Chapter 4 - THE FIRST THING RUSSELL COULD NOT EXPLAIN AWAY
The next morning Russell called Amelia’s longtime attorney, Margaret Shaw.
He did not ask Seraphina for explanations first.
That was new.
Margaret arrived before noon.
She was sixty-three, practical, and unimpressed by wealth.
She reviewed the cabinet records for nearly an hour.
“I knew Amelia sold some personal property.”
“How much?”
“Not this much.”
“Did you know she was putting money into Halden Development?”
Margaret looked at Russell.
“I knew she had made loans to the company.”
“Loans?”
Russell took out one of the checks.
“No loan paperwork exists.”
“That concerns me.”
Russell’s construction and hospitality company had nearly collapsed four years earlier after a luxury condominium project in Center City stalled during litigation.
He remembered the panic.
Banks tightening.
Partners withdrawing.
Payroll arriving every other Friday with insufficient cash behind it.
He also remembered telling Amelia he had solved it.
New investor money.
Asset sales.
Temporary restructuring.
Apparently part of the solution had been his wife’s jewelry.
“I never asked her for this.”
Margaret did not rescue him.
“Did she know the company was in trouble?”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell her how much?”
Russell hesitated.
Denise, standing near the window, noticed.
Margaret did too.
“No,” Russell admitted.
He had softened the numbers.
Amelia was receiving chemotherapy.
He convinced himself stress could hurt her.
So he gave her manageable versions of reality.
The same way he had later given Caleb manageable versions of grief.
Margaret turned another page.
“There’s something missing.”
“What?”
“Repayment.”
The company had eventually recovered.
Halden Development sold the troubled project and posted strong profits two years later.
If Amelia’s money had been loans, Russell’s company should have repaid Aster Reserve.
There was no record here that it had.
Russell immediately called his CFO.
Two hours later the answer came back.
Halden Development had repaid $1.08 million to Aster Reserve over nineteen months.
Russell stared at the ledger.
“Then where is the money now?”
Margaret looked toward the cabinet.
“That is exactly what we need to determine.”
Seraphina had remained downstairs under Russell’s instruction not to leave until they finished discussing Caleb’s safety and the property records.
When Margaret asked her about Aster Reserve, Seraphina’s composure returned.
“Amelia controlled it.”
“Who controlled it after her death?”
Seraphina paused.
“Technically? The manager listed in the operating agreement.”
“Who?”
Another pause.
“Me.”
Russell stood.
“You’ve controlled more than a million dollars belonging to my dead wife for eighteen months?”
Seraphina’s eyes sharpened.
“Belonging to Aster Reserve.”
“Where is it?”
“Invested.”
“In what?”
“That depends which quarter you mean.”
Russell moved toward her.
Denise stepped between them.
Not to protect Seraphina.
To prevent Russell from turning anger into another bad decision.
Margaret stayed calm.
“Ms. Vale, we will need the governing documents, statements, tax records, and authority under which you continued serving as manager after Amelia’s death.”
Seraphina folded her arms.
“You’ll get them.”
Russell laughed once.
“You say that like this is ordinary.”
Seraphina looked at him.
“For Amelia, it was.”
May you like
Then she said something none of them expected.
“She didn’t trust you with that money.”
