Chapter 8 - THE MONEY IN WYATT’S COMPANY
Wyatt stared at the transfer record as though it were an explosive device.
“I never saw this money.”
Aaron Patel shared his screen and traced the payment into a corporate escrow account used during the sale of Campbell Restoration Group. The transfer had been labeled as reimbursement for environmental restoration work at one of the Harlow properties.
Campbell Restoration had performed no such work.
Yet two days later, the same amount moved from escrow to a consulting firm called North Line Strategy.
The owner of North Line was Wyatt’s former chief financial officer, Malcolm Pierce.
Wyatt stood so abruptly that his chair struck the wall.
“Malcolm handled the escrow reconciliation.”
Rachel asked whether Pierce had connections to my family.
“Not that I know of.”
Aaron opened another file. Pierce had attended the same country club as Gregory. They had served together on a development committee and exchanged more than four hundred emails over five years.
Wyatt’s face hardened.
“He told me Gregory was just another local investor.”
The financial conspiracy extended into Wyatt’s company before we were even engaged.
Gregory and Pierce had arranged false payments through Campbell Restoration, making it appear that I authorized business transactions benefiting Wyatt. If the hidden trust ever surfaced, they could accuse us both of stealing from it.
Melanie’s pursuit of Wyatt had served two purposes.
If she succeeded, she gained his wealth.
If she failed, the family already possessed documents capable of framing him.
“We need to determine whether Malcolm knew about the assault plan,” Detective Ruiz said.
Federal agents arrested Pierce that evening at a private terminal outside Cleveland. He carried a passport, seventy thousand dollars in cash, and a laptop containing encrypted accounting files.
Within twenty-four hours, he requested a plea discussion.
Pierce admitted helping Gregory launder property income through Campbell Restoration’s escrow accounts. In exchange, Gregory directed construction contracts toward the company and provided insider information about land purchases.
Wyatt had not known.
Pierce also admitted deleting the payment during the final sale audit. He believed the transaction could never be traced because the identity-theft account would eventually be closed.
But Eleanor’s ledgers preserved the original numbers.
“Your grandmother built a cleaner audit trail than most corporations,” Aaron told me.
“She expected them to steal.”
“She expected truth to require patience.”
Pierce revealed that Gregory’s immediate goal was to sell the Harlow buildings to Melanie’s investment company. Once the sale closed, Pierce planned to resell the properties to a national developer for eleven million dollars.
Gregory, Brenda, Melanie, Pierce, and retired Judge Mercer would divide the profit.
My guardianship petition would prevent me from challenging the transaction.
The attack was intended to provide a public reason for claiming I was unstable and controlled by Wyatt.
Every element had been prepared.
Except the six witnesses.
Except Leonard.
Except my decision to preserve the evidence.
The prosecution offered Melanie a limited cooperation agreement. She would receive no immunity, but truthful testimony could be considered at sentencing.
She accepted.
Brenda did not.
My mother issued a statement from jail accusing Melanie of lying to save herself. Gregory followed with a letter claiming Brenda had manipulated him for decades.
Their marriage, once united by contempt for me, dissolved under the weight of accountability.
The criminal cases were divided. Gregory faced trial first for the assault, obstruction, and conspiracy related directly to the attack. The financial charges would follow in federal court.
Rachel warned me that testifying would be difficult.
My face had healed enough for the second surgery, but I still experienced pain and occasional double vision. Dr. Foster said court stress would not physically endanger me, though exhaustion could slow recovery.
I chose to testify in person.
On the morning of Gregory’s trial, Wyatt helped me fasten the buttons of a dark blue jacket. Makeup could not fully conceal the scar crossing my left eyebrow, and I did not try.
Outside the courthouse, reporters called my name.
Some asked whether I forgave my father.
Others asked whether I still planned to marry Wyatt.
I answered none of them.
Inside, Gregory sat beside his attorney in a gray suit. He looked smaller than I remembered. His hair had thinned. His hands trembled slightly.
When I entered, he smiled at me.
The same smile he had worn during the emergency hearing.
I took the witness stand and described the dinner invitation, the demands concerning Melanie, my mother’s words, and the moment my father struck me.
His attorney suggested I had misinterpreted a chaotic struggle.
I looked directly at Gregory.
“There was no struggle before he hit me.”
“You were emotional that evening, correct?”
“I was happy. I came to announce my wedding date.”
“Had you consumed alcohol?”
“No.”
“Were you taking psychiatric medication?”
“No.”
He introduced the forged clinic letter.
Nathan Cole objected, then produced Dr. Kessler’s sworn confession establishing that the record was fabricated at Brenda’s request.
The defense attorney changed direction.
He suggested Wyatt had pressured me to accuse my father.
Then Janelle Price testified.
She repeated my mother’s exact words.
Marcus Reed played the dashboard audio from his utility truck.
Caleb Ross provided the delivery body-camera footage.
Evelyn Shaw described Melanie’s offer to Wyatt.
Leonard testified that he saw Gregory pick up the brick and heard Brenda say, “Do it now.”
Wyatt testified last.
The defense played the edited backyard video.
Nathan Cole responded with the full version.
Jurors watched Gregory threaten me weeks before the attack. They heard Wyatt warn him to stay away from us. The defense’s strongest evidence became proof of premeditation.
My father’s expression changed.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Then Melanie entered the courtroom wearing jail clothing and no makeup.
She testified that Gregory selected the brick because it would look like an object grabbed during an argument rather than a weapon brought from elsewhere. Brenda chose my left side because family photographs were usually taken from that angle.
A sound passed through the courtroom.
Not a gasp exactly.
Something heavier.
Melanie described the plan to sedate me at the hospital and blame Wyatt. She admitted preparing the false confession.
Gregory stared at her with hatred.
“You ungrateful little liar,” he shouted.
The judge ordered the jury removed.
Deputies restrained him.
He pointed at Melanie. “We did everything for you!”
She began crying.
“No. You did everything through me.”
The judge threatened to remove Gregory from his own trial.
When the jury returned, Nathan Cole introduced the physical evidence preserved at my request: my clothing, photographs taken before treatment, brick fragments, DNA results, and the chain-of-custody records.
The evidence matched the videos and testimony.
There was no reasonable alternative story left.
After closing arguments, the jury began deliberating.
They had been gone less than three hours when the court clerk announced they had reached a verdict.
We returned to the courtroom.
Before the jury entered, Gregory turned toward me.
His face softened.
For one reckless second, I thought he might apologize.
Instead, he whispered, “Withdraw your testimony, or your mother will tell everyone what Grandma did to get those properties.”
I stared at him.
“What did she do?”
His smile returned.
“You think Eleanor was a saint?”
The jury entered before he could say more.
The foreperson stood with the verdict sheet.
But my father’s final threat remained lodged in my mind.
May you like
Because buried inside his words was one last secret.
And if it was true, the inheritance that had exposed them might still be taken from me.
