Chapter 17 - The Counterattack
The second beneficiary was my mother.
Grandma had apparently arranged a separate protected distribution stream for Evelyn, one Nathaniel could not freely treat as corporate cash.
In years of family arguments, Dad had described every asset as his.
The paperwork told a more complicated story.
My mother might have rights of her own, depending on the trust's proper administration.
Dana encouraged her to retain independent counsel, which she did.
No one was going to turn my mother's dependence into another way of controlling her.
Belle also retained her separate attorney and provided a detailed account of the license scan, the borrowed phone, and her communications with Graham.
She accepted that saying Dad told me to do it would not erase her choices.
That mattered more to me than another tearful apology.
Together, the attorneys arranged lawful preservation of the relevant records and cooperated with the appropriate investigations while respecting each client's interests.
Tessa supplied her authenticated business records through counsel.
Arthur Keene provided the historical trust correspondence.
Northline confirmed the altered report had not been its official work product.
And the bank issued findings through its own process rather than relying on anything I assembled privately.
The filings gave Dad fewer places to hide.
At a court conference, Sloan asked for more time.
Nathaniel sat beside him looking smaller than I remembered.
He still glared at me when he thought no one else could see.
But he no longer had the luxury of pretending every question was a family argument.
Afterward, a man in a dark overcoat approached Dana.
He introduced himself as a lawyer for the company's largest outside investor.
“Our client wants accurate ownership records before any recapitalization,” he said.
Malcolm asked whether the investor intended to buy the company.
“Not under the current representation of ownership.”
The investor had received a competing set of statements about the trust.
If they were false, the deal would have been negotiated on a distorted foundation.
The lawyer handed Malcolm a letter requesting a meeting with all properly represented stakeholders.
I expected another trap.
Instead, the opening paragraph contained words my father had never willingly applied to me.
Potential beneficial owner.
Then I saw the final attachment.
It was a schedule of loans and transfers approved by Nathaniel.
One payment had gone to Graham Voss.
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It was dated the morning after my accounts were emptied.
