Chapter 6
Lorraine finally agreed to a formal interview.
Her lawyer insisted that nothing be interpreted as an admission beyond her exact words.
Rebecca did not care.
They had documents.
Lorraine began with the family philosophy.
“The trust was created for Carter descendants.”
Rebecca placed the definition in front of her.
“It includes adopted descendants.”
“I know what it says.”
“Do you believe Zia is Travis’s daughter?”
“Legally.”
Mara’s hands tightened under the table.
Rebecca continued.
“Emotionally?”
Lorraine looked directly at Mara.
“She had a father before Travis.”
“He died when she was two,” Mara said.
“My son did not create her.”
Travis spoke for the first time.
“I adopted her.”
“That doesn’t rewrite blood.”
There it was.
Not hidden.
Not elegant.
The prejudice beneath every small insult.
Rebecca asked:
“Then why did you submit expenses under Zia’s trust eligibility?”
Lorraine looked away.
“Family funds stayed within the family.”
“Which family?”
No answer.
“Why use Zia’s name?”
“The trust allocates by beneficiary.”
“So you knew she was a beneficiary.”
“Yes.”
Howard closed his eyes.
Lorraine continued.
“I didn’t write the instrument.”
“But you used it.”
“I used available allocations for children who are actually Carter grandchildren.”
Travis went pale with anger.
Mara put a hand on his arm.
Not to protect Lorraine.
To stop the meeting from becoming useless.
Rebecca asked:
“Did you intercept Hudson National letters from Travis’s house?”
“I collected paperwork.”
“Without permission?”
“I had a key.”
“That is not the question.”
Lorraine’s lawyer intervened.
They moved on.
Then Rebecca asked about the gift candle.
“Why $6.99?”
Lorraine’s expression hardened.
“I bought what I thought appropriate.”
“While recording $5,000 as Zia’s annual gift allocation.”
“It went toward the family celebration.”
“Mostly to other children.”
“I do not accept your characterization.”
Fine.
Documents would.
Then the interview revealed motive.
Vanessa’s divorce had been financially ugly.
Her two children’s private school cost nearly $80,000 combined each year.
Their father stopped paying tuition during litigation.
Vanessa could not cover everything without liquidating investments at a bad time.
Lorraine stepped in.
Another daughter’s son had specialized sports costs.
Another grandchild attended expensive camps.
Lorraine saw Zia’s newly activated trust eligibility as an extra pool.
In her mind, she was not stealing from Zia.
She was reallocating “Carter money” to children she considered truly Carter.
That motive was coherent.
It was also cruel.
And it did not explain why Lorraine needed to intercept statements.
Rebecca asked exactly that.
“If you believed this was permitted, why prevent Travis from seeing Zia’s account?”
Lorraine’s face tightened.
“Because he would have made an issue.”
“So you knew he had not approved.”
Silence.
“And Mara?”
“I did not discuss family money with Mara.”
“She is Zia’s mother.”
“That doesn’t make her a Carter.”
Mara almost smiled.
There it was again.
Everything Lorraine had done rested on one assumption:
May you like
Legal rights could exist on paper.
But she alone would decide who counted at the table.
