Chapter 7 - The Funeral Without a Face
Jonathan Hayes had died in a private plane crash over Lake Michigan.
That was the story Emily had been told at seventeen.
There had been no open casket.
No viewing.
No body she was allowed to see.
Margaret sat across from her in the conference room and twisted a gold pen between her fingers.
“The aircraft burned,” she said. “Identification was done through dental records and personal effects.”
“Did you see him?”
“No.”
“Grandpa?”
“No.”
“Mom?”
“No.”
Emily stood so fast her chair struck the wall.
“You let me bury an empty box?”
“We believed the report.”
“Who signed it?”
Margaret did not answer.
Paul did.
“Robert Carter.”
Noah’s head snapped up.
“My father?”
Paul nodded. “He was working risk operations for Vance & Hayes at the time.”
Noah paced toward the window. “He never told us.”
Emily’s anger found a new target. “Where is Robert now?”
“Dead,” Noah said. “Three years ago. Heart attack.”
Paul opened an archived personnel file.
Robert Carter had resigned from Vance & Hayes two weeks after Jonathan’s crash.
The exit agreement carried a seven-figure confidentiality payment.
Emily stared at the number.
“One point eight million dollars.”
Margaret nodded.
Noah whispered, “That’s the money Dad used to start Carter Construction.”
Daniel had inherited the company after Robert’s death.
Emily felt sick.
Her marriage, Daniel’s company, her father’s death, and her family trust were not separate stories.
They were one story.
A knock sounded at the conference room door.
Paul opened it.
A junior attorney stepped in holding a courier envelope.
“This was just served.”
Margaret tore it open.
Daniel had filed for an emergency injunction accusing Emily of abusing trust powers to destroy marital property during a domestic dispute.
Attached was a sworn affidavit.
Emily read the first paragraph.
My wife has experienced recent episodes of confusion, paranoia, and impulsive behavior.
Her hands began to shake.
Daniel was not only trying to stop the audit.
He was building a story that she could not be trusted with her own decisions.
Then Margaret turned the page.
May you like
A second affidavit was attached.
Signed by Emily’s mother.
