Chapter 7
Delphine began cooperating.
Partially.
She admitted Margaret paid her.
She admitted some payments were tied to Willa.
She denied the plan was “to hurt a child.”
Everett heard the interview summary through Nadia.
He almost laughed.
“What does she call slapping her?”
“An escalation.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she is trying to distinguish the original agreement from what she personally chose to do.”
That distinction mattered legally.
Delphine claimed the original arrangement began differently.
Margaret wanted Willa “emotionally unsettled” before Everett came home from family gatherings.
Not physically injured.
Delphine was supposed to:
Exclude her.
Scold her.
Tell her Everett was disappointed.
Take away food or dessert.
Put her somewhere separate.
Then stop before Everett arrived.
Why?
“So Willa would cling to Everett,” Nadia said.
“And then?”
“Margaret or Delphine would challenge him.”
Everett stared.
“They wanted arguments.”
“Yes.”
“Recorded.”
“Yes.”
“Witnessed.”
“Yes.”
Delphine said Margaret initially offered $1,000 per event because she knew Delphine hated being asked to babysit.
Later the payments became larger.
Delphine needed money.
She also resented Willa.
That part she admitted reluctantly.
Anna had been loved by the family.
After Anna died, every gathering revolved around Everett and Willa’s grief.
Delphine’s divorce, business problems, and financial panic received less sympathy.
“I was tired of everyone treating her like glass,” Delphine said in the interview.
Everett listened without expression.
Nadia paused the recording.
“You don’t have to hear the rest today.”
“Yes, I do.”
Delphine continued.
At first, she thought making Willa cry was petty.
Then Margaret explained the trust issue.
Everett was “out of control.”
He was trying to hand family authority to outsiders.
If his temper became visible, the trustees might force him to step back.
Delphine believed that would save Rourke House.
“So she knew the goal,” Everett said.
“Eventually.”
“Did she know Margaret intended a court filing?”
“Yes.”
Nadia played another section.
Delphine:
“Mom said we needed one clean incident.”
Prosecutor:
“What does that mean?”
“Something everybody could see.”
“Violence?”
“Maybe.”
“By Everett?”
“Yes.”
“Against whom?”
“Me or Mom.”
“Did you agree to be hit?”
“No.”
“Did you expect him to hit you?”
“I thought he might grab me.”
“Why Willa?”
A long silence.
Then Delphine:
“Because he doesn’t lose control over business.”
Everett stopped the recording himself.
No one spoke.
Then Nadia said:
“There is more.”
Everett looked at her.
“Margaret’s trust lawyers drafted an emergency petition.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“Before Tuesday?”
“Yes.”
The petition was incomplete.
It alleged:
Escalating volatility.
Poor judgment.
Unstable family conflict.
Concern regarding a minor beneficiary exposed to emotional incidents.
Need for temporary trustee suspension pending evaluation.
One section remained blank.
Most recent corroborated physical incident:
Nothing filled in.
A placeholder.
Waiting.
May you like
Everett stared at the white space.
Tuesday night had been meant to fill it.
