Chapter 9
Richard asked to meet me before the final court hearing.
Priya advised against meeting him alone. I agreed to see him in her office, with both attorneys present.
He arrived in a plain dark coat. Without his office and his guards, he looked older. I knew better than to let that decide anything for me.
He sat across the table.
“I built that company after your father died,” he said.
“You worked there,” I replied. “A lot of people did.”
“I made decisions nobody else could make.”
“Then why did you hide the accounts?”
His attorney touched his arm, but Richard pulled away.
“I was trying to keep it from failing.”
“You sent money to North Quay. You delayed Denise’s medical claim. You signed my name.”
His mouth tightened.
“I didn’t tell the fund administrator to single out that woman.”
“You told them to stop payments. Denise was one of the people waiting.”
For once, he looked down.
Then he lifted his head and said, “Your mother knew there were problems.”
I felt the old urge to defend her. I let it pass.
“She’s told the investigators what she did and what she saw.”
Richard studied me. “She chose your father’s family the moment Sterling appeared.”
“She chose to speak for herself.”
The meeting ended soon after. Richard had offered to give up his claim to the shares if the company withdrew its financial claims. Priya told him that the company’s claims and the public investigation were not mine to trade away.
When he left, I sat in the empty room.
“You handled that well,” Priya said.
“I kept hoping he’d admit one thing.”
“He may someday.”
“I don’t need to hear it from him.”
I meant it, though it took me a while to believe myself.
The financial case moved forward over the following months. Colin provided records and accepted responsibility for his part. The notary testified about the altered paperwork. Mom testified about the forms Richard had placed before her after surgery. I gave my account of the auction and the years I had spent trying to see the books.
A judge ordered Richard to repay company money traced to his accounts and barred him from managing the business. In a separate criminal case, he pleaded guilty to fraud involving the company funds and the trust document. Colin faced consequences too. Neither man could make the missing years disappear.
The company recovered some money through the court process. Arthur’s investment and a renewed customer contract covered the repairs we needed while the rest was collected.
I kept waiting for someone to tell me a new problem had appeared.
Problems did appear. A machine broke on a Tuesday. A customer changed an order on Friday. Two supervisors argued about shifts. I learned to answer the phone and deal with the problem in front of me.
One afternoon, Denise visited the factory after an appointment. She looked stronger. Maria walked her through the repaired assembly area.
“I thought I might never come back in here,” Denise told me.
“I’m glad you did.”
She touched the side of one machine. “Your dad would ask why it took us so long to fix this thing.”
“He probably would.”
Denise smiled. “Then he’d bring us coffee.”
That evening, Mom called to ask if I would come to dinner at Rachel’s.
We had begun talking more often. Sometimes we spoke about Dad. Sometimes Mom told me where she had applied for work. She wanted a place of her own again. I was glad she was making plans that belonged to her.
Over dinner, she passed me the potatoes, then said, “I’ve been seeing a counselor.”
I looked up.
“I needed help understanding why I stayed quiet,” she said. “I’m still working on it.”
Rachel reached over and squeezed her hand.
“Thank you for telling me,” I said.
Mom nodded. She did not ask if that meant I forgave her. I appreciated that.
After dinner, she walked me to the door.
“I know I can’t be the mother you needed then,” she said.
“You can be here now.”
Tears filled her eyes. She hugged me, and I hugged her back.
On my way home, Maria called.
The school near the factory wanted to bring a group of students to see how the machines worked. Dad had hosted the same visits years ago.
“Can we say yes?” she asked.
May you like
I thought of him putting a hard hat on my head.
“Yes,” I said. “Tell them we’ll make room.”
