Chapter 5 - WHAT DIANE HAD ALREADY TAKEN
Marlene’s ledger arrived that afternoon.
The transfers were worse than Eliza expected.
Thirty thousand.
Twenty-five.
Forty-two.
Eighteen.
Sixty-four.
Each moved from Richard and Diane’s joint brokerage account into accounts connected to Bennett Millwork’s operating line.
Diane’s authorization appeared on all five.
But attached to the third transaction was an email.
Marlene had included it because Richard had been copied.
DIANE, STOP. WE AGREED NO MORE PERSONAL MONEY INTO RIVERBEND. TALK TO ME BEFORE YOU MOVE ANOTHER DOLLAR.
Richard had sent it at 6:41 a.m.
The fourth transfer happened eleven days later.
The fifth happened three weeks after that.
Eliza read the exchange at Grant’s conference table.
“So she did it anyway.”
“Yes.”
“She stole from him.”
Grant was careful.
“It was a joint account. The legal characterization is more complicated than that.”
“She knew he objected.”
“That appears clear.”
Eliza stood and walked toward the window.
Below them, cars crawled along Libbie Avenue.
Grant continued.
“The more important issue for the trust may be whether any trust property was later diverted.”
“Was it?”
“We’re checking.”
Eliza thought of Diane’s sentence.
Forty-three families depended on him making payroll.
It had sounded manipulative yesterday.
Today it sounded partly true.
Marlene confirmed the company had been within days of missing payroll twice.
The transfers had prevented it.
That did not explain the forged guardianship petition.
It did explain why Diane had refused to stop.
Eliza drove nowhere after leaving Grant’s office.
She parked beside a grocery store and sat with the engine running.
Her father had spent months telling her that Diane was “overwhelmed.”
Diane had spent months telling her Richard was “too sick to understand the numbers.”
Each had made the other sound unreliable.
Eliza had accepted both explanations because caring for Richard had taken everything else she had.
That evening Diane called.
Eliza nearly ignored it.
Then she answered.
“What?”
“I didn’t take that money for myself.”
“I know where it went.”
“Then you know.”
“I know Dad told you to stop.”
“He also told me he would fix Riverbend.”
“He changed the trust instead.”
Diane was silent.
Eliza heard glass touch a countertop.
“Do you want to know why he removed me?” Diane asked.
“I thought I did.”
“No. Grant knows what Richard wanted you to believe.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Your father spent thirty-eight years making sure everyone thought he was the calm one.”
Diane’s voice had lost its polished edge.
“You know what calm looks like when you’re married to it long enough?”
Eliza waited.
“It looks exactly like someone leaving you to hold the consequences.”
The call ended.
Ten minutes later Grant emailed.
His subject line contained only two words.
FOUND SOMETHING.
Attached was the first page of Richard’s original Riverbend financing proposal.
In the margin, beside Diane’s name, Richard had written:
May you like
SHE’LL GUARANTEE IT. HOUSE GIVES BANK COMFORT.
Eliza read the sentence until the words stopped looking like English.
