Chapter 4 - The Truth About Philip
Philip misread my silence for guilt.
"You thought you were so clever," he sneered. "But we have a paper trail now. We can prove you were financially entangling yourself with her."
Nathan the lawyer stepped in, trying to sound reasonable.
“We’re only trying to establish exactly what happened during the final months of her life, ma'am. If you return what doesn't belong to you, we might avoid taking this to court.”
I looked directly at Philip. My shock was evaporating, rapidly being replaced by a deep, burning anger.
“When was the last time you spoke to your mother before she died?” I asked.
His expression hardened. “That has nothing to do with this.”
“June eighteenth,” I said, not breaking eye contact. “Her birthday. You spoke for exactly four minutes.”
His jaw tightened.
“She fell in February. Did you know that?” I pressed.
His face changed. He blinked. “No.”
“She was on her cold kitchen floor for almost forty minutes before I found her.”
Philip stared at me, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his face. “Why wasn’t I called?”
“Because she begged me not to call you.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because she knew you would immediately start talking about assisted living again. Because you didn't want to deal with her, you just wanted her out of the way.”
“She was eighty-four years old!” Philip yelled defensively.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “That was her age, Philip. It wasn’t her entire identity.”
Nathan held up a hand. "Ma'am, emotional appeals won't change the legal facts."
“You want the legal facts?” I asked, standing up. “Then you should know everything.”
I turned around, walked inside my house, and went straight to the safe.
I pulled out the thick manila envelope Ada had given me.
When I returned to the porch, Philip and Nathan were whispering to each other. They stopped when they saw the envelope.
I placed it on the table.
Written across the front were the words:
For the attorney Philip hires if he challenges my decisions.
Philip froze. All the color drained from his face.
“So you two planned this,” he muttered.
May you like
“No,” I said. “Ada planned it. I was simply told to hold the envelope.”
I slid it toward Nathan. "She told me to give it to you."
