Chapter 14 - They Planned to Take His Company
The draft press release was vicious.
It described Dad as unstable.
Erratic.
Grief-stricken.
Unfit to lead.
It referenced “violent incidents inside the family home.”
Madison touched her cheek.
“The slap.”
Dad looked away.
Veronica had baited him.
Maybe not into that exact moment.
But she had spent years building a picture.
An angry widower.
A difficult older daughter.
A troubled younger daughter.
A devoted second wife holding the family together.
Then Dad threw the bag into the fire and slapped Madison in front of witnesses.
Two acts that could be clipped from context and used against him.
I hated how smart it was.
Dad called the company board chair.
Then legal counsel.
Then his communications director.
Within an hour, the family crisis became a corporate one.
We moved from the hospital to Dad’s office.
People came and went.
Lawyers.
Auditors.
Detectives.
Peter arrived at 3:20 p.m.
Dad met him in the conference room.
I stayed outside, but the glass walls gave us a perfect view.
Peter looked older than I remembered.
He sat.
Dad remained standing.
“What did she have on you?” Dad asked.
Peter lowered his head.
“Gambling debt.”
Madison whispered beside me, “Of course.”
Peter had hidden nearly nine hundred thousand dollars in losses.
Veronica discovered it.
Then used it.
At first, she asked him to approve harmless-looking consulting invoices.
Then larger ones.
By the time he understood what she was doing, he was already part of it.
Dad listened without interrupting.
When Peter finished, Dad said, “You could have called me.”
“I was ashamed.”
“So you stole instead.”
Peter’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Dad nodded slowly.
“Then you’ll tell the board.”
Peter looked up.
“And the police.”
His face collapsed.
“Richard.”
“You wanted me declared unstable so you could take interim control.”
“I didn’t write that release.”
“You approved the transfers that paid the person who did.”
Peter had no answer.
Dad opened the conference-room door.
Security was waiting.
Peter stopped beside me.
“Claire, I’m sorry.”
I looked at him.
“Everybody keeps saying that after they get caught.”
He flinched.
Then left.
Dad stood alone in the conference room.
For the first time, I realized revenge was not going to fix this family.
Truth was burning through all of us.
My phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
A photo.
My mother.
Alive, years ago, sitting beside Veronica at a café.
May you like
The message underneath said:
Ask Martin what happened the night your mother died.
