“I preserved it.”
“It belonged to her.”
“It was money your father hid from his legitimate family.”
“She is his child.”
For the first time, Lorraine raised her voice. “Your father lied to me for years. He paid that woman to stay silent. While I protected his reputation and built his companies, he created secret accounts.”
I looked at her. For the first time, I saw pain beneath the pride. “You were angry with him,” I said.
She turned sharply toward me. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“You couldn’t punish him after he died, so you punished his daughter.”
Lorraine stood. “Then explain it.”
“Camille grew up with a mother who accepted money from a married man.”
“And Ethan grew up believing money determined everyone’s worth.”
Her face lost its color. Ethan closed the folder. She said nothing.
“He couldn’t speak after the stroke.”
“He had lucid moments.”
“He couldn’t even sign his own name.”
“He approved it earlier.”
Lorraine looked toward the windows. Ethan spoke quietly. “Mom.” That single word carried more sadness than anger. “Did you forge this?”
The answer was yes.
After Charles suffered his stroke, Lorraine found the trust while reviewing his estate. She convinced herself the money belonged to the company. To Ethan. To the family name she’d spent decades protecting. She believed Camille would never find out. But Charles had left duplicate copies with Evelyn. Two years after his death, Evelyn found them in storage. That’s when Camille began searching.
“Why show Ava the photographs?” Ethan asked.
“Because you stopped returning my attorney’s calls.”
“You could have called me.”
“You blocked me.”
“You boycotted my wedding.”
“I was trying to stop you from making a mistake.” Then she looked at me. “You thought if Ava believed I was cheating, she’d leave.”
“I thought she deserved to know you were hiding things.”
