Chapter 21 - The Statement
Noah wrote eleven versions.
He deleted ten.
The first was angry.
You tried to kill me because of money.
Daniel read it and said nothing.
The second was colder.
I have no memory of you that belongs to me. Everything I know about you came from evidence.
Daniel still said nothing.
The third focused on Claire.
You attacked my mother when she could defend herself with words, then attacked me when she was dead.
Noah deleted that one too.
“Why aren't you helping?” he finally asked.
Daniel looked up from the couch.
“You told me not to edit.”
“That doesn't mean stare at me.”
“You want my opinion?”
“Yes.”
Daniel closed his laptop.
“Don't write it for her.”
Noah frowned.
“Who else would I write it for?”
“You.”
Noah stared at the screen.
Daniel continued.
“Your grandmother has spent your whole life trying to make other people's choices about her. Henry's. Claire's. Mine. Yours.”
He leaned forward.
“If you submit something, make sure it says what you need said. Not what will hurt her most.”
Noah was quiet.
“Do you want her released?”
Daniel's eyes shifted.
“This isn't my hearing.”
“That's not an answer.”
Daniel sighed.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't trust her.”
“Even now?”
“Yes.”
“She's seventy-one.”
“That doesn't make her safe.”
“She can't take the company.”
“No.”
“She can't contact me.”
“No.”
“She can't be trustee.”
“No.”
“Then what are you afraid of?”
Daniel looked at his son.
“You thinking danger has to look the way it looked before.”
Noah said nothing.
“Margaret didn't control people by being physically stronger than them.”
Daniel's voice was calm.
“She controlled them by knowing which fear to touch.”
Noah looked toward the staircase.
Their staircase.
The one he could barely remember being afraid of.
“Does she still know yours?”
Daniel answered honestly.
“You.”
Noah looked back.
Daniel smiled sadly.
“That is why I need to be careful.”
Noah understood.
If Margaret wanted to hurt Daniel now, she no longer needed money.
No longer needed a mansion.
She needed access to Noah's mind.
And Adrian had already provided a door.
That evening Noah received a message from an unknown number.
I heard about the hearing. We should talk before you let Daniel decide what you say.
Noah stared at it.
Then typed:
Adrian?
The response came immediately.
Yes.
Noah called him.
Adrian answered.
“You shouldn't be texting me from private numbers.”
“I assumed Daniel monitors your regular communications.”
Noah went cold.
“He doesn't.”
A pause.
“Then I misjudged him.”
“You do that a lot.”
“Noah—”
“Did Grandma ask you to contact me before the hearing?”
Silence.
“Adrian.”
“She asked me to make sure you understood her position.”
Noah's grip tightened.
“That is contact.”
“Technically, she asked me months ago.”
“You knew she wasn't allowed to communicate with me.”
“She isn't communicating with you.”
“You're repeating what she wants me to hear.”
Adrian exhaled.
“She is an old woman in prison.”
“She was an old woman when she sent me down the stairs?”
“She was sixty-three.”
“Great distinction.”
“Noah, I'm not asking you to forgive her.”
“Then what?”
“To understand why she is terrified.”
Noah laughed.
“She's terrified?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
The word came out faster than Noah expected.
Adrian became quiet.
Noah immediately felt ashamed.
Not because Margaret did not deserve consequences.
Because he did not like what the word sounded like in his own mouth.
He had spent his life being taught that fear was not love.
He did not want fear to become justice either.
Adrian sensed the hesitation.
“She has congestive heart problems. Arthritis. Her health has deteriorated.”
Noah stared at the wall.
“She may not survive another five years.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because if she dies inside, you may never get answers.”
“I didn't ask for any.”
“Maybe you should.”
“What answer could she give me?”
Adrian paused.
Then said:
“Ask her why Henry changed the trust twice.”
Noah stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Daniel only told you about the descendant trust.”
“Yes.”
“Henry amended it later.”
“When?”
“Eleven days before he died.”
Noah thought of the recording Samuel had once described.
Nine days before Henry's death.
“What did he change?”
“I don't know.”
“I don't believe you.”
“Then ask Samuel.”
The call ended.
Noah walked into Daniel's office.
His father was reading.
“Did Grandpa change the trust eleven days before he died?”
Daniel's face became blank.
Not confused.
Blank.
Noah saw it.
“You knew.”
Daniel slowly closed the book.
“I knew there was a final amendment.”
“What did it say?”
“I don't know.”
Now Noah was confused.
“You're the trustee.”
“Not of that document.”
“What?”
Daniel stood.
“Henry sealed it.”
“With who?”
“Samuel.”
Noah's anger disappeared.
Replaced by something else.
“Why?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“Because according to Samuel, the final amendment could only be opened under one condition.”
“What condition?”
May you like
Daniel met his eyes.
“When you personally asked for it after your eighteenth birthday.”
