Chapter 6 - THE AGENT KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WAS DOING
Natalie Brooks hired a lawyer before speaking to anyone.
Smartest person in the scheme so far.
Through counsel, she provided emails.
Hundreds of them.
Mom wrote:
Claire will object emotionally, but she has no practical use for the property.
Ryan wrote:
Once title sees the trust paperwork, they’ll understand Evelyn is acting for family benefit.
Natalie responded:
I need something showing authority.
Then Mom:
We’ll get you something.
Not accidental.
Not confused.
Something.
Natalie claimed she believed the trust amendment was valid when first received.
Maybe.
But another email destroyed that defense.
Natalie:
Date is after Beatrice’s death. Is that going to be a problem?
Ryan:
It memorializes an earlier decision.
Natalie:
Title may ask.
Mom:
Then don’t send it until they do.
I stared at the screen.
Every sentence made me calmer.
That dangerous calm Aunt Beatrice had recognized in me as a child.
Then the financial structure appeared.
Natalie’s $25,000 bonus would come from “consulting fees” paid after closing.
Not on the settlement statement.
My attorney did not speculate about criminal charges.
Neither did I.
That belonged to authorities and actual evidence.
But ethically?
It was ugly.
Mom sat across from me at Rachel’s office.
“I was trying to save everything.”
“What does everything mean?”
“The company. Ryan’s future. Lauren’s children.”
“And me?”
“You have enough.”
There it was again.
The family moral equation.
Claire has enough.
Therefore Claire’s boundary is less important.
Claire has the lake house.
Therefore someone else needs it more.
Claire has a career.
Therefore Ryan deserves the business.
Claire has no children.
Therefore Lauren’s children deserve more.
I asked:
“If I owned ten houses, would that make forging my name acceptable?”
“No.”
“If I owned a hundred?”
“No.”
“So stop saying enough.”
Mom closed her eyes.
Then she said:
“Beatrice never liked me.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“She always thought I cared too much about appearances.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.”
“Was she wrong?”
Mom opened her eyes.
That hurt.
Good.
Then North Coast Fiduciary called.
Aunt Beatrice’s supplemental memorandum contained one more instruction.
If Harper & Lane still owed money to her trust at the time of any unauthorized property action, the trustee had authority to demand immediate repayment or negotiate transfer of equivalent business assets.
Equivalent assets.
My pulse changed.
“What assets?”
Rachel smiled slightly.
“Shares.”
Harper & Lane’s current valuation was depressed because of debt.
The $186,400 note could potentially be settled partly through equity.
I stared.
“Aunt Beatrice could end up owning part of the company?”
“Her trust could.”
Which meant I, as beneficiary, could indirectly acquire an interest in the family business I had spent my entire adult life avoiding.
Mom almost laughed.
“She would love that.”
I looked at her.
“Aunt Beatrice?”
“No.”
Mom’s smile was tired.
“The irony.”
Then Ryan’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
Harper & Lane’s bank had frozen additional borrowing pending review.
Why?
May you like
The lender had discovered the attempted use of the lake house.
The very scheme designed to save the company had triggered the scrutiny that might finish it.
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