Chapter 3 - THE CANE
The cane belonged to Arthur Hale.
My father’s older brother.
My uncle.
Seventy-two.
Retired judge.
And the one person Garrick had never met.
Arthur entered the foyer with a younger man carrying two document cases.
No police.
No board.
No theatrical army.
Just my uncle.
Calm.
Silver cane.
Gray suit.
He looked at my face.
Then the food on my dress.
Then Victoria’s wine-soaked cheek.
Then Garrick.
His expression barely moved.
That was worse.
Miriam recovered first.
“Who are you?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Someone who should have come sooner.”
My knees weakened.
I had not seen him in six years.
After my father died, Arthur and my mother drifted apart over the estate.
Not hatred.
Pride.
Paperwork.
Old pain.
Then Arthur looked at me.
“Sienna.”
I started crying.
No dramatic collapse.
Just tears.
Garrick said:
“This is a private family dinner.”
Arthur answered:
“So I see.”
Then:
“I’m Arthur Hale.”
Miriam’s face changed.
She knew the name.
That surprised me.
Arthur had served on the state appellate bench before retirement.
More importantly, he was trustee of a Hale family asset I had almost forgotten.
My father’s inheritance.
I received modest annual distributions.
Nothing life-changing.
At least, that was what I believed.
Arthur nodded toward the man behind him.
“This is Owen Grant. Forensic accountant.”
Garrick laughed.
“Why the hell is an accountant here?”
Arthur looked at Victoria.
She answered:
“Because I called him.”
I turned to Mom.
“What?”
She took my good hand.
“I found something.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
She looked at Garrick.
Then Miriam.
“Three months of transfers out of Sienna’s trust account.”
I froze.
“What transfers?”
Garrick spoke too quickly.
“She authorized household support.”
I turned.
“What?”
Arthur opened one document case.
“No, she did not.”
Silence.
Then he placed three bank statements on the dining table.
Payments.
$18,000.
$27,500.
$42,000.
Recipients:
Ashford Estate Operations.
Garrick Ashford Consulting.
Miriam Ashford Family Office.
My head spun.
“I never approved those.”
Garrick said:
“You signed the household authorization.”
“What authorization?”
He looked at Miriam.
That look told me everything.
Arthur said:
“The signatures are electronic. The device logs point to the Ashford home network.”
My stomach dropped.
Then Owen added:
“And the login credentials were reset using Mrs. Ashford’s phone number.”
Miriam went pale.
My mother had not come only because she suspected Garrick hurt me.
May you like
She came because someone was taking money too.
And now the cane was the least surprising thing in the room.
