Chapter 11 - ava finally heard the whole recording
Ava called Amelia two nights later.
Amelia almost did not answer.
Then she did.
"Hello."
For several seconds there was only breathing.
Finally Ava said, "Can I see you?"
"Why?"
"I need to talk."
"Then talk."
"Not on the phone."
Amelia looked out her apartment window.
"Where?"
They met at a small coffee shop halfway between Amelia's apartment and downtown.
Ava arrived without makeup.
Amelia could not remember the last time she had seen her sister like that.
She looked twenty-one.
Not glamorous.
Not smug.
Young.
Amelia refused to let that erase anything.
Ava sat across from her.
"I got a lawyer."
"Good."
"Grandpa won't answer me."
"He doesn't have to."
"I know."
Ava twisted a paper napkin.
"I heard you found recordings."
Amelia said nothing.
"Mom recorded us."
"Some conversations."
Ava's eyes filled with anger.
"Why?"
"Insurance."
"Against me?"
"Against everyone."
Ava looked down.
"I thought she was helping me."
Amelia waited.
"I know how stupid that sounds."
"It doesn't sound stupid."
Ava looked up hopefully.
Amelia continued.
"It sounds entitled."
The hope disappeared.
"You thought you deserved a condo someone else would finance."
Ava's jaw tightened.
"Mom said..."
"Stop."
Ava froze.
"You're twenty-one. Mom lied to you. That matters. But you signed documents."
Ava looked away.
"You took my car."
Silence.
"You let Mom use my identification."
Silence.
"You practiced my signature."
Ava began crying.
Amelia did not move.
"I didn't think it would actually hurt you."
"Why?"
"Because you have everything together."
Amelia almost laughed.
"What does that mean?"
"You always figure things out."
"So it was safe to steal from me?"
"No."
"But that was the logic."
Ava wiped her face.
"Mom said Grandpa was going to give you almost everything."
"He wasn't."
"I know that now."
"Did it matter then?"
Ava did not answer.
Amelia leaned back.
"You dropped my keys into my dinner plate."
Ava closed her eyes.
"I know."
"You told me Grandpa should have bought the SUV for you."
"I know."
"You called me spoiled."
"I know."
"Do you understand why I don't care whether Mom manipulated you enough to make this comfortable?"
Ava whispered, "Yes."
Amelia had expected denial.
The answer unsettled her.
Ava took a breath.
"There's something else."
Amelia's expression changed.
"What?"
"Travis has money."
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"Where?"
"He keeps cash in a safe at his office."
"Why are you telling me?"
"Because Mom wants me to take responsibility for the loan applications."
Amelia said nothing.
Ava pulled out her phone.
"She sent me this."
A message.
Diane: If anyone asks, you handled Amelia's information yourself. I only knew about the condo after the fact. Stick to that.
Another.
Diane: Do not mention Travis or Magnolia.
Ava laughed bitterly.
"She wants me to say she didn't know."
"Will you?"
"No."
Amelia studied her sister.
"You understand cooperating doesn't erase what you did."
Ava nodded.
"My lawyer said the same."
"Good lawyer."
"Amelia..."
"No."
"I was going to say I'm sorry."
"You can say it."
Ava stared at her.
"I'm sorry."
Amelia waited.
"For what?"
Ava looked confused.
"For everything."
"That's not an answer."
Amelia saw frustration rise.
The old Ava.
Then it faded.
Ava tried again.
"I'm sorry I took your SUV after you told me not to. I'm sorry I used your information. I'm sorry I signed the condo document knowing you weren't there. I'm sorry I believed Mom when she said you wouldn't care because Grandpa would always give you more. I'm sorry I treated you like you existed to make my life easier."
Amelia felt something shift.
Not forgiveness.
Truth.
Ava continued.
"And I'm sorry I threw the keys in your food."
A tiny laugh escaped Amelia before she could stop it.
Ava looked surprised.
"That part was especially awful."
"It was."
For the first time, they almost smiled at the same moment.
Then Ava's face became serious.
"There's more on Mom's laptop."
Amelia's expression hardened.
"What?"
"She has a folder called E plan."
"E?"
"Eleanor."
Amelia stared at her.
"Grandma?"
"I saw it once. Mom closed it."
"What was inside?"
"I don't know everything."
"Ava."
"There were old medical files. Grandpa's hospital documents. Notes about memory problems."
Amelia's stomach dropped.
Henry did not have memory problems.
Not beyond ordinary age-related forgetfulness.
"Why would she have that?"
Ava swallowed.
"Mom said if Grandpa fought the trust challenge, she'd prove he wasn't competent."
Amelia's hands went cold.
"Based on what?"
"She wanted to build a record."
"How?"
Ava looked ashamed.
"She'd ask him the same question weeks apart and write down if his answer changed."
Amelia felt fury rise.
Ava continued.
"She saved texts where he forgot appointments."
"Anything else?"
"She talked about getting him evaluated."
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
Amelia stood.
Ava reached out.
"There's one more thing."
Amelia stopped.
Ava whispered.
"Mom moved money yesterday."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"How do you know?"
"Travis called me. He said she emptied D.H. Consulting."
Amelia immediately called Paul.
By midnight, the investigation had expanded.
Diane was no longer merely defending herself.
She was moving assets.
And when Paul checked, he discovered something worse.
Henry's signature appeared on a newly submitted authorization attempting to transfer money from a family investment account.
The transfer had been blocked.
But the document was dated that morning.
May you like
Henry had spent the entire morning in Paul's office.
The fraud was continuing even after Diane knew she had been exposed.
