Chapter 9 - THE ACCOUNTINGThe probate court did not accuse Lorna of stealing.
It ordered her to explain.
As Noah’s guardian, she had been required to manage certain assets for his benefit.
The questions were straightforward.
How much money had come in?
Where had it gone?
What expenses had been paid for Noah?
What assets had been sold?
Lorna had records.
More records than anyone expected.
Receipts filled two boxes.
Utility statements.
Mortgage documents.
Medical bills from Rachel’s illness.
Bank transfers from Lorna to Daniel dating back six years.
She had not exaggerated that part.
She had helped him repeatedly.
Marcus sat with Cynthia and Andrea during one document review.
He watched the total climb.
Five thousand.
Nine.
Fourteen.
Twenty-one.
By the final year of Rachel’s life, Lorna had transferred more than thirty thousand dollars to her brother.
Daniel repaid portions of it.
Not all.
“That changes things,” Marcus said.
Andrea nodded.
“It changes some things.”
Lorna’s attorney produced a signed repayment agreement.
Daniel had acknowledged owing Lorna $16,800 eleven months before his death.
Marcus recognized the signature.
So did Daniel’s former supervisor, who had witnessed it.
No forgery.
No invented debt.
No convenient villain.
Lorna had been telling the truth about something everyone wanted to dismiss.
Then Cynthia produced another document.
A handwritten note Daniel had given Lorna three months before the warehouse accident.
It said that if he died before paying the balance, she could reimburse herself from any unrestricted personal funds remaining in his estate after funeral costs.
Noah’s guardian ad litem read the sentence twice.
“Does this authorize taking his son’s survivor benefits?”
Cynthia answered immediately.
“No.”
“The fundraiser?”
“Not clearly.”
“The child’s custodial account?”
“No.”
Lorna stared at the table.
Her original grievance was real.
Her solution had not been.
Then another problem emerged.
Several withdrawals from Noah’s account were labeled Daniel debt repayment.
They began four months after Daniel’s death.
They continued for more than a year.
Lorna had taken nearly thirteen thousand dollars that way.
Added to the money used for household expenses unrelated to Noah, the questionable total exceeded thirty thousand.
Her attorney closed the folder.
“We need to discuss settlement and corrective accounting.”
Lorna shook her head.
“No.”
“Lorna.”
“He owed me.”
“Daniel owed you.”
She looked at Cynthia.
“So his money becomes sacred because he died?”
“That isn’t what I said.”
“I kept his kid.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Across the table, Marcus stared at her.
Lorna covered her face.
For perhaps the first time, she heard herself.
But the most damaging evidence had not arrived yet.
Andrea received a call that afternoon from the coin dealer who had purchased most of Daniel’s collection.
He remembered Lorna.
He remembered Noah too.
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Because Noah had been standing beside her when she sold it.
And according to the dealer, the boy had spent the entire transaction begging her not to.
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