Chapter 6 - Grace Would Not Come Back
Daniel offered Grace her job back.
She refused.
They were standing outside Claire’s home, where Lisa had been staying since the hospital incident.
“I’ll double your salary.”
“No.”
“I’ll give you paid leave until this is resolved.”
“No.”
“Grace—”
“You still think this is about employment.”
Daniel stopped.
She had worked for his parents before his father died.
She had attended Rachel’s funeral.
She had taught Lisa how to bake pancakes without making batter run down the cabinets.
She had sat beside Margaret through the first night after her stroke because Daniel was trapped at LaGuardia during a weather cancellation.
Daniel had treated her loyalty as something purchased by direct deposit.
Then he had kicked her.
Slapped her.
Fired her.
In front of Lisa.
“I’m sorry.”
Grace looked at him.
“You should be.”
He swallowed.
“I don't expect that to fix it.”
“Good.”
“I’ll cover any medical expenses.”
“My attorney will talk to yours.”
That startled him.
Grace saw it.
“Yes, Daniel. I have an attorney.”
“You should.”
“You assaulted me.”
“I know.”
It was the first time he said the word himself.
Not hit.
Not lost control.
Assaulted.
Grace’s eyes softened only slightly.
“What matters to me now is Margaret and Lisa.”
“Lisa keeps asking for you.”
Grace looked toward Claire’s house.
Her face broke for a moment.
“I know.”
Daniel had explained his mistake to his daughter the night before using the short phrases and visual supports her therapist recommended.
Dad was wrong.
Dad hurt Grace.
Grace told truth.
Vanessa hurt Grandma.
Dad is sorry.
Lisa had watched him.
Then she turned her face away.
No forgiveness.
No comforting him.
The consequence felt appropriate.
Grace finally said, “I’ll see Lisa. I’m not working for you.”
Daniel nodded.
That boundary remained.
Meanwhile, Vanessa hired an attorney.
Through counsel, she denied financial wrongdoing and described the wheelchair incident as a tragic misunderstanding caused by Margaret moving unexpectedly.
That story contradicted her first accusation against Grace.
Investigators noticed.
So did Daniel.
He also discovered Bellweather Interiors was owned by Vanessa’s college friend, Natalie Bell.
Vanessa claimed every payment covered legitimate work.
Some invoices did.
Others listed fixtures that did not exist in the mansion.
A custom stair lift supposedly installed in May had never been installed at all.
Daniel stared at the invoice for seventeen thousand dollars.
The staircase Vanessa had shoved Margaret toward had been billed for an accessibility system Margaret never received.
The irony was so ugly he almost laughed.
Instead, he called Warren.
“Freeze any nonessential payment that requires Mom’s authorization until she can review it herself.”
“You can't order that.”
Daniel caught himself.
Warren was right.
Margaret was still legally competent.
“Then ask Mom.”
That small correction represented something Daniel should have understood months earlier.
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His mother was disabled.
She was not his property.
