Chapter 17 - Patricia’s Real Role
Patricia was arrested at her attorney’s office the next morning.
At first, she claimed Malcolm had manipulated her.
Then investigators found payments.
For three years, Morrow Capital had deposited money into an account controlled solely by Patricia.
She had introduced Blake to Malcolm.
She had encouraged Blake’s resentment toward my inheritance.
She had even selected Marissa from photographs Malcolm provided.
When confronted with the records, Patricia stopped pretending.
“My son deserved that company,” she said during questioning.
“It belonged to Claire’s family,” the detective replied.
“Claire never appreciated what she had.”
Patricia’s jealousy had begun long before the marriage collapsed.
She hated that the house was mine.
She hated that my father’s trust paid for Emma’s future.
Most of all, she hated that Blake’s success depended on a wife she considered beneath the Carrington name.
She believed Malcolm would make Blake powerful.
Instead, he made Blake disposable.
Patricia had known about the plan to frame me as unstable.
She had recorded private arguments, edited out Blake’s insults, and preserved only my emotional reactions.
She had been preparing evidence against me inside my own home.
Daniel sat beside me as the detective explained everything.
“Will she be charged?”
“Conspiracy, forgery, attempted fraud, evidence tampering, and possibly attempted kidnapping.”
I thought of Patricia smiling while telling Emma to sleep on the floor.
Justice no longer felt abstract.
It had a face.
It wore a beige cardigan and called cruelty family loyalty.
Then the detective revealed that Patricia had made one final transfer before her arrest.
She sent $300,000 from Malcolm’s account to someone identified as E. Dawson.
My father had no living relative with that initial.
At least, none I knew about.
Daniel stared at the transaction.
May you like
“There is one person,” he said quietly. “Your father’s estranged brother, Everett.”
👉 Just when Claire believed she understood the conspiracy, a forgotten member of her own family appeared inside Malcolm’s money trail.
