Chapter 3 - The Price of Looking Rich)
The birthday ended before Ethan blew out his candles.
Pamela’s sister carried him upstairs after he began crying.
Guests left in clusters.
Nobody knew whether to say goodbye.
Some hugged Pamela.
Others avoided Gwen.
Maren’s closest friends whispered near the driveway before disappearing into luxury SUVs.
By four o’clock, only immediate family, Howard, the officers, and several members of the household staff remained.
The mansion felt enormous without music.
Dylan sat at the dining table.
His jacket was gone.
His white shirt was damp beneath the arms.
Pamela stood by the windows.
Maren paced.
Gwen remained near the fireplace.
Howard placed the recovered documents into evidence bags provided by the officers.
Maren watched him.
“You’re behaving like someone committed murder.”
Howard looked up.
“Financial crimes have paperwork. That tends to make collection easier.”
“No crime occurred.”
“Then everyone should have an enjoyable afternoon.”
Maren glared at Gwen.
“Look at your grandson’s birthday.”
Gwen’s jaw tightened.
“Do not use Ethan.”
“You destroyed his party.”
“His parents did.”
Pamela turned.
“Stop.”
Everyone looked at her.
Mascara had streaked beneath her eyes.
“I don’t care whose fault this is.”
She pointed at Dylan.
“I want to know how much.”
Dylan stared at the table.
“How much what?”
“Debt.”
He didn’t answer.
Pamela slammed her hand against the window.
“How much?”
“About one point eight.”
Her face emptied.
“Million?”
Dylan nodded.
Pamela sat down.
Maren stopped pacing.
Even Gwen had not known the full number.
Pamela whispered, “That’s impossible.”
“We had losses.”
“You told me the restaurant lost two hundred thousand.”
“It did.”
“Where is the rest?”
Dylan rubbed both hands over his face.
“Cars. Travel. Cards. The lake membership. Your jewelry account. School commitments. Renovations.”
Pamela stared at him.
“My jewelry?”
“Pamela.”
“You bought most of it.”
“With credit.”
She looked at her mother.
Maren’s expression remained hard.
Pamela suddenly understood.
“You knew.”
Maren scoffed.
“I knew Dylan had cash-flow issues.”
“You knew we were almost two million dollars in debt?”
“You weren’t almost two million dollars in debt when I became involved.”
Howard looked up.
“That’s an interesting distinction.”
Maren ignored him.
Pamela’s voice shook.
“When did you become involved?”
Dylan closed his eyes.
“Last year.”
Pamela looked between them.
“What happened last year?”
Dylan said nothing.
Maren answered.
“Your husband came to me.”
“For money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Initially? Four hundred thousand.”
Pamela turned toward Dylan.
“You borrowed four hundred thousand from my mother?”
“It was temporary.”
Maren laughed bitterly.
“Nothing about him is temporary except his promises.”
Dylan’s head snapped up.
“You said you would help.”
“I did.”
“You charged me fourteen percent.”
“I’m not a charity.”
Gwen watched both of them.
Pieces began aligning.
Dylan had borrowed from Maren.
When repayment failed, Maren gained leverage.
Then Dylan attempted to refinance using the mansion.
Maren probably helped arrange it.
But that still did not explain Victor Lane.
Gwen asked, “Who introduced Victor?”
Silence.
Dylan looked at Maren.
Maren looked at the fireplace.
Gwen repeated the question.
“Who introduced my former controller?”
Maren smiled faintly.
“You really believe everything revolves around you.”
Howard stopped packing documents.
“Maren.”
She looked at him.
“The smartest thing you can do right now is answer simple questions simply.”
“I don’t take legal advice from another woman’s pet.”
Howard’s smile disappeared.
Gwen stepped closer.
“Maren, you have spent five years treating me like an inconvenient relative because you believed money made you superior.”
Maren folded her arms.
“It helped.”
“And yet you needed information from my employee.”
No response.
Gwen continued.
“You needed access to my property records.”
Maren’s eyes flickered.
“You needed valuations.”
Another flicker.
“And you needed Dylan to believe this mansion could save him.”
Dylan looked at Gwen.
Maren said, “You’re inventing a conspiracy.”
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
Gwen turned to Howard.
“When did Victor access the Tolbert Legacy file?”
Howard understood immediately.
“I’ll have the audit run.”
Maren laughed.
“You cannot access employee records without cause.”
Gwen looked at her.
“He was my employee.”
Maren’s smile vanished.
Howard made a call.
Ten minutes later, Gwen’s company security director confirmed something unexpected.
Victor Lane had accessed the property file nineteen times during his final eight weeks of employment.
More troubling, he downloaded internal trust documents.
One document involved Dylan.
Another involved succession planning.
Howard ended the call slowly.
Dylan looked confused.
“What succession planning?”
Gwen said nothing.
Maren stared at her.
That was the moment Gwen knew.
Maren already knew what was in those files.
Gwen walked toward her.
“How much did Victor tell you?”
Maren smiled again.
“Enough.”
Pamela looked at her mother.
“Enough about what?”
Maren ignored her.
Gwen felt something cold move through her chest.
Dylan stood.
“Mom?”
Gwen kept staring at Maren.
The succession plan was confidential.
Only three people besides Gwen knew the details.
Howard.
Victor.
And Gwen’s private tax attorney.
The arrangement had never been finalized.
But the draft contained a provision Dylan did not know existed.
If Gwen died, the mansion was not the largest thing he might receive.
Not even close.
Maren took one step closer.
“You’ve spent years thinking I wanted this house.”
“Didn’t you?”
“No.”
Maren glanced around the marble dining room.
“This place is lovely.”
Then she looked back at Gwen.
“But compared with what Dylan could inherit, it’s pocket change.”
Dylan went still.
Pamela slowly stood.
May you like
Gwen saw greed awakening behind fear.
And suddenly she understood that the mansion had never been the real target.
