Chapter 16 - Linda Was Never Just the Mother
Linda received $420,000 from Marcus.
She called it repayment of a family loan.
There was no loan agreement.
No original transfer.
No documentation.
Marcus called it consulting compensation.
Linda had no consulting contract with Baycrest.
Then prosecutors found messages.
Linda wrote.
I KEPT CLAIRE AWAY.
YOU SAID THAT WAS WORTH SOMETHING.
Marcus replied.
AFTER CLOSE.
Linda answered.
I WANT HALF NOW.
I read the exchange twice.
She had been paid for helping exclude me.
Rachel looked equally stunned.
The family dinner was not merely Linda protecting Daniel.
She had a financial interest in the deal.
Marcus promised her money after closing.
Linda ensured I received the wrong date.
Linda seated Vanessa beside Daniel.
Linda told me there was no chair.
Linda pushed me out.
Then Marcus planned to pay her.
The $420,000 represented an advance.
I felt strangely relieved.
For months, I had wondered why Linda despised me enough to humiliate me publicly.
Money did not erase the resentment.
It explained the precision.
She did not just want me hurt.
She needed me absent.
Daniel came to Rachel’s office after learning about the messages.
He looked devastated.
“I didn't know.”
I believed him.
For once.
“Did you know she was coordinating with Marcus?”
“No.”
“Did you know she changed the dinner date deliberately?”
“I suspected.”
My chest tightened.
“You suspected.”
“She told me she thought it would be easier if you weren't there.”
“And you went.”
“Yes.”
“You saw Vanessa’s place card.”
“Yes.”
“You sat down.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“You had so many exits.”
“What?”
“Every step.”
“You could have called me Thursday.”
“You could have told Linda no.”
“You could have moved Vanessa.”
“You could have walked out when I arrived.”
“You could have told Marcus the deal required my approval.”
“You could have told me the truth before I found the folders.”
Daniel began crying.
“I know.”
That was the tragedy.
He always knew after.
Never before.
Never when knowing required courage.
Prosecutors froze Linda’s account.
Her attorney negotiated return of the funds pending investigation.
She blamed Marcus.
Marcus blamed Daniel.
Daniel blamed himself.
Vanessa cooperated.
The entire structure collapsed because nobody trusted anyone enough to maintain the lie.
Then investigators recovered one final deleted message.
Linda to Daniel.
Sent two hours before Friday’s dinner.
IF CLAIRE SHOWS UP, DO NOT DEFEND HER.
WE NEED HER ANGRY ENOUGH TO LEAVE.
Daniel had replied.
OKAY.
One word.
That was all.
Not confusion.
Not silence.
Agreement.
I closed the file.
Whatever sympathy I had briefly felt disappeared.
May you like
He had known exactly what his mother planned to do to me.
He simply had not known she was being paid for it.
