Chapter 8 - THE ATTORNEY’S DEAL
Ronald Price looked twenty years older than he had at my wedding.
We watched his interview from another room.
Gray suit.
No tie.
Hands locked together.
His attorney sat beside him.
Price refused to answer anything until prosecutors discussed protection.
Eventually, they did.
Not full immunity.
Consideration.
Enough to make him talk.
“I prepared the documents,” Price admitted.
The detective across from him asked, “Knowing the signatures were fraudulent?”
Price closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Even though I knew, hearing it spoken did something strange.
It removed the last possibility of misunderstanding.
This wasn’t a family dispute that became illegal.
It was illegal from the beginning.
“Who instructed you?”
“Richard Carter.”
“Anyone else?”
Price hesitated.
“Diane Carter participated.”
Emma squeezed my hand.
“Describe participated.”
“She provided identification documents. Marriage records. Birth certificates. Copies of Ethan’s signature.”
“From where?”
“Some came from Marcus Cole.”
“And the custody petition?”
“Diane drove that.”
I wasn’t surprised.
“What was the purpose?”
“To gain guardianship over Noah Carter.”
“For what reason?”
“Control of the Sloan trust.”
The detective leaned forward.
“How much were you paid?”
Price swallowed.
“One hundred eighty thousand.”
“For forgery?”
“For everything.”
“What does everything mean?”
Price’s face changed.
There.
Fear.
He looked at his attorney.
The attorney nodded.
Price continued.
“Richard’s business has been insolvent for years.”
“How insolvent?”
“About four million in hidden liabilities.”
That number was worse than I expected.
“He borrowed from private lenders.”
“What kind?”
“Not banks.”
The detective let that sit.
Price continued.
“When repayment became impossible, he needed collateral.”
“My property,” I whispered from behind the glass.
Emma’s fingers tightened around mine.
Price explained how Richard had planned to mortgage my house using fraudulent authority.
Then draw against the property.
Then access Noah’s trust through guardianship petitions.
Then use life-insurance proceeds if I died.
The detective asked the obvious question.
“Did Richard Carter plan Ethan Carter’s death?”
Price stopped.
His lawyer spoke to him quietly.
Then Price said, “I never heard him directly order anyone to harm Ethan.”
Directly.
The word mattered.
“But?”
“But Richard asked me what would happen to the policy if Ethan died during deployment.”
“When?”
“Eight months ago.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That if the beneficiary change was valid, North Ridge would receive the proceeds.”
“Did he ask anything else?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“What happened if Ethan died before the amendment was fully processed.”
I looked at Emma.
Her face had gone white.
The detective asked, “Was there a plan to cause Ethan’s death?”
Price stared at the table.
“I don’t know.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Then why did you run?”
Price breathed through his nose.
“Because yesterday Richard called me.”
“What did he say?”
“He said Ethan came home early.”
“And?”
“He said the plan had collapsed.”
“What did he tell you to do?”
“Destroy files.”
“The lake house?”
“I refused.”
“Who burned it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who else was involved?”
Price shook his head.
The detective slid a photograph across the table.
Marcus Cole.
“Did you know him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Richard paid him.”
“For information?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“About sixty thousand total.”
“Did Marcus know about the fraud?”
“He knew some of it.”
“Did he know about the insurance policy?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What did he think he was doing?”
“Helping Richard protect assets during Ethan’s deployment.”
I almost laughed.
Protect.
That word again.
People like my father wrapped theft in respectable language.
Then the detective asked:
“Who is AC?”
Price froze.
The room behind the glass became silent.
The initials had appeared in Richard’s notebook.
Price’s eyes moved to his lawyer.
“Mr. Price?”
“I don’t want to answer that.”
“You asked for consideration.”
“This person is different.”
“How?”
Price whispered something.
The microphone barely caught it.
The detective leaned closer.
“Say it again.”
Price lifted his head.
“AC was supposed to make sure Ethan never discovered any of this.”
My heartbeat slowed.
Not accelerated.
Slowed.
That happened sometimes when danger became clear.
“Who is AC?”
Price finally answered.
“Adam Cross.”
I knew the name.
Everyone in my family did.
Adam had grown up two streets from us.
He had been my best friend from age eleven until twenty-three.
He had been best man at my wedding.
And then he disappeared from my life after a fight neither of us ever properly explained.
Emma stared at me.
“You know him?”
“Yes.”
Price continued on-screen.
“Richard paid Adam Cross to watch Emma.”
The detective asked, “Why would Cross agree?”
Price swallowed.
“Because Richard told him Ethan’s wife was hiding something.”
“What?”
Price looked toward the one-way glass.
May you like
As though he somehow knew I was standing there.
“He told Adam that Noah might not be Ethan’s son.”
