Chapter 3
Silence.
Arthur placed the folder on a nearby counter.
"My granddaughter owns her trust through the Blackwood Family Legacy Foundation."
"Every inheritance is protected."
"Every investment predates your marriage."
"Every holding is legally separate."
Weston's breathing became uneven.
"The apartment?"
Arthur smiled.
"Her apartment?"
"She rented that because she enjoyed pretending to live normally."
Ashley whispered,
"What?"
Arthur continued.
"The house in Aspen."
"The vineyard in Napa."
"The apartment in Paris."
"The investment portfolio."
"The trust."
"The aircraft shares."
"The medical patents."
"None belonged to you."
Weston looked like someone had stopped his heart.
"You emptied the joint account."
Arthur nodded thoughtfully.
"A rather impressive..."
"...one hundred twenty-three thousand dollars."
Weston swallowed.
Arthur leaned slightly on his cane.
"My granddaughter's trust generated..."
"...roughly that amount."
He glanced at his watch.
"This morning."
Ashley's face turned white.
Weston suddenly recovered enough to raise his voice.
"So what?"
"We're divorced."
"She signed."
Arthur nodded.
"Correct."
"My granddaughter is now legally free."
"And thanks to your insistence..."
"...she has no financial obligation to support you."
He looked toward the attorneys.
"However..."
"...he does have obligations to support his children."
Weston froze.
The attorney continued calmly.
"Considering Mr. Carter's documented abandonment of medically fragile newborns..."
"...the child support petition has already been filed."
"What?"
"The emergency custody order is also awaiting judicial review."
Weston stared at me.
"You planned this?"
I quietly shook my head.
"No."
"You did."
Before he could answer...
Another woman entered the NICU.
Late fifties.
Gray business suit.
Leather briefcase.
She walked directly to Arthur.
"Chairman."
"It's confirmed."
Arthur nodded.
"Tell him."
She faced Weston.
"I'm Laura Simmons."
"Senior investigator with the Financial Crimes Division."
Weston's forehead wrinkled.
Arthur spoke quietly.
"I became curious after hearing you emptied the joint accounts."
He looked at Laura.
"What did we discover?"
Laura opened the briefcase.
"Mr. Carter transferred the funds..."
"...into an account already under investigation."
Weston stopped breathing.
Laura continued.
"The receiving account has processed more than three million dollars connected to fraudulent real-estate investment schemes."
Arthur slowly looked back at Weston.
"So..."
"It appears..."
"...today is becoming rather inconvenient for you."
Weston opened his mouth.
No sound came out.
May you like
And that was before the investigator pulled out the next document...
One that would prove his affair with Ashley wasn't the biggest lie he'd been hiding.
