Chapter 5 - Helen’s Perfect Speech
Thomas read the document twice.
His expression did not change.
That frightened Helen more than anger would have.
Robert moved toward the desk.
“It was only a draft.”
Thomas held up the signature.
“A draft with my forged name?”
“No one submitted it.”
“Then why was Conrad running away with the original documents?”
Robert looked toward Helen.
Helen stepped closer.
“We were trying to protect the family company.”
Thomas laughed once.
It was a quiet, empty sound.
“There is no family company.”
Robert’s jaw tightened.
“Westbridge belongs to all of us.”
“Westbridge failed eight years ago.”
“You rebuilt it using the family name.”
“I created Northline after the bankruptcy.”
“With my contacts.”
“With my money, my employees, and sixteen-hour workdays.”
Robert pointed at him.
“You would be nothing without me.”
Thomas folded the forged guarantee carefully.
“I spent half my adult life believing that.”
Helen’s voice softened.
“Thomas, this can be discussed privately.”
Rebecca stood behind Nolan.
“Is that why Grandma made a speech?”
Thomas turned toward her.
“What speech?”
Rebecca reached into the pocket of her pink dress.
She removed several folded pages.
“I found these under the plates.”
Helen moved quickly.
“Give those to me.”
Nolan stepped between them.
Rebecca handed the pages to her father.
The first line read:
TONIGHT, WE RESTORE THE FAMILY’S LEGACY.
Thomas continued reading.
Helen had planned to announce that Thomas was assuming all remaining Westbridge debt.
She intended to tell the guests he had volunteered his company as security.
The speech also claimed Thomas had agreed to place his children’s inheritance under Robert’s management.
At the bottom, Helen had written a final sentence by hand.
AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT, HE CANNOT REFUSE WITHOUT SHAMING THE CHILDREN.
Thomas looked up.
“You planned to announce the agreement before asking me to sign it.”
Helen crossed her arms.
“You always care about appearances.”
“No.”
“You care about appearances.”
Helen’s calm expression finally cracked.
“We gave you everything.”
“You gave me a bedroom and reminded me every day that it belonged to you.”
“We sent you to good schools.”
“I paid back every dollar.”
“We accepted Emily.”
Thomas’s eyes changed.
The room fell silent.
Helen realized too late what she had said.
Thomas stepped toward her.
“You never accepted my wife.”
“She divided you from us.”
“She taught me that love did not come with an invoice.”
Helen looked away.
Rebecca stood straighter.
“My mom was better than all of you.”
Robert slammed one hand onto the desk.
“Enough.”
Samuel flinched.
Thomas immediately moved in front of him.
Robert pointed toward the document.
“If you refuse to guarantee the loan, dozens of relatives lose everything.”
“Which relatives?”
No one answered.
Thomas looked at Denise.
She stared at the floor.
He looked at his uncle Peter.
Peter turned away.
Then Thomas understood.
“You convinced everyone to invest.”
Robert’s face hardened.
Thomas continued.
“You used my name to make them believe Northline supported the deal.”
Robert said nothing.
“How much did they give you?”
Helen’s silence answered first.
Thomas looked back at the $4.8 million figure.
“That loan is not saving a company.”
“It is repaying the relatives before they discover the money is gone.”
Peter entered the office.
His face was white.
“What does he mean, gone?”
Robert looked at him.
Peter stepped closer.
“I gave you seven hundred thousand dollars.”
“It is tied up in development.”
“Which development?”
Robert’s eyes shifted toward the window.
Thomas watched him.
“There was never a development.”
A phone rang inside the empty desk.
Everyone froze.
Nolan opened the lowest drawer.
A second phone had been taped beneath it.
The caller ID displayed one name.
CONRAD.
Thomas answered.
Conrad did not wait for a greeting.
“Robert, the police stopped me.”
A pause followed.
May you like
Then Conrad spoke again.
“They found the second set of trust papers.”
