Chapter 5 - The Missing Parcel
Maya found the Mesa parcel in forty minutes.
It was worth $3.4 million.
And it was no longer in my trust.
Eight years earlier, while Dad still controlled the trust as trustee, the parcel had been sold to Morgan Family Holdings LLC.
For $410,000.
The LLC belonged to Dad and Gwendolyn.
“As trustee, he could sell trust property if it benefited you.”
“Did it?”
Maya pulled the transaction records.
The $410,000 never entered my trust.
It went into a joint account.
Gwendolyn and Dad now owned four rentals in Scottsdale through separate LLCs.
All seeded with money from my mother’s land.
I sat very still.
Dad and Gwendolyn had quietly built a rental portfolio with assets that were mine.
Maya said, “Paige, this isn’t a family disagreement.”
“I know.”
“This could be breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, maybe more depending on the documents.”
“I know.”
“Do you want me to proceed?”
That was the question.
My phone buzzed.
Dad.
I answered.
“Did you sell Mom’s Mesa property?”
He breathed out slowly.
“I was going to explain.”
“Eight years late?”
“It was sitting there doing nothing.”
“It was mine.”
“You were seventeen.”
“You were trustee.”
“I invested it.”
“For me?”
“For the family.”
There it was again.
Family.
A word that somehow always meant everybody except me.
“You bought four rentals.”
“They’re retirement security.”
“With my money.”
“You have more than enough now.”
Silence.
Then Dad said, “Gwendolyn was right. Money changed you.”
I almost hung up.
Instead I asked, “Did Mom know you would sell that land?”
He didn’t answer.
“Dad?”
He whispered, “There’s a letter.”
The same letter Gwendolyn mentioned.
“Where?”
“In the safe.”
“What does it say?”
He paused.
“It says your mother wanted me to do whatever was necessary to keep the family together.”
I looked at Maya.
“Send me a copy.”
Dad’s voice hardened.
May you like
“No.”
That was when I knew the letter probably said the opposite.
