Chapter 9 - THE WOMAN WHO LEFT EARLY
One guest had left before the water was poured.
Her name was Nora Bell, and I barely knew her. She was Vanessa's former college roommate.
Nora agreed to meet me in a coffee shop across town.
She looked nervous before I even sat down.
"I should have stopped it," she said.
"Then help me now."
She slid her phone across the table.
There was a voice memo recorded accidentally during the party setup.
Vanessa's voice came through first.
"Once she reads the statement, we have twenty people who heard her say she lied."
A man answered, "She's eight. That won't hold up."
I recognized him.
Graham Pike, a financial adviser Vanessa had introduced to me the year before.
Vanessa replied, "It doesn't have to hold up by itself. It just has to make Daniel think settlement is easier."
My pulse started pounding.
Graham said, "And if he doesn't?"
"Then boarding school solves the access problem."
The recording ended.
"Access to what?" I asked.
Nora looked at me.
"Lily's trust. Vanessa talked about it constantly."
I felt sick.
Claire's trust held income-producing property in Lily's name. I managed it as trustee, but certain distributions required proof of education, health, or residence expenses.
A residential school could create large legitimate expenses.
Rebecca later confirmed what I was afraid of.
Someone had prepared draft requests to reimburse more than four hundred thousand dollars in "specialized residential support" over three years.
The invoices came from a consulting company.
Its owner was Graham Pike.
I drove home with my hands tight on the wheel.
Vanessa was waiting in the foyer.
She had changed out of her party dress. She looked calm now.
"You talked to Nora."
It was not a question.
"How do you know?"
"Because Nora called me."
Then Vanessa smiled.
"You should be careful who you trust, Daniel."
She lifted a folder from the entry table.
"Especially when your own daughter has a documented history of behavioral problems."
May you like
She opened it.
Inside were letters from doctors I had never met.
