“No.”
Everyone turned around.
He looked at Mark.
” No. “
Mark’s face went blank.
“Did you know?”
“I signed the agreement.”
“You told me these arrangements were technical.”
“They were.”
“You never said Sarah could control the company.”
Richard’s expression changed in a way I had never seen him before.
“I never imagined you’d be stupid enough to forge his signature.”
Marc stood up.
“It’s my business.”
“No,” replied Richard. “It’s a company. Not an inheritance.”
Diane got up too.
“After everything our family has built?”
Rachel replied, “The company your daughter-in-law saved six years ago?”
Diane turned against me.
“You wrote a check.”
I felt an intense heat rising within me.
“A check?”
“You received money from your father. You invested it. Don’t sacrifice yourself.”
“I attended forty-seven meetings with the lenders.”
“You liked feeling important.”
“I negotiated the debt extension.”
“Because Richard gave you permission.”
“I personally guaranteed eighteen million dollars.”
Mark looked at me.
For the first time, he really looked at me.
He had forgotten that too.
Or perhaps he had spent so much time putting me down that he had ended up believing his own version of our story.
Rachel continued.
“There’s another problem.”
Daniel distributed the bank statements.
For more than fourteen months, Mercer’s funds had been transferred to Mercer Legacy Holdings prior to the attempted transfer of ownership.
Small quantities at first.
Consulting fees.
Management fees.
Then larger payments.
Eight hundred thousand dollars.
Then one and a half million.
Then another nine hundred thousand.
Claire murmured, “My God.”
Mark turned to Diane.
I noticed it.
Not towards me.
Towards his mother.
That’s when I realized he hadn’t known everything.
Diane knew that too.
She quickly interrupted him.
“These are legitimate expenses.”
Daniel asked, “For which services?”
“You’re an accountant. Read the invoices.”
“I did it.”
“And?”
“The suppliers’ addresses lead to two mailboxes and an empty office.”
Mark’s face had turned pale.
“Mom?”
“Don’t do it.”
“What is this?”
“Not here.”
He stared at her.
“You told me that Legacy Holdings was used for tax planning.”
Diane’s jaw tightened.
I looked at the mother and son in turn.
The plot I had imagined began to unravel.
Mark had forged my signature.
That was clear.
But what about the money?
Something else was happening.
Richard murmured, almost to himself, “You did it again.”
Everyone heard it.
Diane suddenly turned her head towards him.
“Richard.”
He stared at her.
“After all these years.”
“Be quiet.”
“No.”
The word was kind.
However, it transformed the play.
I had never heard Richard say no to his wife.
He stood up.
Then he looked at me.
“Sarah, there’s something you don’t know.”
Diane walked towards him.
“Richard, don’t even dare.”
He didn’t even glance at her.
“The company almost went bankrupt six years ago because of its expansion.”
My throat tightened.
“What?”
Mark stared at his father.
Richard continued.
“Expansion made us vulnerable. But that’s not what almost killed us.”
Diane’s face had turned white.
Richard stated, “The money had been disappearing for years.”
PART 4 — THE FAMILY LEGACY
Richard asked everyone, except for his family, Rachel and Daniel, to leave the room.
Then he sat down as if his bones had suddenly grown heavy.
“I discovered it in 2019,” he said. “Nearly three million dollars disappeared over several years.”
Mark stared at him.
“You told me that the projects had exceeded the budget.”
“Yes. I led you to believe that this was the whole problem.”
“For what?”
Richard looked at Diane.
“Because your mother took the money.”
The silence was almost physical.
Mark laughed nervously.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Diane said nothing.
Richard continued.
“She called them loans.”
Claire brought her hand to her mouth.
“Loans for what purpose?”
Diane finally spoke.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it,” said Mark.
Her eyes sparkled.
“I was protecting that family.”
“By stealing it?”
“I didn’t steal.”
Richard’s voice was trembling.
“You transferred company funds into private accounts.”
“To cover the obligations.”
“What obligations?” I asked.
Diane looked at me with pure hatred.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“It became my business when my signature was forged.”
Mark turned to his mother.
“What are the obligations?”
She remained silent.
Daniel placed another file on the table.
“I believe I can partially answer that question.”
He had traced payments originating from Mercer Legacy Holdings.
They didn’t lead to yachts.
Jewelry.
Vacation.
Or games of chance.
They were taken to a law firm in Delaware.
A private school in Virginia.
Health insurance premiums.
Accommodation costs.
And regular payments to a woman named Rebecca Mason.
Mark stared at the name.
I saw gratitude appear on his face.
“No.”
Diane closed her eyes.
Claire looked at him.
“Who is Rebecca Mason?”
Mark’s voice was hoarse.
“Someone I knew before Sarah.”
I couldn’t breathe for a second.
I turned towards him.
“How far?”
He looked at me.
There are truths that are revealed even before the words are spoken.
“We went out together.”
“When?”
“College.”
I waited.
“And?”
Diane said, “It’s pointless.”
I ignored her.
“Brand.”
He lowered his eyes.
“Rebecca contacted me seventeen years ago.”
My heart started pounding.
“For what?”
“She said she was pregnant.”
Everything inside me went cold.
Claire murmured, “Oh my God.”
Mark rushed over.
“That was before you. Years before you.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to.”
He rubbed his face with both hands.
“She said the child was mine.”
A son.
Of course.
Diane’s obsession with her grandsons suddenly changed form.
Blue baby clothes.
“Well, maybe next time.”
“You’re not giving up, are you?”
No son. No party.
I felt nauseous.
“Does it exist?”
Mark nodded.
“His name is Evan.”
“How old?”
“Sixteen.”
“Does he know about you?”
Mark’s eyes filled with something I had never seen before.
Shame.
“I don’t know.”
I got up.
“You don’t know?”
“Mom took care of it.”
I stared at Diane.
She raised her chin.
“Someone had to do it.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course.”
Diane looked at Mark.
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