”
Margaret watched Lauren.
“Your father would not have allowed one hundred families to suffer because of a technical dispute.”
“A dead notary is not technical.”
“No. It is criminal if true.”
“If?”
“I was not present when the document was prepared.”
“You were at the mansion when it was recorded.”
“I live there.”
“You told Daniel not to let me open the envelope.”
Margaret’s fingers tightened around one glove.
“Because Robert’s letters were rarely kind.”
“This one says you planned everything.”
“He liked summaries that placed him outside his own decisions.”
“You borrowed from him.”
“He borrowed from me first.”
“Show me.”
“I intend to.”
“Today.”
“The records are being collected.”
“The red appointment book would be faster.”
Margaret looked at her.
The pause was brief but unmistakable.
“What red appointment book?” Sylvia asked.
Margaret turned toward her lawyer. “Robert kept notes.”
“You told Ana to give it to you,” Lauren said.
Margaret’s gaze returned to her.
“Ana should not involve herself.”
“She is involved. You involved everyone who worked in that house.”
“I asked her to gather Robert’s belongings.”
“Where is the book?”
“I don’t know.”
“You took it.”
“I received several boxes.”
“Did you destroy it?”
June put one hand on Lauren’s arm.
Margaret’s face cooled.
“Be careful.”
“Or what?”
“Or you will say something you cannot repair.”
Lauren leaned forward.
“You put my medical records in a court filing.”
“I did not authorize that.”
“Peter works for you.”
“Peter works for Daniel’s company.”
“Your initials are on the loan agreement.”
“My initials appear on many drafts.”
“You told the bank I was unstable.”
“I told no bank anything.”
“You told someone.”
Margaret looked toward the window.
For the first time since entering, she seemed uncertain where to place her eyes.
“I told a journalist that grief can distort a person’s understanding,” she said.
Sylvia closed her folder.
“I was not aware of that.”
“It was not a legal communication.”
“No,” June said. “It was simply cruel.”
Margaret’s expression tightened.
“You think I wanted any of this?”
“I think you wanted the loan,” Lauren said.
“I wanted time.”
May you like
“For Daniel?”
“For all of us.”
