Chapter 14 - His Last Chance to Tell the Truth
Dad asked to meet me before the hearing.
I agreed only because Rachel arranged it in her office.
He arrived alone.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then Dad placed a folder on the table.
“I sold the fishing boat.”
“Okay.”
“And the roofing equipment that wasn’t financed.”
“Okay.”
“I can repay some of it.”
“Some.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
This was the first conversation we had ever had where I did not rush to reduce his discomfort.
He looked at me.
“Did Boston still take you?”
The question surprised me.
“I deferred.”
“Because of the accident?”
“Because Olivia needs stability while this gets sorted out.”
Dad gave a tired smile.
“There. You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Giving up your life for everyone.”
Anger rose in me.
Then I realized he was right.
“Maybe.”
I closed the folder.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m giving it up for you.”
He asked whether I would support probation if prosecutors eventually charged him.
“That isn’t my decision.”
“You can tell them I was a good father.”
I looked at him for a long time.
“Sometimes you were.”
His eyes filled.
“Is that all I get?”
“It’s the truth.”
Dad finally signed a sworn accounting acknowledging the improper trust withdrawals.
He agreed to permanent removal as trustee and to a civil judgment requiring restitution from any recoverable assets.
He also admitted taking my backpack from the crash scene.
He claimed he panicked and wanted the bank papers before police found them.
Nobody believed panic excused it.
But at least he had finally named what he had done.
When the papers were signed, Dad reached toward me.
I stepped back.
His hand remained suspended between us for a second before falling.
May you like
The next morning, the hearing began.
This time Dad had no version of the story left that paperwork could protect.
