Chapter 5 - THE QUESTION CLARA HAD ASKED MONTHS AGO
That night, after Toby finally fell asleep, Clara and I sat at the kitchen table.
The food my mother had cooked was still in the refrigerator.
Neither of us wanted it.
I ordered grilled cheese and soup from a diner instead.
While we waited, Clara said, “Do you remember February?”
I did not.
“Your father asked whether spouses automatically inherit company shares.”
Then I remembered.
Sunday dinner.
Richard had asked what happened to ColeShield if I died.
I'd joked that he should stop killing me before dessert.
Everyone laughed.
Clara hadn't.
Later she asked whether my estate documents were current.
I told her Richard worried because that was what fathers did.
There had been other moments.
Natalie asking whether my equity could be “split up” without board approval.
My mother complaining that Clara's house made me look like a guest.
Richard repeatedly saying a married man should consolidate control.
Each conversation had seemed irritating but separate.
Clara had noticed the pattern.
I had dismissed it.
“Why didn't you push me harder?” I asked.
She gave me a tired look.
“I did.”
That hurt because she was right.
I'd told her Natalie was jealous.
I'd said Mom meant well.
I'd told her Dad had an old-fashioned way of talking.
Translation:
I had required my wife to absorb discomfort because challenging my family would inconvenience me.
“I owe you an apology.”
“Yes.”
There was no automatic forgiveness in her voice.
That was fair.
The food arrived.
Halfway through dinner, Priya emailed.
RMC Strategic Consulting had been added to our vendor system eight months earlier.
Vendor contact:
Natalie Cole.
I stared at the screen.
My sister had occasionally helped ColeShield organize client events.
We gave her a limited company expense card and paid her for approved work.
But I had never approved a consulting company.
Priya attached a summary.
Over eight months, RMC had received $63,400.
Some invoices were legitimate event expenses.
Others were vague:
STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT.
EXECUTIVE FAMILY ADVISORY.
BUSINESS CONTINUITY CONSULTING.
Clara read the page.
“What does executive family advisory mean?”
“I have no idea.”
Then she pointed to a date.
One payment had been issued four days before Natalie posted a video showing off a luxury weekend in Miami.
Another preceded the diamond bracelet she'd been wearing at dinner.
Those weren't proof of theft.
Not yet.
May you like
But they turned my sister's jewelry from an ugly detail into a question.
At 11:36 p.m., Priya sent one final message.
