Chapter 12 - The File About Me
The photograph came without a message, and there was no way to know who had sent it.
I forwarded it to Naomi rather than answering the number.
She responded that she would review it with the other materials and advised us to avoid private confrontations.
In the morning Emmett and I arrived at her office before eight.
Naomi was brisk, careful, and unimpressed by dramatic claims unsupported by records.
She reviewed the listing forms, the drafts from Mara, and the messages Claire had sent.
Then she asked about my role in Margot's life.
I told her about school pickups, medical appointments attended with Emmett's permission, and the nights my granddaughter slept in the guest room when he worked late.
“Has anyone ever accused you of neglect or mistreatment?” Naomi asked.
“No.”
Emmett answered before I could say more.
“Arthur has been our strongest support.”
Naomi nodded and opened a second folder.
She'd obtained a copy of a proposed statement sent from an email account associated with Vivian.
It alleged that I interfered with Margot's relationship with her father by repeatedly invoking Phoebe's death.
My hands went numb as I read.
It cited the very photo albums and family traditions that Margot loved.
It even described the heart-shaped pancakes as a way of making her dependent on me.
“That isn't what those things are,” Emmett said.
“I know,” Naomi replied.
“This is an allegation, not a finding.”
She pointed to a handwritten annotation on the draft.
Need Emmett's confirmation before filing.
They had wanted his signature to turn their story into something official.
He stared at that line for a long time.
“I won't give it.”
Naomi explained how they could document his actual position and respond if any petition were filed.
She also said the brokerage matter should be investigated on its own evidence.
After the meeting, Peter called with news that Mara had contacted him.
She was safe.
She'd spent the night with a friend after receiving a threatening legal letter and was consulting counsel.
Relief washed through me.
Then Peter told us what Mara had found in her archived correspondence.
Someone had been gathering information about my finances months before the engagement.
And the person who requested it was not Claire.
May you like
It was Richard.
