Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO THOUGHT I HAD ALREADY LEFT
Adrienne asked to speak with me alone.
I said no.
Rebecca stayed.
Not because I thought Adrienne would hurt me.
Because I was done having important conversations without witnesses.
She accepted that.
“My father is going to say he knew nothing.”
“Did he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
She took out her phone.
Messages.
Months of them.
Brandon had told her I knew about the affair.
False.
That we slept in separate bedrooms.
False.
That I planned to move to Wisconsin after Toby’s school year.
False.
That I had another relationship.
Completely false.
Then a message from Brandon:
JULIA AGREED TO LET ME KEEP TOBY PRIMARY DURING TRANSITION. HER WORK IS FLEXIBLE BUT SHE DOESN’T WANT FULL-TIME PARENTING.
I stared until the words blurred.
Toby was the center of my life.
Brandon knew that.
Adrienne whispered:
“I believed him.”
“Why?”
“Because he had documents.”
There it was.
Paper creates reality for people who want reality tidy.
Then I asked:
“What did you want from him?”
Her face tightened.
“At first? Him.”
Fair.
“Later?”
“I knew my father wanted the merger.”
“So Brandon became useful.”
She flinched.
“Yes.”
Good.
Honesty.
She explained.
Richard Shaw had controlled NorthStar for twenty-two years.
The company was profitable but heavily capitalized.
Crestline wanted consolidation.
Richard wanted retirement.
Bennett Trust complicated the deal because its warrants could dilute management control immediately before closing.
If my rights were waived and Toby’s block voted through Brandon, merger approval became easier.
“Did you tell Brandon this?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
Five months ago.
The divorce petition came one month later.
My stomach tightened.
“Did he ask how to control Toby’s block?”
Adrienne hesitated.
“Yes.”
Rebecca stopped writing for half a second.
“What exactly?”
“He asked what happens if parents are divorced.”
“And you answered?”
“I gave him the trust counsel’s public explanation.”
Not illegal by itself.
Then:
“He asked whether primary custody mattered.”
“What did you say?”
“That the custodial parent could temporarily represent the child until independent trustee appointment.”
There.
The seed.
Did she tell him to create fake custody paperwork?
“No.”
Did she know he had?
“No evidence.
Then Adrienne said something I did not expect.
“Brandon also lied to my father.”
“How?”
“He said you were desperate to sell your Bennett rights.”
I laughed.
“I didn’t know they existed.”
“Exactly.”
He told Richard I wanted cash.
That I hated aviation.
That I considered the trust “dead family baggage.”
Richard offered a private buyout.
How much?
$42 million.
I stopped breathing.
“To who?”
“Your trust.”
“Did Brandon tell me?”
“No.”
“Did he accept?”
“He said he needed one more signature.”
Mine.
The forged settlement may have been that signature.
Then Rebecca said:
“If funds moved, we’ll find them.”
They had not.
The merger committee required independent trustee verification.
Someone inside NorthStar had objected.
Who?
Chief compliance officer:
Elaine Porter.
She flagged the signature because my father’s trust required direct beneficiary acknowledgment.
No remote waiver.
No spouse.
No divorce settlement substitute.
Brandon’s shortcut failed.
That may have been why the merger had not yet been announced.
Then Adrienne said:
“My father was furious.”
“At Brandon?”
“At the delay.”
Important distinction.
Then she added:
“He told Brandon to fix it before Toby’s birthday.”
I felt my stomach drop.
Richard knew the deadline.
Maybe this was bigger than one cheating pilot and one forged divorce.
Then Toby called from Natalie’s living room.
I stepped out.
“Hey, buddy.”
“Are you mad at Dad?”
I looked through the glass at Adrienne.
“Yes.”
“Because of the lady?”
“Yes.”
Pause.
“Is he leaving us?”
My throat closed.
“He made choices that mean we may not live together anymore.”
Toby was quiet.
Then:
“Did I do something?”
“No.”
Immediate.
“Nothing.”
“Did I tell too many people he was a pilot?”
I closed my eyes.
“No, sweetheart.”
Then he whispered:
“I don’t want the plane anymore.”
The toy plane Brandon gave him for Christmas.
He had carried it everywhere.
I had to sit down.
“Toby, you can still love flying.”
“I don’t.”
“You can still love Dad.”
Silence.
“I do.”
“That’s okay.”
I meant it.
Brandon could betray me without forcing Toby to stop loving him.
Then Toby said:
“Dad came by.”
My pulse changed.
“When?”
“Just now.”
Natalie had not told me yet.
“Did you see him?”
“No. Aunt Nat said he couldn’t come in.”
Good.
“What did he want?”
“He left my birthday present.”
Seven weeks early.
I called Natalie.
She opened the box while I stayed on video.
Inside:
A model NorthStar jet.
And an envelope addressed to me.
One sentence.
JULIA, PLEASE DON’T LET THEM TAKE TOBY’S SHARES.
My blood went cold.
Them?
May you like
Brandon had spent months trying to control those shares.
So who was he suddenly afraid of?
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