“So we wait.”
“We position.”
I will never forget that word.
Position.
Not protect.
Not help.
Not preserve the family.
Position.
Then Megan asked about the lake house.
Beatrice glanced toward the closed lounge door.
“That gift matters because Elijah made it publicly.
Everybody saw him hand Terrence the deed.
He thinks it proves how generous he is.”
“What does it prove to us?”
“That he has already started transferring major property voluntarily.”
Megan nodded slowly.
“The first door.”
“The first receipt,” Beatrice corrected.
I finally understood the sentence Tony had warned me about.
The lake house was not what they were after.
It was evidence for a story they planned to tell me and anyone else who questioned the sudden changes: Elijah was seventy.
Elijah wanted to simplify.
Elijah had begun transferring property to the next generation.
Elijah wanted Beatrice handling more responsibility.
Elijah was stepping back.
Every individual act could be made to look reasonable.
Together, they could change who held influence around everything I had built.
But they needed my cooperation.
And they thought trust would provide it.
Tony stopped the recording when both women left the room.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he handed me the drive.
“I’m sorry.”
I put it in my jacket pocket.
“You didn’t do this.”
“I almost didn’t call.”
“Why did you?”
He looked toward the monitor.
“My father spent his whole life running a small hardware store.
Near the end, people started treating his age like permission to decide things for him.
I heard them talking about you like that.”
I nodded once.
Then I walked out through the same service entrance.
Atlanta traffic moved normally.
That offended me somehow.
People changed lanes.
A delivery van stopped at a light.
A woman jogged past with headphones on.
Somewhere, somebody was probably arguing about lunch.
My marriage had split open in a dark office, and the city had not noticed.
Marcus was waiting when I reached his office.
He watched the footage twice.
The first time, he said almost nothing.
The second time, he paused whenever Beatrice referenced a document or procedure.
When the video ended, he removed his glasses.
“They know enough to create damage,” he said.
