Chapter 9 - The Trust Thomas Tried to Protect
Thomas had created a trust worth nearly four million dollars.
Half belonged to Natalie.
The other half was reserved for Eli’s education and future care.
Linda served as temporary trustee because Thomas became ill before completing the transfer to an independent firm.
After his death, Linda told Natalie the trust was nearly empty.
She produced statements showing medical expenses, taxes, and business losses.
Most were forged.
Linda secretly invested the money in properties and transferred funds into Rachel’s clinic.
She also purchased a vacation home under another company’s name.
Thomas discovered the theft shortly before he died.
He contacted an attorney and recorded a statement.
But Linda intercepted the legal documents.
She destroyed the paper copies.
She believed the camera recordings were gone too.
Eli accidentally found the last surviving memory card.
That tiny object threatened everything Linda had built.
Detective Harris located Thomas’s former attorney.
The attorney confirmed Thomas called days before his death.
“He said his wife was moving money without permission.”
“Why didn’t you investigate?” Natalie asked.
“I tried. Linda told me his medication made him paranoid.”
The same excuse Linda used against Eli.
He does not know what he saw.
Natalie realized Linda’s method had never changed.
Whenever someone exposed her, she called them confused.
Ill.
Unreliable.
Too young.
Too medicated.
Thomas died before anyone believed him.
Linda expected a frightened six-year-old to fail the same way.
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But Eli had one advantage Thomas never had.
His mother was finally listening.
