Chapter 6 - ROBERT MOVED HIS CHAIR
The Bennett family met again twelve days later.
Not at the mansion.
Robert chose his attorney’s office in Tysons.
Neutral ground.
Genesis hated that.
“This is a family matter.”
Robert answered:
“That phrase has become expensive.”
Claire almost smiled.
Jackson sat beside Genesis.
Claire sat beside Melissa.
Robert sat alone at the head of the table.
That physical distance said more than anything.
His attorney reviewed the facts.
Home-equity line increased from $200,000 to $350,000.
Current balance just over $312,000.
Multiple transfers to Bennett Project Group.
Genesis’s separate $146,000 loan.
Proposed refinance using Claire’s condo after transfer.
Fake email appearing to show Claire’s consent.
Genesis interrupted.
“She was always going to help.”
Claire looked at her.
“No.”
“You said marriage means supporting each other.”
“That is not consent to transfer title.”
“Semantics.”
Melissa leaned forward.
“Ownership is frequently semantic in exactly the way deeds are semantic.”
Robert looked at Genesis.
“Did you create the email?”
Genesis’s face hardened.
“No.”
Jackson looked at her.
Claire noticed.
He did not look relieved.
He looked uncertain.
Robert asked:
“Did you know it wasn’t Claire’s address?”
“I received it from Jackson.”
Every head turned.
Jackson went pale.
“No.”
Genesis stared at him.
“You sent it.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
Jackson’s voice rose.
“Mom, stop.”
Robert slammed his palm onto the table.
“Enough.”
Silence.
Claire watched mother and son.
One of them was lying.
Possibly both.
Robert continued.
“Did you tell me the refinance was for home improvements?”
Genesis looked away.
“At first.”
“Did you give Jackson three hundred thousand dollars from our line?”
“Not at once.”
“That was not the question.”
Genesis began crying.
“He was going to lose his company.”
Robert’s expression changed.
“So?”
Genesis stared.
“So?”
“He is thirty-eight years old.”
Jackson flinched.
Robert continued:
“He can lose a company.”
Genesis looked horrified.
“That is our son.”
“And this is our house.”
“Exactly!”
She pointed toward Claire.
“And she has a property sitting there doing nothing.”
Claire laughed once.
“It has tenants.”
Genesis ignored her.
“One signature fixes everything.”
Robert stared at his wife.
“At her expense.”
“She’s rich.”
The room froze.
Claire did not think of herself as rich.
But relative to Genesis’s crisis, she had resources.
That was apparently enough to convert her ownership into a moral obligation.
Robert slowly moved his chair farther from Genesis.
“You told me Claire had agreed.”
Genesis whispered:
“I thought she would.”
There.
Not admission to creating the email.
Admission to the mindset.
Agreement was simply the answer Genesis expected eventually.
Robert looked at Claire.
“I am sorry.”
Claire nodded.
Jackson stood.
“Can we stop pretending Dad’s innocent?”
Robert turned.
“What does that mean?”
Jackson laughed bitterly.
“You think Mom invented this whole system?”
Genesis went still.
Robert frowned.
“What system?”
Jackson looked directly at his father.
“Tell Claire why I started Bennett Project Group in the first place.”
May you like
Robert’s face changed.
The meeting had found another layer.
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