Chapter 11 - WHAT A MOTHER OWES
Rose didn't bargain with him.
“The original ledger is with investigators.”
Richard went quiet.
Then he hung up.
Police reached the house before Rose and Lena did.
Her father had left through the garage.
Her mother sat at the kitchen counter with a glass of water she hadn't touched.
“I thought he'd calm down if I listened.”
Rose stopped in the doorway.
“Did that ever work?”
Her mother shook her head.
An officer asked whether Richard had threatened or restrained her.
She described the conversation, including what she'd said about the transfer.
Lena explained that she represented Rose and could not advise both of them about conflicting interests.
She helped her mother contact another attorney.
While they waited, her mother opened a drawer.
Inside was a photograph of Rose at sixteen, holding a school award.
Richard stood beside her, one hand on her shoulder.
“He used to be proud of you.”
“Maybe he was proud of what he could take credit for.”
Her mother set the picture down.
“I signed a withdrawal request.
He said the company needed a bridge loan and he'd replace it before you noticed.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Rose pressed her fingertips into the counter.
“I knew it was wrong,” her mother said.
“I didn't know how far he'd go after that.”
“You knew how far you'd already gone.”
Her mother offered to sell her jewelry and give a full statement.
Rose said the money belonged in the accounting, not in an apology handed across a kitchen.
She couldn't promise forgiveness.
She could promise to listen when her mother stopped making excuses.
Before they left, a detective called Lena.
Owen had agreed to speak through his lawyer after investigators confronted him with the ledger payment and his messages.
He admitted going to the warehouse the night Daniel died.
He said Richard had ordered him to destroy records.
Rose looked at her mother.
The older woman was still holding the school photograph.
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Then Lena repeated the detective's next words.
“Owen says Daniel was inside when Richard told him to start the fire.”
