Chapter 6 - The Real Reason Sloane Wanted Maisie Gone Was Not Jealousy Alone
Graham initially assumed the motive was simple.
Sloane hated sharing him.
That was true.
But incomplete.
Her second suitcase explained the rest.
Inside Sloane’s luggage were bridal clothes, jewelry, travel cosmetics—
and a thick folder labeled:
POST-MARRIAGE HOUSEHOLD RESTRUCTURE.
Graham nearly laughed at the bureaucratic name.
Then he opened it.
New staff assignments.
Bedroom renovations.
A planned nursery conversion.
A schedule for moving Maisie’s things into long-term storage.
And financial notes regarding a trust established by Maisie’s late mother, Rachel.
Graham’s first wife had died from an aneurysm when Maisie was eighteen months old.
Before her death, Rachel’s parents placed assets into a protected trust for Maisie.
Graham did not own it.
Sloane would never own it.
But the trust reimbursed certain educational, medical, and residential expenses directly related to Maisie.
Harbor Pines cost nearly $18,000 per month.
Someone had already asked the trustee whether residential therapeutic treatment would qualify.
Sloane.
She had not been trying to steal the trust outright.
She had found something subtler.
If Maisie were placed in an expensive program, the trust would potentially pay large legitimate invoices.
And the placement consultant recommending Harbor Pines—
Elaine Porter—
received referral fees from an affiliated service network.
A network Sloane had recently invested in.
Now the plan had a financial engine.
Move Maisie.
Call it therapy.
Route legitimate-looking money through connected providers.
May you like
And free Sloane to remake the Grant household without Graham’s daughter physically present.
---
