{"id":8206,"date":"2026-09-25T19:20:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=8206"},"modified":"2026-09-25T19:20:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T19:20:36","slug":"part-15-patricias-signature-proved-daniels-mother-knew-about-the-distressed-sale-but-her-reason-for-helping-andrew-exposed-a-secret-daniel-never-suspected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=8206","title":{"rendered":"PART 15 \u2013 Patricia\u2019s Signature Proved Daniel\u2019s Mother Knew About the Distressed Sale, but Her Reason for Helping Andrew Exposed a Secret Daniel Never Suspected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Patricia Prescott did not come to us.<\/p>\n<p>We went to her.<\/p>\n<p>Not to the family home.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney insisted on his office.<\/p>\n<p>By then, every Prescott had counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Nine years earlier, family gatherings involved casseroles, birthday candles, and arguments about football.<\/p>\n<p>Now communication moved through conference rooms and billable hours.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia entered wearing a cream coat and pearl earrings.<\/p>\n<p>She looked composed until she saw the agreement on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Then her face changed.<\/p>\n<p>Only for a second.<\/p>\n<p>Enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou recognize it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMrs. Prescott will answer through the appropriate process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said I can speak.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She sat opposite me.<\/p>\n<p>For years, I had thought of her cruelty as shallow.<\/p>\n<p>She liked status.<\/p>\n<p>She liked Daniel\u2019s success.<\/p>\n<p>She liked telling people her son employed hundreds of workers even when the actual number was eighty-three.<\/p>\n<p>She disliked that my money had made the company possible because it complicated the family mythology.<\/p>\n<p>But witnessing Andrew\u2019s distressed-acquisition agreement was not shallow.<\/p>\n<p>It required knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you sign?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew asked me to witness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he tell you it was?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA consulting agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you read it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That surprised me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you saw the clause.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaying Andrew if Marwood acquired control after Daniel defaulted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you understand Daniel had borrowed nine million dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes shifted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel know you knew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer landed strangely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy keep it from your son?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked at the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Andrew said Daniel was panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said if Daniel knew how bad things were, he might do something reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat strategy worked beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her face tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was trying to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone keeps saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I was his wife.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would helping Daniel involve signing an agreement that paid Andrew if Daniel lost control?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia\u2019s fingers tightened around her handbag.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Andrew said it was insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor whom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Northstar failed, Marwood would take Daniel\u2019s interest and bring in new capital.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel\u2019s thirty-nine percent would not give them control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew said yours would be dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI assumed you would sell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid he tell you I had agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout a month ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Daniel told us you were leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeaving what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was false.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room changed.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew had told Daniel\u2019s family I was leaving before Daniel filed anything.<\/p>\n<p>Before the anniversary dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Before I knew there was a problem large enough to end the marriage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat exactly did Andrew say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you and Daniel had privately agreed to separate after the sale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Nina.<\/p>\n<p>Another manufactured narrative.<\/p>\n<p>Different audience.<\/p>\n<p>To investors, I was disengaged.<\/p>\n<p>To divorce counsel, financially dependent.<\/p>\n<p>To the family, already leaving.<\/p>\n<p>To Marwood, effectively consenting.<\/p>\n<p>Each group received the version needed to keep them moving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ask Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew said Daniel didn\u2019t want to discuss it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cConvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia\u2019s eyes flashed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had no reason to think Andrew was lying.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had every reason to ask your son.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Andrew promise you money?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found two payments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney leaned forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat payments?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Apparently, he did not know.<\/p>\n<p>Nina slid the records across.<\/p>\n<p>Forty thousand.<\/p>\n<p>Sixty thousand.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese are old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey weren\u2019t payments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat were they?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReturns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn what investment?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew handled money for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much did you invest?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty-five thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd he returned one hundred thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is the subscription agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTax statements?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFund name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She could not answer.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney looked increasingly concerned.<\/p>\n<p>I asked, \u201cDid you actually give Andrew twenty-five thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom what account?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCashier\u2019s check.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecords?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nina said, \u201cWe\u2019ll need them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia nodded.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, her confidence was thinning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Andrew ask from you after making those returns?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot directly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you controlled too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There it was again.<\/p>\n<p>The message spreading through the family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Andrew tell you I was hurting Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said investors didn\u2019t respect him because you could override him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel tell you that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore or after Andrew?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Important.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew planted the idea.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel eventually repeated it.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia reinforced it.<\/p>\n<p>A resentment loop.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat he should protect himself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the imbalance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn imbalance created because I invested six hundred and forty thousand dollars when your son\u2019s company was days from missing payroll.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She flushed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why call me a freeloader?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes dropped.<\/p>\n<p>The question finally reached somewhere no financial document could.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t call you that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat night, you laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was angry with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought you were leaving Daniel and taking control with you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The answer startled me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou thought I had already agreed to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why be angry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Andrew said you were demanding more money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course.<\/p>\n<p>Another story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat amount?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwenty million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Almost exactly what my shares were worth.<\/p>\n<p>To Patricia, that became greed.<\/p>\n<p>To me, it would simply have been value.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid anyone show you my demand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ever hear me make one?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYet you believed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The honesty hurt more than denial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked at me for a long time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause by then I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There.<\/p>\n<p>Finally.<\/p>\n<p>No Andrew.<\/p>\n<p>No Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>No excuse.<\/p>\n<p>She wanted the version in which I was greedy because it made her son righteous.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked surprised.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor answering honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did love you, Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I felt nothing when she said it.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe that was sadder than anger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot enough to ask me whether any of it was true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked down.<\/p>\n<p>Nina returned to the Marwood agreement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did Andrew need you as witness?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia shook her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said neutral family witness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou were not neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid anyone else attend?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCelia Ward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not surprising.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA woman named Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I did not know the name.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRebecca who?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLowe, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nina searched.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Lowe.<\/p>\n<p>Chief financial officer of North Harbor Equity.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed buyer.<\/p>\n<p>Now the buyer\u2019s CFO was physically present when Daniel\u2019s mother witnessed an agreement paying Andrew if the deal failed and a distressed acquisition followed.<\/p>\n<p>That tied Northstar and Harborfall much more closely than Marwood had admitted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Rebecca say?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlmost nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything about me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia thought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe asked whether Claire would fight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Andrew say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat you would at first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened after that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you would realize litigation could destroy the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The strategy became painfully clear.<\/p>\n<p>They expected me to discover something.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe not the forgeries before closing.<\/p>\n<p>But eventually.<\/p>\n<p>And when I did, the company would already be burdened by debt, litigation, transaction complications, and family conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Then they expected me to choose preservation over resistance.<\/p>\n<p>They knew exactly which part of me to exploit.<\/p>\n<p>I had saved Prescott Logistics once.<\/p>\n<p>They assumed I would sacrifice myself to save it again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Andrew say what I would do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said you always choose the company.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I looked down.<\/p>\n<p>For years, that had been true.<\/p>\n<p>Employees.<\/p>\n<p>Payroll.<\/p>\n<p>Vendors.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>I chose stability.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew had mistaken responsibility for infinite surrender.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia looked toward her attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Then back at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is something Daniel doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew asked me for money last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you give it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said one of his funds had a temporary liquidity problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The failing fund.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat I didn\u2019t have that kind of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe asked whether Daniel could invest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My hands went cold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout eleven months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s catastrophic investment came later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you tell Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Andrew had an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou introduced Daniel to the investment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia\u2019s face crumpled slightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much did Andrew tell you he needed?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFive hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDaniel eventually put in nine million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBorrowed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you never told Daniel Andrew came to you because his fund was already short of cash.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndrew told me the problem had been resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou believed him again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I stood and walked toward the window.<\/p>\n<p>The pattern was almost unbearable.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew needed money.<\/p>\n<p>He approached Patricia.<\/p>\n<p>She directed Daniel toward him.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel borrowed nine million.<\/p>\n<p>The fund collapsed.<\/p>\n<p>Marwood appeared.<\/p>\n<p>Project Northstar became necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Then Harborfall waited beneath it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Andrew give you anything after Daniel invested?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patricia did not answer.<\/p>\n<p>I turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPatricia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She opened her handbag.<\/p>\n<p>Removed a small velvet box.<\/p>\n<p>Inside was a diamond bracelet.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave me this at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe said thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor introducing Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She began crying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Daniel made money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course not.<\/p>\n<p>People rarely asked questions when the answer might make a gift harder to keep.<\/p>\n<p>Nina photographed the bracelet and advised Patricia not to dispose of it.<\/p>\n<p>Her attorney looked as though he wanted the meeting over immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Before they left, Patricia stopped beside me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I waited.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry about the dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not the money.<\/p>\n<p>Not the documents.<\/p>\n<p>The dinner.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe because cruelty was the one thing she could fully understand without a lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>I nodded once.<\/p>\n<p>She left.<\/p>\n<p>At 4:20, Omar called.<\/p>\n<p>He had traced Patricia\u2019s original twenty-five-thousand-dollar investment.<\/p>\n<p>It entered an Andrew-controlled account.<\/p>\n<p>The hundred thousand she later received did not come from investment profits.<\/p>\n<p>It came from Prescott Ventures.<\/p>\n<p>The secret company owned by Andrew and Daniel.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Daniel\u2019s hidden entity paid his mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Daniel authorize it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis digital approval appears on both transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That meant Daniel knew.<\/p>\n<p>At least about those payments.<\/p>\n<p>He had participated in buying his mother\u2019s loyalty while pretending Andrew acted independently.<\/p>\n<p>I felt the familiar temptation to accept Daniel\u2019s newest story\u2014that Andrew had manipulated everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence refused to let me.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew was dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel was still responsible.<\/p>\n<p>Then Omar opened another ledger.<\/p>\n<p>Prescott Ventures had made four similar payments.<\/p>\n<p>Patricia.<\/p>\n<p>Robert.<\/p>\n<p>An early investor.<\/p>\n<p>And someone whose name stopped me cold.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel Hart.<\/p>\n<p>My father\u2019s independent trustee.<\/p>\n<p>Fifty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Six years ago.<\/p>\n<p>I stared at Nina.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She looked equally shocked.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel had spent two days helping us activate the trust protections.<\/p>\n<p>He had explained my father\u2019s safeguards.<\/p>\n<p>He had sounded surprised by the current scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Yet an entity secretly controlled by Daniel and Andrew had paid him fifty thousand dollars years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>If Samuel had been compromised, the trust protection we were relying on might not be protection at all.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/?p=8207\">Click here to continue reading: PART 16: Samuel\u2019s Fifty-Thousand-Dollar Payment Looked Like the Final Betrayal, Until He Opened My Father\u2019s Last File and Named the Person He Had Been Watching<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patricia Prescott did not come to us. We went to her. Not to the family home. Her attorney insisted on his office. By then, every Prescott had counsel. Nine years &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8246,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8206\/revisions\/8246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}