Chapter 10 - the house they never owned
The Buckhead mansion had been purchased eight years earlier.
Jeffrey and I were both listed in the closing documents.
At least, that was what I believed.
Hannah pulled the property records.
Two years earlier, three months after I left for London, a deed had been recorded transferring my interest into a family holding company.
The signature looked like mine.
It was not.
I stared at it.
"That's forgery."
Hannah nodded.
"Unless you signed a power of attorney."
"I didn't."
The holding company was controlled by Noelle.
Jeffrey had effectively moved my house into his mother's entity while I was overseas.
The arrogance was astonishing.
Then Hannah found the mortgage refinancing.
The house had been used as collateral for a line of credit.
Three million dollars.
Part of the money had funded BrightSteps.
Part had gone into Jeffrey's restructuring costs.
Part remained unaccounted for.
"They were borrowing against the house too," I said.
Hannah nodded.
"Without valid authority from you."
I laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because there was too much to absorb any other way.
My husband had cheated on me.
His mistress moved into my home.
His mother abused my son.
They stole from Liam's trust.
They forged medical records.
They planned to sell his company shares.
They tried to dilute my corporate control.
And somewhere in the middle, they forged my signature and transferred my house.
Hannah looked at me.
"You need to understand something."
"What?"
"This is no longer one case."
I knew.
"Family court."
"Corporate litigation."
"Trust fraud."
"Potential criminal fraud."
"Forgery."
"Financial institution issues."
"Possible false statements connected to child welfare inspections."
I rubbed my temples.
"And Monday's board meeting."
"Yes."
I looked at the clock.
Sunday afternoon.
Less than twenty hours.
"What happens if Jeffrey gets the vote?"
"Given what we know now, we could challenge it."
"That's not what I asked."
Hannah understood.
If the vote happened, even if we later reversed it, the damage could spread.
Banks.
Employees.
Contracts.
London partners.
I had spent two years protecting Hale Meridian.
I would not burn it down just to punish Jeffrey.
I called Elias.
"Can we move the board meeting?"
"Jeffrey controls the agenda."
"Can he stop me from attending?"
"No."
"Good."
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing dramatic."
Elias gave me a look through the screen.
"Madeline."
"I want the board to see exactly what they're voting for."
Sunday night, I finally had several uninterrupted hours with Liam.
We were staying in a secured apartment owned by one of my father's old trusts.
Noelle did not know the address.
Jeffrey did not know the address.
Liam sat at the kitchen table with a bowl of pasta.
He kept glancing underneath it.
I sat across from him.
"You can stay in the chair."
"I know."
He ate another bite.
Then he looked at the empty chair beside me.
"Daddy coming?"
My heart tightened.
"No."
"Grandma?"
"No."
"Cyn?"
"No."
He seemed relieved.
Then he whispered, "Austin?"
I paused.
"What about Austin?"
"Baby doesn't like loud."
Even after everything, Liam was worried about Austin.
"No, sweetheart. Austin isn't coming."
He stirred his pasta.
"Is Austin bad?"
"No."
"Grandma said I'm bad."
"You aren't."
"Because I cry?"
"No."
"Because I spill?"
"No."
"Because Mommy went away?"
My throat closed.
I moved beside him.
"Liam, look at me."
He did.
"Nothing that happened was because you were bad."
He stared at me.
"You understand?"
His eyes filled.
"Then why?"
There are questions a four-year-old should never have to ask.
I touched his cheek.
"Because some grown-ups made terrible choices."
"Are you mad?"
"Very."
"At me?"
"Never."
He leaned against me.
For the first time since I returned, he let me hold him without stiffening.
We stayed that way until he whispered, "Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Can we get a table with no underneath?"
I laughed through tears.
"Tables need underneath."
He thought about that.
"Then chairs everywhere."
"Deal."
That night, after he fell asleep, I prepared for the board meeting.
At 2:13 a.m., Hannah called.
"We have a problem."
"What?"
"Jeffrey knows Cynthia is cooperating."
I sat upright.
"How?"
"Unknown."
"What did he do?"
"He changed the board meeting location."
"To where?"
"The Buckhead house."
I almost smiled.
Of all places.
The house he believed belonged to his mother.
The house where the cameras had recorded his plans.
The house where my son had slept on a floor.
"What time?"
"Nine."
May you like
I looked toward Liam's bedroom door.
"Then I'll be there at eight fifty-five."
