What My Father Called Protection
Chapter 05 - What My Father Called Protection
Evelyn did not sit.
She remained standing on the other side of Richard’s desk, the brooch between them.
“Say it again.”
Richard rubbed a hand over his face.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From a ten-year-old?”
“From Nora.”
“Nora is dead.”
His eyes flickered.
“You knew she was alive.”
“Yes.”
The word was almost peaceful.
That made Evelyn angrier.
“For how long?”
Richard stared at the fireplace.
“For eleven years.”
Evelyn heard herself laugh.
It did not sound like her.
“You told me she died in that crash.”
“I told you what I believed you needed to hear.”
“You held a funeral.”
“There was no funeral.”
“A memorial, then. We stood in a church while you let me mourn her.”
Richard’s mouth tightened.
“You were finally rebuilding your life. Nora had become unstable.”
“According to whom?”
“People around her.”
“What people?”
He did not answer.
Evelyn understood.
“Grant.”
Richard stood.
“You are emotional.”
“My sister died three weeks ago after twelve years of believing I abandoned her.”
“Nora made choices.”
“So did you.”
Richard walked to the window.
“She took money from the family.”
“Did she?”
He looked back.
Evelyn held his gaze.
For the first time since she was a child, Richard looked away first.
Her stomach turned.
“What did she actually do?”
“She threatened everything.”
“What does that mean?”
“The company was failing after your mother died. We had obligations. Payroll. Debt.”
Evelyn’s voice dropped.
“What did you do?”
Richard’s shoulders sagged.
“I used part of the trust.”
Evelyn could not speak.
The trust had been created by their mother’s parents. It belonged equally to Evelyn and Nora. Richard had been trustee until they turned thirty.
“You stole from us.”
“I borrowed.”
“Without telling us.”
“I intended to repay it.”
“Did Nora find out?”
Richard nodded.
“She was twenty-six. Furious. Reckless.”
“She was right.”
“She threatened to report me.”
Evelyn felt cold.
“And the brooch?”
Richard looked at it.
“Your mother gave it to Nora privately. I didn’t know. When Nora disappeared, Grant said it would be easier if everyone believed she took the brooch and the money.”
Evelyn gripped the desk.
“So the story that destroyed my relationship with my sister was a cover for your theft.”
“I was trying to save what your mother built.”
“No. You were trying to save yourself.”
Richard struck the desk with his palm.
“I saved your future!”
Evelyn did not flinch.
“You erased hers.”
The room went still.
Richard’s anger faded.
For one second, Evelyn saw an old man instead of a patriarch.
“I sent her money.”
“She sent it back.”
“How do you know?”
“She always sent it back.”
“Did you read her letters?”
Richard’s face changed.
That was the answer.
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
“How many letters did Nora send me?”
“Evelyn—”
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
The word nearly dropped her to her knees.
Richard moved toward her.
She stepped back.
“Don’t.”
“I thought contact would reopen everything.”
“You mean expose everything.”
“I wanted time.”
“You took twelve years.”
His eyes filled.
It was the first time she had ever seen her father cry.
Once, that would have undone her.
Now it only made her tired.
“What was in Nora’s hospital belongings?”
Richard looked confused.
“I don’t know.”
“Grant collected them.”
“I told him to prevent any direct contact with you until we could understand the situation.”
“She was dying.”
“I didn’t know that at first.”
“You knew before she died?”
Richard said nothing.
Evelyn felt something inside her harden.
She picked up the brooch.
At the door, Richard spoke.
“The boy changes the trust.”
Evelyn stopped.
“What?”
Richard sat down slowly.
“Nora’s share did not disappear when we believed she died. It reverted to a family holding arrangement. If she has a biological child, that child may be entitled to everything that was hers.”
Evelyn turned around.
“How much?”
May you like
Richard looked at her.
“Enough that Grant has very good reasons to be afraid of him.”
