Chapter 16
The first demand arrived as a letter from Celeste's attorney.
It said Marcus owed her repayment for personal money invested in the household and studio preparations. The amount was nearly forty thousand dollars. She threatened to pursue a civil claim if he did not arrange payment within ten days.
Marcus brought the letter to Dana. He was pale and angry, but not at Brielle this time.
"She used our grocery account to pay her company," he said. "Now she's billing me for the same work."
Dana reviewed the letter and cautioned him against replying impulsively. The consulting claim might have its own legal questions. It did not change the disputed trust transfer, and Marcus needed independent counsel to advise him about his potential exposure.
"I thought you were our lawyer," he said.
"I represent June in her trustee capacity," Dana replied. "Your interests aren't necessarily identical to hers."
The first roof inspection took nearly two hours. Brielle watched the contractor test a water-damaged beam while June recorded his findings. The building made ordinary creaks, and rain from the previous week had left a stain above the rear office. Keeping it would involve money, labor, and sometimes accepting unwelcome advice. Brielle was beginning to distinguish the trust's practical problems from the fabricated emergency used to force a sale.
June asked what should happen if the repairs proved too expensive. Brielle wanted to say they would find a way, no matter what. Then she remembered her mother's notes about budgets. "We'd have to compare options," she answered. "Maybe rent part of it. Maybe wait. But we'd decide with real numbers." June nodded. Naomi wanted to know whether they could sell old scraps to raise money. Brielle showed her which remnants could be made into small bags, and which were too worn to sell honestly.
The conversation was mundane and surprisingly hopeful. They were not trying to win a battle in a single afternoon. They were making decisions that could last longer than a confrontation. As the contractor left, Naomi touched the white-painted door and asked whether there was blue beneath it. Brielle scratched at a flaking corner with her thumbnail and found a bright strip. She did not peel any more away. There would be time for paint after the roof was safe.
Marcus stared at her. For years he had merged every person's interests into a single phrase, what's best for the family, then allowed Celeste to define it. Now the differences were printed in black and white.
He retained his own attorney.
Meanwhile, the county investigator assigned to review the reported questionable notarization requested documents and interviewed the notary. Dana provided information through lawful channels, and the families were told not to assume the inquiry would produce charges. Brielle resented the uncertainty but had begun to understand it.
Naomi asked to speak with a counselor who wasn't related to anyone involved. June arranged an appointment through the child's pediatrician. Afterward, Naomi said she had talked about the dress and how angry Daddy looked, but she did not want to repeat the conversation at dinner. Brielle accepted the boundary without asking what else had been said.
That weekend, Ruth came to the studio with the contractor who had provided the original roof estimate. June had asked for a fresh inspection because the building's condition mattered regardless of the lawsuit. The contractor found damage, but no immediate structural emergency. The repairs would cost real money, not the impossible figure on Celeste's spreadsheet.
Brielle wrote down the estimate. For the first time, preserving the studio felt like a responsibility she could understand rather than a sentimental dream someone else would finance.
As they locked up, she noticed a strip of old blue paint showing beneath the white on the doorframe.
"We could repaint it," Naomi said.
"Maybe," Brielle answered. "After we find out how much the roof costs."
Naomi rolled her eyes. "You're becoming Grandma."
They laughed, briefly, in the empty room.
On Monday, Dana received copies of the questioned paperwork from the closing agent's file. The email transmitting June's affidavit had come from Celeste's business address. Its attachment history indicated the document had been revised shortly before submission. That did not identify the hands at the keyboard, but it made the route of the document clear.
Brielle asked whether they finally knew who was responsible.
"We know who sent it," Dana said. "We know whose authority it claimed. The rest has to be established carefully."
May you like
That night Celeste left Marcus a voicemail.
"If you don't protect me," she said, "I'll tell them what you knew."
