The Family Estate

Adeline did not open the door.

She called Vance first.

Richard waited on the terrace.

When Vance arrived twenty minutes later with a trustee representative, Richard had not moved.

He looked older than the Christmas photograph.

More tired.

Vance opened the door but remained between Richard and Adeline.

“You should not have come here.”

Richard nodded.

“I know.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because somebody is destroying records.”

“Miriam Cole told us.”

Richard’s eyes narrowed.

“So she finally spoke.”

Adeline stepped forward.

“You sent money through Ralston Property Services.”

“Yes.”

“You took one hundred seventy-six thousand dollars from the reserve.”

“No.”

“Then explain the payments.”

Richard looked at Vance.

“Can I come inside?”

“No,” Vance said.

Adeline almost smiled.

Richard accepted the answer.

“Ralston was mine. It handled property work for several clients. Constance used it legitimately at first. Roofing, drainage, stone repair.”

“And later?”

“She began submitting invoices for work that was never done.”

Adeline’s jaw tightened.

“Why did your company accept them?”

“It didn’t.”

Vance said, “Bank records show payments.”

“Because she had access to old invoice templates and account information.”

Richard reached slowly into his coat.

The trustee representative stiffened.

Richard stopped.

“It’s a flash drive.”

“Put it on the table outside,” Vance said.

Richard did.

“I kept backups of my company books. Every legitimate invoice is there. Compare them.”

Adeline said, “Why didn’t you expose her years ago?”

Richard looked at her.

“Because I was ashamed.”

“Of what?”

“Your stepmother and I were together before she met your father.”

“So Miriam was right.”

“Yes.”

“And after?”

Richard looked away.

“For a short time.”

Adeline felt disgust rise in her throat.

“My father was sick.”

“I know.”

“Did he know?”

“Not then.”

“Convenient.”

Richard did not defend himself.

“I deserved what he thought of me.”

“What did he think?”

“That I was stealing from him.”

“Were you?”

“No.”

Vance folded his arms.

“Your resignation email did not mention fraud.”

“Because Constance threatened to tell him about the affair if I went to police.”

Adeline stared at him.

“You protected yourself.”

“Yes.”

“And left Dad thinking you stole from him.”

Richard’s face tightened.

“Yes.”

“Why come back now?”

“Because Constance called me last week.”

“What did she want?”

“She told me to move the remaining reserve money.”

Adeline remembered Constance’s phone call from the ship.

“Did you?”

“No.”

“She thought you still controlled the Ralston account?”

“She thought I would help because some transfers made me look guilty.”

“Would they?”

“They already do.”

Vance asked, “Do you have proof of that call?”

Richard held up his phone.

“I recorded it.”

Vance’s expression changed.

“Send it to me.”

Richard nodded.

Adeline said, “What else?”

Richard was silent.

“What else are you not telling us?”

He looked directly at her.

“Your father eventually learned about the affair.”

Adeline’s breath caught.

“When?”

“Three months before he died.”

“How?”

“I told him.”

She stared.

“Why?”

“Because Constance started preparing documents to take control of the house after his death. I thought if he knew what she was doing, he would stop her.”

“Did he?”

“He confronted her.”

“And?”

“She convinced him I was retaliating because she ended the affair.”

Adeline laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

“He did not believe everything I said. But he believed enough to tighten the trust.”

“That’s why the occupancy agreement exists.”

“Yes.”

Vance glanced at Adeline.

Her father’s letter suddenly made more sense.

He had warned her about Richard because Richard was compromised.

But he had also protected the estate because something Richard said had frightened him.

“What did Constance want originally?” Adeline asked.

“The house.”

“Just the house?”

Richard shook his head.

“Control. The house was the symbol. The money was the mechanism.”

Adeline waited.

“Your father planned to leave her a generous cash trust. When he discovered the reserve was shrinking, he changed the plan. She received a smaller allowance and occupancy rights instead.”

“Did she know?”

“Yes.”

“So after he died, she started taking money anyway.”

“Yes.”

“And now she tried to transfer the property.”

Richard nodded.

Vance asked, “Who is the man who called Miriam?”

Richard’s face changed.

“I may know.”

“Who?”

“Graham Pike.”

Adeline had never heard the name.

Richard continued.

“He handled private paperwork for Constance. Not a lawyer. More like a fixer.”

“What kind of fixer?”

“The kind people hire when they want documents to look legitimate.”

Vance’s voice sharpened.

“Forgery?”

Richard nodded.

“I believe he created the transfer documents.”

Adeline thought of her signature.

Lauren’s blank signed page.

The attempted deed.

“Where do we find him?”

“I don’t know.”

Vance said, “Then why mention him?”

“Because he called me yesterday.”

“What did he want?”

Richard looked at Adeline.

“He wanted to know how much you knew.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“Nothing.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t. Believe the records and whatever can be proved.”

Adeline looked at Vance.

Evidence first.

Richard picked up nothing as he prepared to leave.

The flash drive remained on the table.

Before walking away, he looked back.

“Your father loved you.”

Adeline’s face hardened.

“You don’t get to tell me about my father.”

Richard nodded.

“No. I don’t.”

He left.

That night, Vance called.

“The recording is authentic enough for us to preserve and analyze.”

“What did Constance say?”

“Almost exactly what Richard told us.”

Adeline sat down.

“So he was telling the truth.”

“About that call.”

“Always the lawyer.”

“Always.”

Then Vance added, “There’s more. The flash drive contains metadata showing that several fake invoices were created on a computer registered to Graham Pike.”

“Can we find him?”

“We may not have to.”

“Why?”

“Because he just tried to contact you.”

Adeline looked at her phone.

A blocked-number voicemail had appeared.

She pressed play.

A man’s voice said, “Mrs. Carter, if you want the original documents with your real signature and the forged ones beside them, come alone.”

Adeline stopped the message.