Chapter 18 - MY SON AT THE CENTER
When Ellen told me what Richard alleged, I refused to believe or disbelieve him without corroboration.
Richard had every reason to shift responsibility.
He had lied for money before.
But the accusation struck a fear I had tried to keep hidden since Mother's Day.
Adam could be foolish, vain and selfish.
Was he also capable of planning to take away my autonomy?
We received records through counsel showing that an inquiry about conservatorship had been made from an email account Adam controlled.
His attorney acknowledged the account belonged to him but disputed whether he had authored the relevant messages.
Additional review established that Vanessa also had access to the account through a shared device.
The authorship question remained unresolved.
I would not let uncertainty become a verdict simply because I was hurt.
I asked Adam to meet me, with counsel present, in Bellavita's empty private dining room.
He walked in without a tie, looking exhausted.
I placed the draft petition on the table.
"Tell me the truth about this."
He read it slowly.
"I asked someone what would happen if you couldn't manage the company anymore," he admitted.
I felt the room shift.
"Why?"
"Graham told me the board might put someone else in charge."
"So you wanted that person to be you?"
Adam stared at the page.
"I wanted the money, Mom."
The honesty was brutal because it was so plain.
"I thought you had more than you needed. I thought I deserved my share before you died."
I nodded, though my chest ached.
"You deserved to be loved. You did not deserve to control what I built."
"I know that now."
"Do you?"
"I don't know how to prove it."
"Start by telling the truth even when it makes you look worse."
He agreed to amend his earlier statement, making clear that he had initiated an inquiry about potential control of my assets.
He insisted he had not approved the false medical allegations in the draft.
That distinction would be examined by investigators, not decided by me.
When he left, I remained at the table with Thomas's letter in my hands.
I realized I had been expecting a final revelation that would transform Adam into a completely innocent victim or an irredeemable monster.
People were rarely so convenient.
He was my son, and he had betrayed me.
Both truths would remain.
Then Daniel entered carrying a newly discovered board file.
May you like
"Margaret," he said, "Thomas left instructions for exactly this situation."
