Chapter 9 - WHY I NEVER LOOKED
I had statements.
That became my uncomfortable truth.
Westbridge mailed annual summaries.
I received digital notices.
I ignored most.
Not because I was lazy.
Because Grandmother Evelyn’s money had always made family gatherings poisonous.
I decided adulthood meant not needing it.
I paid my own rent.
My own car.
Owen’s school.
Childcare.
Everything.
If I did not touch the trust, I thought the trust could not touch me.
Wrong.
Rina asked:
“Why didn’t you review your branch?”
“I thought independent trustees handled it.”
“They did.”
“Poorly.”
“In part.”
She did not let me outsource all responsibility.
Good.
“You were still a beneficiary with notice.”
“Yes.”
“You signed the first transfer.”
“Yes.”
“You created a precedent.”
“Yes.”
“Not permission for forgery.”
“No.”
Both facts.
I could have caught the unauthorized transfers sooner.
May you like
That did not cause them.
It made concealment easier.
