“Dad, tell her to stop.”
Warren did not answer.
He was looking at my mother with a mixture of disbelief and fury.
He had expected obedience from both of us.
My withdrawal had frightened him, but her betrayal wounded his certainty.
“Why now?” I asked her.
Her eyes filled, though her voice remained steady.
“Because when your father told you not to come to the reunion, Rhett laughed.
He said it would be easier once you were gone because they could blame the loan failure on you.”
The statement landed harder than the voicemail had.
They had not merely decided to cut ties.
They had planned to make me responsible for the collapse.
My father rubbed one hand across his mouth.
“That was frustration.
No one had a plan.”
“There is always a plan with you,” my mother said.
“You just call it family when you need someone else to carry it.”
Danielle looked at Marisol.
“We can arrange access to the cabinet tonight, provided Mrs.
Wrangle consents and the property is hers as well.”
“It is jointly owned,” my mother said.
Warren stood.
“No one is entering my home without a warrant.”
Marisol gathered none of her papers.
“That is your right.
We can seek one.
In the meantime, the bank will maintain the freeze, and we will refer suspected forged authorizations to counsel and law enforcement.”
The color left his face in stages.
He sat down again.
Rhett began talking quickly.
He said the consulting fees were legitimate.
He said the vendors were personal contacts who had provided verbal services.
He said the transfers were temporary.
He said everyone in a family company occasionally signed for one another.
Each explanation made the situation worse.
Peter wrote without looking up.
Danielle let him continue.
I understood why.
Rhett had always relied on momentum.
He believed that if he spoke loudly enough, his version became reality.
But in a room with a recorder, every careless sentence hardened into something that could be examined later.
When he finally paused, Marisol asked one question.
“Did Ms.
Wrangle give you permission to use her initials?”
Rhett looked at me.
I held his gaze.
“She knew how we operated,” he said.
“That is not an answer.”
“She benefited from the company.”
“That is also not an answer.”
His breathing became visible in his chest.
“No,” he muttered.
“Not specifically.”
Marisol switched off the recorder.
“We will continue this conversation after reviewing the documents in the home office.”
