Chapter 3
I followed him outside to a quiet corner.
He offered me a cigarette. I shook my head.
"You're much calmer than I expected," Julian said.
I glanced at Lucas and Evelyn in the distance, still standing there in a daze, and gave a faint smile.
"I was calm because I had stopped expecting anything from him a long time ago."
Julian was silent for a moment, then got to the point.
"Mr. Newton was the majority shareholder of Splendid Decor, holding sixty percent.
"According to the will, those shares were supposed to go to Lucas.
"But the company was heavily in debt and had already entered bankruptcy proceedings. The shares were now worthless."
I nodded. That much I had already figured out.
"But there was something else," Julian continued. "Splendid Decor had a subsidiary called Elegantia Design.
"It operated independently, and it was doing well. Its market value was around five million dollars.
"When it was registered, the legal representative was listed as you."
My heart jolted.
Me?
I had no memory of that.
"Richard probably forgot about it," Julian said. "At the time, he used your ID to avoid certain risks. You may have signed something without realizing it."
That sounded exactly like him, using me as a tool and discarding me when he was done.
"So the company was mine now?" I asked.
"In theory, yes," Julian said. "But there was a complication. Before he died, Richard transferred eighty percent of the shares to Evelyn for one dollar."
My eyes narrowed.
One dollar?
"It wasn't a lawful gift," Julian said, adjusting his glasses. "But they signed a formal share transfer agreement, so it had legal effect.
"Unless you could prove that Richard abused his authority as the legal representative and transferred the assets without your knowledge.
"That was going to be difficult."
I already knew it would be.
Richard had been meticulous. He wouldn't have left such an obvious loophole.
Julian looked at me, a trace of sympathy in his eyes.
"Ms. Newton, my advice is to walk away from this company.
"Evelyn and the others aren't people you can take on. You're on your own. You won't beat them."
Won't beat them?
I glanced over at Evelyn's smug face in the distance and smiled.
Maybe that was true before.
Not anymore.
"Thanks for the warning, Julian," I said. "But everything my mother left me, I'm keeping it.
"Splendid Decor used to be my grandfather's company. Elegantia Design was built from scratch by my mother.
"Richard handed it all to the other woman. I won't accept that."
Julian let out a quiet sigh and said nothing more.
After the funeral, I went back to that so-called home.
An old, empty villa.
It held all my childhood memories, yet not a trace of warmth.
The moment Richard died, Evelyn and Lucas tried to move in, like flies swarming to a carcass.
I had them thrown out by security, as the legal owner.
The villa had been bought with Catherine's money and registered under her name.
After she passed, it was transferred to me.
It was the only thing Richard had never managed to get his hands on.
I walked into Catherine's old study.
Everything was exactly as she had left it, spotless.
She had always been meticulous. She kept detailed records.
Every household expense, every company transaction, all carefully documented.
I opened the bottom drawer of her desk.
Inside was a locked rosewood box.
I took out the key and opened it.
More than a dozen thick ledgers lay neatly inside.
These were the last weapons Catherine had left me.
I took a deep breath and opened the first one.
It dated back twenty years, the pages yellowed with age.
Catherine's neat handwriting recorded every movement of money with precision.
[March 5, 1998. Richard withdrew one hundred thousand in cash from the household due to company cash flow issues.]
[August 16, 1999. Richard purchased a new car for three hundred fifty thousand, charged to the company account.]
[2001...]
I turned the pages one by one.
It was shocking.
Richard had been like a parasite, feeding off Catherine the entire time.
He used her money to start his business, buy luxury cars, and live a polished, enviable life.
All while keeping Evelyn and Lucas on the side.
I reached the last ledger.
The date was one month before Catherine's death.
Her handwriting had grown shaky, no longer as firm as before.
One entry was circled in red ink.
[September 10, 2008. Two million transferred from the company account to "Homecoming Studios" for investment.]
Homecoming.
I remembered that name.
It was Evelyn's studio.
At the bottom of the page, Catherine had written a faint note.
"Richard said this was for Lucas' study abroad expenses."
My hand tightened around the ledger.
It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart.
So it had started long ago. He had been openly moving money to support them.
And Catherine had known.
She knew everything. And she said nothing.
I closed the ledger, my eyes burning.
Mom, you were too kind.
But your daughter won't be anymore.
I picked up my phone and called Julian.
"Julian, I'm filing a lawsuit.
"I'm charging Richard with embezzlement, and Evelyn with illegally taking company assets.
"I'm taking back everything that belongs to my mother."