Chapter 5 - FLORENCE FINALLY TOLD THE TRUTH
Valerie almost shut the door.
For years, Florence had criticized everything about her.
Her career.
Her parenting.
Her body after pregnancy.
Even Isabelle’s face.
Compassion did not erase memory.
But curiosity opened the door.
Florence sat at the kitchen table.
She looked toward the greenhouse.
“I never liked those plants.”
“I know.”
“They made the house humid.”
“I know.”
“They’re beautiful.”
That was new.
Valerie said nothing.
Florence opened the folder.
Inside was a power of attorney she had given Gavin nine months earlier after minor heart surgery.
“It was supposed to last six weeks.”
“It didn’t?”
“He never terminated it.”
Valerie read.
The document granted broad property authority.
“Gavin used this to transfer the house to Chloe.”
Florence nodded.
“Without telling me.”
“You told me yesterday the house was yours.”
“It was.”
“And you still let him order me out.”
Florence looked ashamed.
“I thought he was transferring it into one of his business entities. He told me you had agreed to leave.”
“You believed that?”
“I believed what was convenient.”
At least she admitted it.
Florence placed another document on the table.
The agreement from three years earlier.
Miriam’s agreement.
Original signatures.
Miriam had loaned $410,000.
Florence acknowledged Valerie’s beneficial interest.
Gavin signed as witness and spouse.
But there was another paragraph Evelyn had not mentioned.
If Florence died or transferred the property, Valerie had the first option to acquire the remaining interest by crediting Miriam’s loan against the value.
Gavin’s ten-dollar transfer to Chloe did not simply ignore Valerie.
It triggered Valerie’s purchase right.
“He knows this?” Valerie asked.
“He signed it.”
“Then why transfer the house?”
Florence gave a bitter smile.
“Because my son assumes nobody reads anything except him.”
That sounded familiar.
Then Florence removed bank statements.
After transferring the house to Chloe’s company, Gavin immediately borrowed against it.
Nine hundred thousand dollars.
“Chloe knows?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Where’s the money?”
“Gone.”
Valerie called Evelyn.
Within an hour, financial investigators traced most of it.
Some paid construction debts.
Some went to an investment account.
More than $300,000 moved overseas.
Gavin was not merely preparing for divorce.
He was preparing an exit.
Valerie looked at Florence.
“What exactly did he tell you about the trust?”
Florence’s face changed.
“He said Miriam named me successor trustee.”
“She didn’t.”
“I know now.”
“Did you sign anything?”
Florence hesitated.
“Yes.”
Valerie’s stomach tightened.
“What?”
“A petition.”
The same petition seeking Valerie’s removal.
Florence claimed she signed because Gavin said Valerie had taken money from Isabelle’s trust.
Valerie stared at her.
“You never called me?”
“I believed him.”
“You always do.”
Florence flinched.
Then she said something Valerie did not expect.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me.”
Good.
“I’m asking you to stop him.”
That afternoon, Evelyn’s handwriting expert delivered a preliminary conclusion.
Miriam’s signature on the alleged trust amendment showed strong signs of simulation.
But the expert found something even more interesting.
The signature had likely been copied from another document.
A birthday card.
Valerie knew exactly which one.
Miriam’s last birthday card to Isabelle had disappeared after the funeral.
Only three people had been inside Valerie’s bedroom that day.
Valerie.
May you like
Gavin.
And Chloe.
