Chapter 4 - THE HOUSE THAT HAD BEEN MODIFIED FOR JUNE
Maribel did not deny it.
“That room was for Grandma.”
Rowan stood in Cynthia’s office with the invoice spread across the conference table.
For eight months during the final year of her life, June had lived with Maribel.
The lake house became too difficult.
Too many stairs.
Too far from specialists.
Maribel converted a downstairs den into a bedroom.
Added a walk-in shower.
Grab bars.
A small exterior ramp.
Vance Coastal Services performed the work.
“Was that wrong?” Rowan asked Cynthia.
“Not necessarily.”
That irritated her.
She wanted a simple answer.
Cynthia continued.
“If the expenditure was reasonably for June’s care and authorized under the power of attorney, reimbursement may have been appropriate.”
“Even though it improved Maribel’s house?”
“That creates a conflict worth examining.”
Exactly.
Not proof.
A question.
The next set of invoices was similar.
Transportation.
Property oversight.
Administrative services.
Some involved Richard’s employees helping with June.
Some seemed inflated.
But Rowan was not an appraiser.
She hired a forensic accountant through counsel.
Her name was Diane Pritchard.
Diane’s first rule:
“No family adjectives.”
“What?”
“Don’t tell me Maribel is greedy. Don’t tell me Richard is dishonest. Give me documents.”
Rowan liked her instantly.
The review found something uncomfortable.
Much of Vance Coastal’s work was real.
Employees had installed the bathroom.
Moved June’s furniture.
Maintained the empty lake property.
Handled storm cleanup.
Transported medical equipment.
Richard’s company had actual labor costs.
Maribel had not invented $146,800 from nothing.
Then Diane found the pricing.
Some rates were consistent with market rates.
Some were not.
Administrative-management fees were particularly high.
There were also monthly “care coordination” charges paid directly to Maribel.
$2,500.
For fourteen months.
$35,000.
Rowan stared.
“Grandma paid Aunt Maribel a salary?”
“Essentially.”
“Was there an agreement?”
“Not that we have yet.”
Maribel’s attorney produced one.
A handwritten document.
Signed by June.
It authorized Maribel to receive “reasonable compensation for time and expenses related to my care and property.”
No amount.
No schedule.
June’s signature appeared genuine.
Again, ambiguity.
Then Diane found personal charges paid from June’s account during the same period.
A family trip to Hilton Head.
A new refrigerator for Maribel’s kitchen.
Landscaping at Maribel’s home.
Maribel had explanations.
June went on the Hilton Head trip.
The refrigerator stored June’s special food.
The landscaping repaired damage from accessibility construction.
Some explanations were plausible.
Some stretched.
Rowan’s anger grew.
Then Stellan called.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did Grandma pay Mom for taking care of her?”
“Yes.”
He became quiet.
“Mom told me she didn’t take a dime.”
Rowan stopped.
“When?”
“For years.”
That mattered differently.
Compensation itself might be legitimate.
The secrecy was not.
Stellan continued.
“She used to tell me you sent money but she did the real work for free.”
Rowan looked at the accounting.
Maribel had built family resentment around a sacrifice she had privately compensated herself for.
Maybe fairly.
May you like
Maybe excessively.
But definitely not for free.
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