Chapter 7
I looked at all three of them.
Then I placed a folder on the table.
“Do any of you recognize this?”
My mother's smile faded.
Jennifer leaned forward.
Michael stopped drinking his coffee.
I opened the folder.
“Unauthorized vehicle purchases. Fake invoices. Questionable property loans. Forged messages. And a separation agreement my wife never signed.”
Nobody spoke.
I looked at my mother.
“Would you like to explain?”
Margaret straightened.
“Everything we did was for the family.”
I stared at her.
“Which family?”
She frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“The family that lives in my home? Or the family that forced my wife into the servants' quarters?”
Jennifer slammed her hand onto the table.
“Emma turned you against us!”
I shook my head.
“No, Jennifer. You did that yourselves.”
Michael leaned back.
“Come on, Daniel. You're worth hundreds of millions. Why are you acting like a few dollars matter?”
I looked him directly in the eyes.
“Because every dollar you stole represented trust I gave you.”
He scoffed.
“And what about everything we've done for you?”
I opened another folder.
“Let's discuss that.”
Rebecca entered with a stack of documents.
Michael immediately stopped smiling.
I slid copies across the table.
“You had five years to help manage this estate responsibly. Instead, you used my absence to build yourselves a lifestyle you couldn't afford.”
Margaret suddenly began crying.
“Daniel, I'm your mother.”
I looked at her.
“I know.”
“How can you humiliate me like this?”
My voice remained steady.
“Mother, you humiliated my wife for years.”
She wiped her eyes.
“We were only trying to protect you.”
“From Emma?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Yes. She wasn't right for you. She came from nothing.”
I felt something inside me become very still.
“Do you remember where I came from?”
My mother looked confused.
“What?”
“Before the restaurants. Before the real estate. Before the money.”
She said nothing.
“I was sleeping on a mattress in a rented apartment. My first restaurant was losing money. I had three credit cards maxed out.”
I leaned forward.
“Emma worked double shifts at a hospital cafeteria. She sold her grandmother's gold bracelet so I could repair the restaurant's broken freezer.”
Jennifer looked away.
I continued.
“When creditors called, she answered. When suppliers refused to deliver, she negotiated. When everyone told me to quit, she believed in me.”
My voice cracked.
“And when I finally succeeded, you convinced me she wasn't capable of handling money.”