Chapter 11 - What Rebecca Was Willing to Give Up
Rebecca filed a new parenting proposal.
She would remain in Chicago.
She would not remove Lily from her school district for at least two academic years.
She would accept gradual reunification.
Therapy.
Supervised visits.
No immediate overnight custody.
No restriction on Lily maintaining safe contact with Diane if professionals later determined contact was appropriate.
Miriam stared at her.
“You understand you’re offering more restrictions than the judge may require.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Lily is scared.”
“This may slow reunification.”
“Then it slows.”
Miriam studied her client.
Nine years earlier, Rebecca had taken Lily from daycare because she could not tolerate waiting.
Now she was voluntarily choosing patience.
That mattered.
Paige showed the proposal to Lily.
“She won’t take me away?”
“Not under this plan.”
Lily read the line about school twice.
Then another line caught her attention.
Child shall be consulted regarding future legal surname.
“What does that mean?”
“Rebecca asked the court not to automatically change your name.”
Lily looked surprised.
“She wants me to keep Mercer?”
“She wants you to decide when you’re ready.”
Lily’s anger softened.
She attended the next visit.
Rebecca did not mention Diane.
Instead she brought a board game.
Lily won.
Rebecca accused her of cheating.
“I did not!”
“You absolutely did.”
“You’re just bad.”
“I gave birth to a criminal mastermind.”
Lily laughed so hard she forgot to be cautious.
The sound stunned Rebecca.
She nearly cried.
Lily noticed.
“Don’t.”
“Sorry.”
“You cry a lot.”
“I have nine years stored up.”
“That’s weird.”
“Fair.”
They played again.
Across the city, Northbridge’s problems deepened.
Peter Lang admitted in a board interview that he had known Rebecca disputed the toxicology result.
“Why was the matter closed?” Claire asked.
“Because Voss claimed the initial negative was erroneous.”
“Dr. Ross produced a repeat negative.”
Lang looked irritated.
“Ross was combative.”
“She was correct.”
“We did not know that.”
“You had the printout.”
Lang said nothing.
Claire leaned forward.
“Did Raymond Sloane contact you?”
Lang’s expression changed.
There.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After Rebecca threatened litigation.”
“What did he say?”
“That the Bennett family was resolving the matter privately and a hospital disclosure could complicate custody proceedings.”
Claire stared.
“You allowed a private family lawyer to influence whether a patient was told her medical record had been altered?”
Lang stood.
“This interview is over.”
It was not.
The board placed him on leave.
Naomi’s position simultaneously improved and worsened.
The hospital’s investigation concluded she had violated policy by entering the archive without authorization.
She received a formal reprimand and a two-week clinical suspension.
But the board stopped short of termination because her conduct occurred during an active child-safety incident and ultimately preserved evidence.
Naomi signed the disciplinary finding.
Dr. Greene asked, “You agree?”
“I broke the rule.”
“You also uncovered misconduct.”
“Both can be true.”
He nodded.
Naomi had learned something from Rebecca.
Telling the truth about your own mistake did not weaken every truth around it.
Sometimes it strengthened them.
Then the financial investigation produced the largest number yet.
Diane had not merely taken $1.4 million from Lily’s trust.
She had pledged trust assets as collateral for a $2.8 million line of credit tied to Mercer Administrative Services.
The loan agreement prohibited using trust assets for Diane’s personal business.
Jonah Price stared at the bank documents.
“If the lender enforces this, Lily’s trust could lose another two million.”
Paige’s face hardened.
“Can we freeze it?”
“We need an emergency order.”
Miriam filed immediately.
Diane’s criminal-defense attorney objected that the trust pledge was authorized as part of investment management.
The judge disagreed.
All trust assets were frozen.
An independent fiduciary was appointed.
Diane lost control of Lily’s money.
Within hours, Mercer Administrative Services defaulted on two obligations.
The company was not healthy.
It had been surviving on money linked to Lily.
Diane received the news in her lawyer’s office.
“You told me the trust was protected,” she said.
Her attorney replied, “From ordinary creditors. Not from a court finding self-dealing.”
“I need access to company funds.”
“You don’t have enough.”
Diane stared out the window.
Without Lily’s trust, her business could collapse.
Without guardianship, she could lose the house.
The condominium.
Her status.
Everything she had spent nine years constructing.
She looked at her phone.
One contact remained who might still help.
Alan Voss.
She sent a single message.
WE NEED TO FIX THE ORIGINALS BEFORE HE TALKS.
She meant Gerald Knox.
May you like
But Voss had already turned his phone over to federal investigators.
And the message was preserved before Diane could delete it.
