Chapter 13 - The Funeral Signature
Arthur remembered almost nothing from Grace’s funeral.
People.
Flowers.
Food he did not eat.
Forms he did not read.
Victoria standing beside him.
Charles handing him folders.
“Estate housekeeping,” Charles had said.
Arthur had signed page after page.
Rachel compared the legitimate forms.
One page was missing from the packet copy.
The certificate liquidation order had been inserted between two routine probate documents.
Arthur had signed it.
Obtained through deception.
That hurt differently.
He could not say:
He just had not known what he was signing.
Rachel stopped the transaction before it executed.
The bank opened an internal investigation.
Charles admitted he inserted the page.
Victoria had given him the account number.
Arthur sat alone in his study that night.
The hidden camera was gone now.
Police had cleared the room.
He stared at the empty spot.
Grace had warned him.
Elena had warned him.
Margaret had warned him.
Lily had warned him in the only ways a child could.
Arthur kept choosing the explanation that required the least conflict.
He called Dr. Chen.
“I need to know what to say to Lily.”
“Start with the truth.”
“That I failed?”
“If that is your truth.”
Then asked:
“Will saying that make her feel responsible for forgiving me?”
“Only if you ask for forgiveness.”
At his next visit with Lily, he sat on the floor.
“I should have listened sooner.”
Lily played with a toy horse.
“You told me Victoria scared you.”
“I explained it away.”
“What does that mean?”
“I made excuses.”
“Why?”
Arthur answered honestly.
“Because I wanted everything to be okay without doing the hard part.”
Then:
“Was I hard?”
“No.”
He moved closer, but did not touch her until she reached for him.
“The truth was hard. You were not.”
Lily climbed into his lap.
Then she whispered:
“Mommy said you do that.”
“What?”
“Make things okay in your head.”
Lily added:
“Mommy made a video for you.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
“Where?”
May you like
Lily pointed toward the old music box in her room.
Inside was a memory card Arthur had never seen.
