Chapter 17 - THE MOTHER I DID NOT KNOW
For a day I could not bring myself to call Diane.
I wanted to believe my father had been lying to divide us.
He had done that for years whenever one of us questioned him.
But a question isn't proof, and a confession from an angry man isn't always the truth.
Maya reminded me to keep those distinctions clear.
We reviewed the records again.
Pacific Meridian had been formed while Richard's brokerage was facing mounting obligations.
Diane appeared repeatedly as an intermediary.
The financial trail suggested that some assets belonging to Rose had been moved through the company.
Whether those transfers were authorized was still contested.
I thought of my mother in the airport, clutching my wrist and ordering me to surrender the seat.
For years, I had understood her as someone who enabled my father.
Now I had to consider whether she had also designed the system that kept me obedient.
I agreed to meet her with counsel present.
She arrived at Maya's office alone.
Without Richard beside her, she looked smaller.
She noticed my cheek had healed.
I'm glad that's better, she said.
It was the first acknowledgment of my injury she had offered.
I asked why she had lied about Pacific Meridian.
She clasped her hands.
Your father made mistakes.
Did you?
She looked at Maya.
I asked the question again.
Diane admitted she had signed documents at Martin's direction but insisted she believed the transactions were legitimate.
She said she had been afraid our family would lose its house.
I told her fear did not excuse using my name.
Her eyes filled.
You have always been the capable one, Olivia.
I thought you would understand.
I wanted to shout.
Instead, I asked why capable meant available for exploitation.
She had no answer.
Before leaving, Diane pulled a folded photograph from her purse.
It showed Rose sitting in her garden, looking directly at the camera.
On the back was a sentence written in blue ink.
Olivia is the only one who asks me what I want.
Diane handed it to me without explanation.
At the door, she paused.
There is something your grandmother made me promise, she whispered.
Then she glanced toward Maya and shook her head.
I can't tell you here.
I stood.
Mom, no more secrets.
She opened the door.
May you like
If Richard learns I told you about the second recording, she said, he'll destroy it before the hearing.
