Chapter 15
I looked down at the papers.
“Why would Corinne be involved in this?”
“She was named a beneficiary.”
“Only because of my father’s agreement.”
“Not exactly.”
Miriam pulled out another document.
“This is an amendment dated three years ago.”
I scanned the page.
My name appeared as trustee. Corinne was listed as successor beneficiary.
“Your father changed the trust after your mother died,” Miriam said. “He did so without telling you the full reason.”
“Why Corinne?”
“Because he believed she was the only person in the family who would challenge you if you began behaving like him.”
I gave a short, disbelieving laugh.
“My father chose my wife as a safeguard against me?”
“He may have chosen her because he trusted her judgment.”
I thought of Corinne sitting at the kitchen table, balancing household accounts while I made decisions involving millions of dollars without telling her anything.
“What happens to the trust now?”
“That depends on what you do next.”
I looked up.
Miriam folded her hands.
“If you cooperate with the review, the assets can be protected while the ownership dispute is investigated. If you attempt to move property, conceal information, or pressure Corinne, she can seek court intervention.”
“I have no intention of doing that.”
“You say that now.”
The sentence was not insulting. It was simply cautious.
“Do you think I’m like my father?”
“I think you have repeated some of his choices.”
I could not argue.
Miriam continued, “Corinne is not seeking to take your money. She is seeking security for herself and Owen. She wants the family’s finances examined by an independent trustee. She also wants you to acknowledge that the trust was never solely yours to control.”
“What does that mean for the house?”
“The Belle Meade property may not belong to you individually.”
The words were strangely relieving.
I had spent years treating the house as proof of stability. It had been a stage on which I played husband, father, and heir. If it was not mine, perhaps neither was the authority I had assumed came with it.
“Who owns it?”
“Your mother’s family trust, technically. Your father transferred management rights to Keaton Family Holdings, but the beneficial interest may belong to the descendants of your mother’s parents.”
“My mother was an only child.”
“Yes.”
“And I’m her only child.”
“Which is why the question is complicated.”
I looked at her.
Miriam opened another file.