I stayed in the parking lot with Tyler’s message glowing on my phone.
Barbara.
For several seconds, I thought I had misread it.
Of all the names that could have appeared, hers made the least sense.
Barbara complained about grocery prices, pool temperature, pharmacy refills, and which restaurants overcooked fish. She presented herself as a woman who had spent most of her adult life depending on other people to handle difficult things.
Business ownership did not fit anywhere in that picture.
I typed again.
What does Barbara have to do with your company?
No answer came.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Then ten.
Nothing.
So I called Jessica.
She answered immediately.
“What did Tyler tell you?”
“That depends. What did he tell you?”
“Eleanor, please.”
Her voice sounded different.
Not irritated.
Afraid.
“He said opening the books would hurt Barbara.”
Silence.
Then Jessica whispered, “Why?”
“That’s what I’m asking you.”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I believed her.
Not because Jessica and I had suddenly become allies.
Because genuine confusion has a sound.
“Has your mother ever invested in Tyler’s company?”
“No.”
“Loaned him money?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Owned part of it?”
“No.”
“Received money from it?”
Jessica hesitated.
That hesitation mattered.
“What?”
“I don’t know if it was from the company.”
“What was from somewhere?”
She exhaled.
“Mom got money after Dad died.”
I frowned.
Jessica’s father had died years before William.
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“From whom?”
“She said it was repayment.”
“For what?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
“When was this?”
“Around the same time Tyler’s business was expanding.”
My pulse quickened.
“Before William died?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the message again.
Barbara.
“Did Tyler know?”
Jessica said nothing.
“Jessica.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because he helped her.”
“With what?”
“I don’t know.”
There it was again.
I don’t know.
Every person around Tyler seemed to know just enough to avoid knowing the whole thing.
“Where is Barbara now?”
“At home.”
“With Tyler?”
“No. He went to the office.”
“I want to talk to her.”
Jessica’s voice sharpened.
“Don’t ambush my mother.”
“She has been living in Tyler’s house for free while I was charged rent.”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“Maybe it does.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No. But Tyler just connected her to his company himself.”
Jessica went quiet.
Then: “I’m coming over.”
“To my house?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re about to dig into my mother’s finances, I want to know why.”
She arrived forty minutes later.
I had made coffee.
Not because I felt hospitable.
Because my hands needed something to do.
Jessica sat across from me at the kitchen table.
Without Tyler beside her, she looked exhausted.
“What exactly did he say?”
I handed her my phone.
She read the message.
Then read it again.
Her face went pale.
“He never told me this.”
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to believe.”
That was the first truly honest thing I had heard from her in weeks.
I poured coffee.
Jessica stared at the cup.
“My mother doesn’t have money.”
“So I assumed.”
“She has some retirement income, but not much.”
“Then how does she pay for everything?”
Jessica looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“Clothes. Trips. Restaurants. Her car.”
“She sold her house.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Where did the proceeds go?”
Jessica frowned.
“I don’t know.”
“She lives with you for free.”
“Yes.”
“You pay some of her expenses?”
“Some.”
“Tyler?”
She shook her head.
“I thought not.”
I thought about the $47,500 deposit.
Then something else occurred to me.
“Did Barbara ever know Grant Hollis?”
Jessica’s eyes changed.
“You know Grant?”
“Do you?”
“He used to date my mother.”
I sat back.
The answer was so unexpected that for a moment I thought I had heard incorrectly.
“Barbara dated Grant Hollis?”
“For about a year.”
“When?”
Jessica thought.
“Maybe six years ago.”
That aligned almost perfectly with the period when Tyler had brought Grant into the company.
“Did Grant meet Tyler through Barbara?”
“Yes.”
I put down my cup.
Jessica saw the significance at the same time.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
“Grant wasn’t just some investor.”
“No.”
She stood and began pacing.
“Tyler said Grant was someone he met through commercial work.”
“Maybe both are true.”
“No. Tyler knew him because of Mom.”
I watched her.
“Why would Tyler hide that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why would your mother?”
Jessica stopped.
“My mother hides anything that makes her look dependent.”
That sounded believable.
“But this is bigger than embarrassment.”
“I know.”
“Did Barbara ever talk about helping Tyler financially?”
“No.”
“What about Grant?”
“She said he was generous.”
“With her?”
“Yes.”
“How generous?”
Jessica gave me a tired look.
“I didn’t audit their relationship.”
“Did he buy her anything significant?”
“A car.”
That caught me.
“What kind?”
“A Lexus.”
“Did she keep it?”
“She traded it later.”
I wrote it down.
Jessica stared at me.
“This is insane.”
“No. It’s complicated.”
“Same difference.”
“Not if money moved through them.”
Her face tightened.
“You think my mother was part of some scheme?”
“I think I don’t know.”
Jessica sat again.
“She wouldn’t steal.”
“I didn’t say she did.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“No. I’m thinking Tyler warned me that opening his books would hurt her.”
That fact sat between us.
Jessica reached for her phone.
“I’m calling her.”
“Put it on speaker.”
She almost refused.
Then she did it anyway.
Barbara answered after three rings.
“Jessica?”
“Mom, are you alone?”
“Yes. Why?”
Jessica looked at me.
Then asked, “What was Grant Hollis’s involvement with Tyler’s company?”
There was silence.
Too much silence.
Barbara finally said, “Why are you asking?”
“Because Tyler says company records could hurt you.”
Another pause.
“Tyler said that?”
“Yes.”
Barbara’s breathing became audible.
“Where is Eleanor?”
Jessica looked at me.
“She’s here.”
Barbara’s voice changed immediately.
“Of course she is.”
“Mom, answer me.”
“I don’t discuss private financial matters with Eleanor.”
“Then discuss them with me.”
Barbara said nothing.
Jessica’s voice trembled.
“Did Grant invest in Tyler’s business because of you?”
“No.”
“Did you receive money connected to Tyler’s company?”
“Jessica.”
“Yes or no?”
“I received money I was owed.”
“For what?”
“That is personal.”
“From Grant?”
Barbara went quiet.
“Mom?”
“I’m hanging up.”
“No, you’re not.”
Barbara’s voice hardened.
“You don’t speak to me like that.”
“Then stop treating me like I’m stupid.”
I saw Jessica’s hands shaking.
She continued.
“Tyler is panicking. Eleanor found company documents. There’s a lawyer involved. And now your name is suddenly in the middle of it.”
“I am not in the middle of anything.”
“Then explain.”
“I don’t have to.”
That was answer enough.
Barbara hung up.
Jessica stared at the phone.
“I’ve never heard her sound like that.”
“Defensive?”
“Scared.”
We sat silently.
Then my phone rang.
Marcus.
I answered with Jessica still across from me.
“We sent the demand,” he said.
“To Tyler?”
“And company counsel.”
“Good.”
“There’s a problem.”
“Of course there is.”
He almost laughed.
“Tyler’s attorney responded unusually fast.”
“What did he say?”
“That they dispute your ownership entirely.”
“Based on the letter?”
“Based on several things.”
“What things?”
Marcus paused.
“They claim William’s interest was extinguished through a restructuring.”
“The dilution?”
“Yes.”
“Without his signature?”
“They say consent was given through proxy.”
I frowned.
“By whom?”
Marcus’s answer made Jessica look up before I even spoke.
“Barbara Danner.”
I stared at her.
Jessica stood.
“What?”
I put Marcus on speaker.
“Say that again.”
“Company records apparently contain a proxy authorization allowing Barbara Danner to consent to the restructuring on William’s behalf.”
Jessica’s face drained of color.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus heard her.
“Jessica?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know anything about such an authorization?”
“No.”
I asked, “When was it signed?”
Marcus gave the date.
I looked at Jessica.
She shook her head.
“What?” I asked.
“My mother was in Cancun that week.”
“Are you sure?”
“I paid for the trip.”
Marcus said, “A proxy can be signed anywhere.”
Jessica grabbed her phone.
“No. You don’t understand. She was there with Grant.”
The room went silent.
Marcus spoke first.
“Grant Hollis?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Jessica.
She looked back at me.
The pieces were no longer scattered.
They were beginning to touch.
Grant had entered Tyler’s company.
Barbara had dated Grant.
William’s ownership had been reduced.
Grant’s interest later transferred to Tyler.
And now Tyler’s records claimed Barbara had somehow authorized the very restructuring William had disputed.
I asked Marcus the only question that mattered.
“Can you get that proxy?”
“I already requested it.”
“How long?”
“They’re refusing informal production.”
“Then what?”
“We seek a court order.”
Jessica shook her head.
“No. Before that, I’m asking my mother myself.”
I looked at her.
“She already refused.”
“She won’t when I’m standing in front of her.”
Jessica grabbed her purse.
I stood too.
She turned toward me.
“You’re not coming.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No.”
“If Barbara signed something on William’s behalf, I deserve an answer.”
“She’s my mother.”
“And William was my husband.”
We stared at each other.
Then Jessica gave a short, exhausted laugh.
“This family is unbelievable.”
For once, we agreed.
We drove separately to Tyler’s house.
Barbara’s car sat outside.
Jessica entered first.
I followed.
Barbara was in the family room watching television.
She saw us and immediately reached for the remote.
“What now?”
Jessica didn’t sit.
“Did you sign a proxy for William?”
Barbara froze.
That told us enough.
Jessica’s voice broke.
“Mom.”
Barbara looked toward me.
“You had no right to drag her into this.”
“I didn’t. Tyler did.”
Her expression shifted.
“What did Tyler tell you?”
“That opening his company books could hurt you.”
Barbara closed her eyes.
Jessica whispered, “What did you do?”
Barbara’s shoulders dropped.
For the first time since I had known her, she looked old.
Not difficult.
Not entitled.
Old.
“I didn’t know what I was signing.”
I stepped forward.
“Then you did sign something.”
She looked at me.
“I thought it was temporary.”
“What?”
“Authority.”
“For what?”
“To approve documents while William was sick.”
My heart hammered.
“William never gave you that authority.”
Barbara swallowed.
“I know.”
Jessica covered her mouth.
“Mom.”
Barbara’s eyes filled.
“Grant said it was just paperwork.”
“Grant gave it to you?”
“Yes.”
“And Tyler?”
Barbara did not answer.
I asked again.
“Did Tyler know?”
She looked down.
That was all the answer I needed.
Click here to continue reading: PART 10: Barbara Finally Told Us Why She Signed William’s Name Away, but Her Confession Revealed a Debt Tyler Could Never Admit Existed
The Morning I Realized My Son Saw Me as Income Instead of the Mother Who Had Always Rescued Him
Part 9 of 47
