Chapter 10 - Curtis Was Not Innocent
Curtis denied everything.
At first.
Claire arranged a meeting at her office.
Margaret attended with Rebecca.
Curtis arrived with his lawyer.
Claire placed the photograph on the conference table.
Curtis stared at it.
"Where did you get this?"
Margaret said, "Does it matter?"
His lawyer said, "It does."
Claire replied, "Not as much as why your client entered Margaret Hale's home without authorization."
Curtis leaned back.
"Ethan said his mother asked us to retrieve business records."
"Business records stored in her home?" Claire asked.
"Thomas used to keep files there."
Margaret stared at him.
"Thomas died six years ago."
Curtis looked away.
"What did you take?"
"Nothing."
Margaret pushed the photograph forward.
"You carried a box out."
"It had copies."
"Of what?"
Curtis's attorney touched his arm.
Curtis ignored him.
"Old financial records."
"Mine?"
"Some."
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Did you take Mom's identification documents?"
"No."
"Did you see Ethan take them?"
Silence.
Curtis's attorney said, "We're done."
Curtis stayed seated.
Margaret watched his face.
"You gave Ethan six hundred thousand dollars."
Curtis nodded.
"You believed my house would secure it."
Another nod.
"You entered my home to collect financial records supporting that loan."
He said nothing.
Margaret understood.
"You knew I hadn't agreed."
Curtis closed his eyes.
That was answer enough.
Rebecca stood.
"You son of a..."
Margaret said, "Rebecca."
She sat.
Curtis's voice became low.
"Ethan said you would agree once the paperwork was done."
Margaret laughed softly.
"You believed consent could come after the burglary?"
"I didn't think of it that way."
"People rarely think clearly while stealing."
Curtis looked ashamed.
Or frightened.
Perhaps both.
Then he said, "I can tell you where the records are."
Claire's posture changed.
"Where?"
"Ethan's storage unit."
Margaret frowned.
"What storage unit?"
Curtis gave them an address.
A commercial facility outside Ashford.
Ethan had rented the unit through Hale Residential Holdings.
Investigators obtained a warrant.
What they found transformed the case.
Boxes of Margaret's financial records.
Copies of Rebecca's mortgage statements.
Thomas's old business files.
Draft powers of attorney.
Practice copies of Margaret's signature.
Photocopies of her driver's license.
Social Security card.
Birth certificate.
And a small notebook.
Vanessa's handwriting.
Claire was not allowed to show Margaret the original while the investigation was active.
But she described several entries.
M forgetful story to neighbors.
R house equity 326.
Birthday witnesses.
Key copy made 8/18.
Need signature before Bell deadline.
Margaret felt physically sick.
"She wrote it down?"
"Apparently."
"Why?"
Claire gave a tired smile.
"People involved in complicated schemes often document things because they need to coordinate."
Rebecca stared at the table.
"So Vanessa planned the humiliation."
"That appears likely."
Margaret remembered the bowl.
The spoon.
The family looking down.
She had believed the cruelty was Vanessa's personality.
Now she understood it had function.
They wanted witnesses to describe Margaret as emotional.
Maybe irrational.
Maybe violent.
If she slapped Vanessa.
Threw something.
Screamed.
Then they could tell a different story afterward.
Margaret reached for Rebecca's hand.
"I almost gave them what they wanted."
"No."
"I threw the bowl."
"You threw food on fraudulent papers."
"I told Ethan to choke on them."
Rebecca smiled.
"That was actually excellent."
Margaret laughed.
It eased something.
Then Claire became serious.
"There is another issue."
"What?"
"The storage unit contained a draft petition."
"For what?"
Claire looked at Margaret.
"Emergency conservatorship."
The room became silent.
Ethan and Vanessa had prepared court papers alleging Margaret was unable to manage finances.
The draft claimed she had forgotten bills, left doors unlocked, become paranoid, accused relatives of stealing and reacted violently when family members attempted to help.
Margaret felt cold.
Every lie Vanessa had spread suddenly aligned.
The mail.
The key.
The home-care brochures.
The humiliation.
If Margaret refused to sign, they planned to seek control another way.
Rebecca whispered, "They were going to declare you incompetent."
"Try," Claire corrected.
Margaret looked at her.
"Could they have succeeded?"
"Not based on reality."
"But based on their story?"
Claire hesitated.
"Temporarily, if they created enough apparent urgency and you had no one challenging them immediately, they might have caused serious disruption."
Margaret closed her eyes.
That frightened her more than the forged deed.
A deed was paper.
This was an attempt to erase her voice.
To transform disagreement into incapacity.
To use age as evidence against her.
She opened her eyes.
"Can I see Ethan?"
Rebecca immediately said, "No."
Claire asked, "Why?"
"Because I want to hear him explain it."
"He may manipulate you."
"I know."
"He may blame Vanessa."
"I know."
"He may deny everything."
"I know."
Rebecca shook her head.
"Then why?"
Margaret thought of Thomas's sealed letter.
"Because I need to know whether my son is still in there."
Three days later, Ethan agreed to meet.
Not at Margaret's house.
At Claire's office.
He arrived alone.
He looked ten years older.
His expensive watch was gone.
So was the confidence.
Margaret sat across from him.
For a long time, neither spoke.
Then Ethan said, "Vanessa planned the conservatorship."
Margaret almost smiled.
There it was.
Exactly as predicted.
Blame.
She asked one question.
"Who copied my key?"
Ethan looked down.
"I did."
"Who took my Social Security card?"
"I did."
"Who forged the trust?"
Silence.
"Ethan."
"I created the draft."
"Who signed my name?"
He swallowed.
"I did."
Margaret's heart broke quietly.
Not because she was surprised.
Because he finally said it.
Then Ethan lifted his eyes.
"But Mom, I swear to you, I was going to fix everything."
May you like
Margaret stared at him.
"With whose house?"
