Chapter 8 - THE DECISION THAT COULD COST DIANA HER HOME
Diana hired her own lawyer.
That was sensible.
The first sensible thing she had done since taking my card.
Her lawyer advised her to stop contacting me directly, cooperate with the foundation review, and separate her personal finances completely from Robert.
Diana hated all three instructions.
She followed them anyway.
Independent counsel recommended suspending her foundation employment while the board determined repayment.
Robert wanted to continue her salary.
The other directors refused.
Diana’s income fell immediately.
Her Greenwich rental was far beyond what she could afford without family support.
Eric’s custody attorney learned that the foundation was reviewing personal reimbursements.
No one “took her children.”
Real life was slower.
His lawyer requested updated financial disclosures during the existing custody matter.
Diana panicked exactly as she predicted.
This time Robert could not fix it quietly.
“Pay her rent for six months,” he demanded of Michael.
“No.”
“She’ll have to move the kids.”
“Then help her find something affordable.”
Robert stared at his son.
“You have changed.”
Michael nodded.
“I hope so.”
Diana eventually moved from a large rental in Greenwich to a two-bedroom condo in Stamford.
Sophie cried because she had to share a bathroom with her brother.
Noah complained about the commute.
They survived.
That mattered.
The children had spent years being used, unintentionally perhaps, as proof that no financial boundary could ever be enforced.
It turned out children could tolerate a smaller home better than adults could tolerate admitting one was necessary.
My irreversible decision came at work.
The Sentinel’s general counsel asked whether I wanted the company to handle the card matter quietly if full restitution was made.
“What does quietly mean?”
“No public statement. Standard fraud procedures. We still document everything.”
“And if the issuer requests a police report?”
“We provide facts.”
I nodded.
“Then follow normal procedure.”
I would neither use journalism to punish Diana nor family status to protect her.
Normal procedure.
Somehow that had become radical.
The fraud claim was eventually resolved in the Sentinel’s favor after recovered merchandise and canceled tickets reduced the loss. Diana remained responsible for approximately $1,700 in nonrecoverable charges and fees under a written repayment agreement.
Small compared with nine thousand.
Symbolically enormous.
Robert offered to pay it.
Diana surprised everyone.
“No.”
He stared at her.
“Why?”
She looked at me across the conference room.
“Because apparently I need to learn what my own mistakes cost.”
For the first time, I saw the possibility that humiliation might turn into change instead of another excuse.
Then the foundation’s forensic accountant found the document that threatened to destroy that hope.
It showed Robert had transferred $82,000 of his personal money into the foundation over three years immediately after questionable expenses.
At first that looked like repayment.
Then they noticed the dates.
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Some deposits happened before Diana’s expenses.
Robert had known what she was going to spend.
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