Chapter 16 - Thomas's Last Lesson
Inside the envelope was a letter written in Thomas's careful block handwriting, dated six months before he died.
Ellie, if somebody ever uses our son to pressure you into risking the properties, remember why we bought them. We wanted a home for ourselves and a future for people who work hard. Love Daniel, but don't mistake surrender for love. He needs to be a man who can hear no and still do the right thing.
I read it twice. The ink had blurred where Thomas's hand must have trembled. He hadn't predicted Vanessa. He had understood our son's fear of failure and my instinct to rescue him.
Mara had found the letter with the original operating agreement and a memorandum establishing a backup succession procedure if I became unable to manage the company. It appointed an independent professional fiduciary for limited circumstances, not Daniel and certainly not Vanessa.
“This won't win a hearing by itself,” Mara said. “But the documents undercut their claim that Daniel automatically takes control.”
For the first time since dinner, I stopped asking how I could save my son from being exposed. I asked how I could protect our tenants and employees from the choices he'd made.
We approved temporary payroll funding from a separate reserve account under verified authority. We gave Adrian permission to report the suspected forgery to investigators and to seek an injunction against unauthorized transactions. I signed an affidavit describing the assault and the forged papers without softening anything to spare Daniel.
Outside the courtroom, Richard took a seat next to me. “I gave your son too much credit because I liked the story he told about himself,” he said.
“So did I.”
May you like
The courtroom doors opened. The clerk called Hartwell Holdings versus Hartwell and others. Just before we entered, Adrian received a message from the bank.
The $3.6 million loan was not the only transaction scheduled for noon.
