Chapter 12 - The Woman Who Called It Planning
Judith agreed to meet Maya in a conference room, but refused to let Zoe attend.
She arrived carrying a leather folio and the same pearls she'd worn at the shower.
"Clara is under enormous stress," Judith said.
"Andrew's daughter has never accepted her."
Maya opened a notebook.
"Did you submit the Pine Crest inquiry using Andrew Bishop's name?"
"I arranged options. That's what responsible mothers do."
"Did Andrew authorize it?"
Judith's smile thinned.
"He left all the hard decisions to Clara."
"That's not an answer."
Andrew sat beside Maya without speaking until Judith slid a typed proposal across the table.
It offered to return the desk and quilt and cover Emma's counseling if he withdrew complaints and agreed not to give Zoe a reference.
"You want to buy our silence with my daughter's own belongings?" he asked.
"I want peace before my grandchild is born."
"Then stop threatening the people who protected Emma."
Judith leaned toward him.
"You're forgetting the video of you slapping a pregnant woman."
"No," Andrew said.
"I think about it every day. I'll answer for what I did. Will you?"
For a moment, Judith looked genuinely surprised.
She was used to people bargaining over which wrongdoing the family would acknowledge.
Andrew would not trade one child's safety against another woman's dignity.
The meeting ended without agreement.
As they left, Judith called after him.
"You still haven't asked yourself why Clara wanted that room so badly."
Andrew stopped.
"Because it's sunny?"
Judith shook her head.
"Because you promised it to Nora forever. Clara has spent two years competing with someone who's dead."
May you like
Then Maya's phone rang.
The storage company had discovered that the missing drawer was scheduled for disposal the following morning.
