Chapter 4 - The Lawyer Who Ran
Thomas turned toward Nolan.
“Close the gate.”
“The sedan already passed it.”
“Get the license plate.”
Nolan spoke into his radio.
Robert walked back toward the house.
Thomas caught his arm.
“Who was in that car?”
“My attorney.”
“What was his name?”
“You know Conrad Pike.”
Thomas did know him.
Conrad had handled Robert’s private business for nearly twenty years.
He had also prepared the documents when Thomas bought the estate.
“What was Conrad doing in your office?”
Robert pulled his arm free.
“Family business.”
“My children’s names were on the envelope.”
Helen stepped between them.
“The documents were intended to protect them.”
Rebecca stared at her grandmother.
“Then why did you take them away when you saw me?”
Helen’s mouth tightened.
“I did not take anything away.”
“You pushed me into the hallway.”
Thomas turned to Rebecca.
“She pushed you?”
Rebecca nodded.
“Then Grandpa came in.”
“What did he say?”
Rebecca looked toward Robert.
“He said I had ruined everything.”
Robert laughed without humor.
“She misunderstood.”
Rebecca continued.
“He told Grandma to make sure we learned our place before you arrived.”
The remaining guests watched from the lawn.
Several people quietly began leaving.
Thomas did not stop them.
Robert pointed toward the gate.
“Look at what you have done.”
“You destroyed my birthday.”
Thomas stared at him.
“You locked my children in a pantry.”
“They were misbehaving.”
“You denied them food.”
“They were not starving.”
“You instructed people to keep them busy until I signed something.”
Robert’s voice became louder.
“Because you refuse to do your duty.”
“My duty to whom?”
“To this family.”
Thomas glanced at the relatives surrounding them.
Most avoided his eyes.
For years, he had paid medical bills, mortgages, tuition costs, business losses, vacations, and legal fees.
Robert had described every payment as loyalty.
Thomas now understood that his father had never considered it generosity.
He had considered it obedience.
Nolan returned from the gate.
“We have the plate.”
“Send it to the police.”
Robert scoffed.
“The police will not chase a lawyer for leaving a party.”
Thomas looked at Nolan.
“Tell them Conrad Pike may be transporting documents connected to financial fraud and the mistreatment of three children.”
Helen’s face tightened.
“Financial fraud?”
Thomas pointed toward the message on Cole’s phone.
“You planned to force me to sign something while my children were being punished.”
“It was not force.”
“What was I supposed to sign?”
Robert remained silent.
Thomas looked toward the second-floor office.
“I’ll find out myself.”
He walked into the mansion with Nolan beside him.
Robert and Helen followed.
When Thomas reached the office, the door was locked.
Nolan examined the handle.
“It was unlocked twenty minutes ago.”
Robert smiled faintly.
“My private office remains private.”
Thomas stepped back.
“Nolan.”
Nolan forced the door open with one strike near the lock.
Helen gasped.
Thomas entered.
The computer was gone.
The desk drawers were empty.
A small paper shredder stood beside the window.
Fresh strips of yellow paper filled its container.
Rebecca appeared in the doorway.
“That was the envelope.”
Thomas lifted several strips.
Samuel’s full name was visible on one piece.
Jacob’s birth date appeared on another.
Then Nolan noticed a single sheet beneath the desk.
He unfolded it.
At the top was Thomas’s name.
At the bottom was a signature that looked almost exactly like his.
Thomas examined it.
“I never signed this.”
Robert quietly reached for the paper.
Thomas moved it out of reach.
The document was a personal guarantee.
The amount printed in bold was $4.8 million.
Beneath it, three assets had been listed as collateral.
The estate.
May you like
Thomas’s company shares.
And the children’s trust fund.
