Chapter 15 - The Lowest Chair in the Room
Thursday morning began with a petition delivered to Mara's office. Vanessa sought emergency authority over my affairs, claiming I was confused, financially reckless, and vulnerable to manipulation by outsiders. She attached photographs of me with gravy on my blouse as supposed evidence of neglect.
I stared at the pictures. She had kept recording after humiliating me. She had been collecting a story in which she was the responsible woman and I was a problem to be managed.
“Can she do this?” I asked.
“Anyone can file a petition,” Mara said. “That doesn't mean a court will grant it. She has to prove her case, and you have the right to oppose it.”
The emergency business hearing was scheduled first. I wore my one good charcoal suit. Thomas had called it my meeting-the-bankers suit because I'd worn it whenever somebody underestimated our little company.
In the courthouse hallway, Vanessa approached with her lawyer. She looked immaculate, pearl earrings shining under the lights.
“Ellie,” she murmured, “this can still be handled privately. Sign the settlement, and Daniel won't have to suffer.”
She held out a document requiring me to surrender management control and agree not to challenge prior transactions. In exchange, they would let me remain in my own home and give me a monthly allowance.
An allowance. From my buildings.
I handed it back. “You don't get to steal my roof and charge me rent beneath it.”
Her smile vanished. “Then whatever happens to Daniel is on you.”
That threat found its mark. I went into the restroom and cried with both hands over my mouth. For one terrible moment, I considered paying any price to keep my boy safe.
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When I returned, Mara was waiting with a sealed envelope recovered from Thomas's old file box.
“Ellie,” she said, “he left instructions for precisely this kind of day.”
