Chapter 16 - Richard’s Version
Richard’s evidence looked devastating.
Emails from Michael approving payments.
Signed consulting certifications.
Internal messages asking how quickly funds could be moved.
A spreadsheet listing EB Design transfers with Michael’s initials beside them.
Michael’s lawyer requested an emergency meeting.
Emily resisted attending.
“This is his legal problem.”
Rachel agreed.
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Richard claims some transfers benefited you.”
Emily stared.
“How?”
“He says EB Design paid expenses associated with your architecture firm.”
“That’s false.”
“Then we prove it.”
Sofia examined the records.
Richard had attached invoices bearing the name Bennett Studio Restoration—Emily’s company.
The invoices looked authentic.
Logo.
Address.
Project descriptions.
But Emily immediately noticed something.
“The font.”
Sofia frowned.
“What?”
“We changed our invoice template five years ago. These supposedly come from three years ago, but they use the old typeface.”
Small detail.
Critical detail.
Emily retrieved archived accounting files.
Her company’s actual invoice numbers did not match Richard’s.
One fake invoice listed restoration consulting for a Sterling hotel project Emily had never worked on.
Another carried a digital signature copied from a legitimate contract.
Sofia smiled for the first time in days.
“This is good.”
“Good?”
“Forgery with traceable source material.”
The fake signature came from a contract Michael had once emailed to Diane while seeking advice on renovation costs.
Richard likely obtained it through Sterling servers.
Forensic analysis showed the invoices had been created on a device associated with Vale Strategic Partners.
Richard’s attempt to implicate Emily instead strengthened the broader case.
Michael was not cleared.
His signatures remained real.
But Richard’s credibility suffered.
At a settlement conference related to the divorce, Michael looked exhausted but calmer.
“I heard you found the fake invoices.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know.”
The mediator left them alone briefly.
Michael stared at his hands.
“I used to think Dad was weak.”
“Your father?”
“He let Mom run everything.”
Emily had barely known Michael’s father, Edward. He died two years into their marriage.
Michael continued.
“He disappeared into golf clubs and business trips whenever she became difficult.”
“Sounds familiar.”
“Yes.”
Emily expected defensiveness.
None came.
“I became him.”
“You became yourself.”
Michael looked at her.
“That’s worse.”
“It’s more useful.”
He almost smiled.
“I spent years thinking I was different because I argued with her privately.”
Emily remembered Samuel’s letter.
Avoiding cruelty was not opposing it.
“You still let her win publicly.”
“Yes.”
The mediator returned.
They discussed property.
Michael formally relinquished any ownership claim to the penthouse.
He asked for none of Emily’s business.
Emily made no claim to his inherited restricted Sterling shares beyond what counsel determined was required to settle marital finances.
They disagreed over smaller things.
Furniture.
An investment account.
A vacation property they jointly owned in Vermont.
Marriage ended in mundane spreadsheets as much as heartbreak.
At the end, Michael said, “There’s one thing I want.”
Emily stiffened.
“What?”
“The framed picture from Maine.”
She knew exactly which one.
Ava, age three, sitting on Michael’s shoulders while rain poured down.
All three laughing.
Emily’s eyes stung.
“Okay.”
He looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Afterward, Rachel asked, “How do you feel?”
“Like I just divided a ghost.”
That night, Ava found Emily packing Michael’s remaining photographs.
“Is Daddy never coming back?”
“Not to live here.”
“Because you don’t love him?”
Emily sat beside her.
“Because love isn’t enough if people don’t treat each other safely and honestly.”
Ava thought about that.
“Do you have to hate someone to divorce?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Again that word.
Good.
Ava leaned against her.
“I don’t hate Grandma.”
Emily stroked her hair.
“You don’t have to.”
“I’m still mad.”
“That’s allowed.”
Ava looked up.
“What if she says sorry?”
“You decide how you feel.”
“Do I have to hug her?”
“No.”
“Can I?”
“If you want to someday.”
Ava nodded.
A week later, Diane’s letter arrived.
Not for Emily.
For Ava.
Dr. Ortiz reviewed it first.
Then Emily read it.
There were no excuses.
No mention of punch.
No blame.
Ava,
I ruined part of your birthday dress because I was jealous of attention you were receiving and angry at your mother. That was cruel. Adults are supposed to control their feelings without making children pay for them. I did not.
Emily stopped.
Diane had written jealous.
Admitted it.
The letter continued.
You did not cause what happened. Your dress was beautiful. You were allowed to enjoy being celebrated. I am sorry I taught you otherwise.
At the end:
You do not owe me a visit, a hug, or forgiveness.
Emily’s throat tightened.
She showed it to Ava.
Ava listened while Emily read aloud.
When she finished, Ava was quiet.
“Do you want to keep it?”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to answer?”
“Not yet.”
Emily put the letter in Ava’s desk.
That night, an investigator called Rachel.
Richard Vale’s story was collapsing.
But during the review of Sterling archives, investigators had uncovered one final document.
A handwritten memorandum from Samuel Bennett.
It concerned Diane.
May you like
And it was dated the morning he died.
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