Chapter 11 - Elaine Porter Was Paid for Every Placement
Elaine’s role turned the plan from cruel family strategy into financial misconduct.
Her consulting company marketed itself as an independent placement adviser.
It was not independent.
Harbor Pines belonged to a broader care network.
That network paid Elaine’s company “educational consultation fees” for completed placements.
Legal in some contexts if disclosed.
Problematic when concealed.
Worse when a placement was obtained through forged parental consent.
Sloane had invested $75,000 in a private fund with exposure to the same network.
Not enough to make her rich.
Enough to create an undisclosed incentive.
The more expensive treatment programs expanded, the better her investment might perform.
Again, Sloane was not stealing $18,000 monthly from Maisie’s trust into her own bank account.
Reality was more indirect.
More ordinary.
More plausible.
She found a system where removing Maisie could benefit her emotionally and financially at the same time.
That combination made it easier to tell herself she was making a “hard but necessary decision.”
Money did not create the cruelty.
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It rewarded it.
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