Chapter 14 - DIANE'S CONFESSION
Diane requested immunity.
She did not get it.
She got a cooperation agreement instead.
In exchange for complete truthful testimony, prosecutors would consider her assistance.
Diane agreed.
Her confession lasted eleven hours.
I did not hear it live.
Rebecca summarized only what I needed.
Diane admitted knowing about Crestmont.
She admitted signing transfers.
She admitted knowing Ryan was having an affair.
She admitted helping hide Grant’s debts.
She admitted lying to me repeatedly.
Then came the pills.
Diane knew.
Not at first.
But she discovered what Grant was doing in December.
I met with her once after prosecutors approved contact.
A glass wall separated us.
Diane looked at my stomach before looking at me.
“I switched some of them back.”
“What?”
“The vitamins.”
My anger sharpened.
“When I realized what Grant had done, I started replacing the capsules.”
“You could have told me.”
“I know.”
“You could have called my doctor.”
“I know.”
“You could have called police.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you?”
She stared at the table.
“Because I was still protecting him.”
That answer was at least true.
“For thirty-eight years, protecting Grant was how I survived.”
“And what did it turn you into?”
She began crying.
I did not comfort her.
“I became someone I hate.”
I believed her.
That did not absolve her.
“Did Ryan know?”
Diane nodded.
The movement was tiny.
But it changed everything.
“When?”
“Before Christmas.”
“What exactly did he know?”
“He knew Grant replaced some capsules.”
“Did he stop him?”
“No.”
“Did he warn me?”
“No.”
“Did he keep letting me take them?”
Diane closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
I stood.
“Claire.”
I stopped.
“There’s something you don’t know about New Year’s Eve.”
I turned back.
“What?”
“Grant planned the argument.”
I stared at her.
“The dinner?”
“Yes.”
“He told Ryan to provoke you.”
“Why?”
“To see what you would do.”
I slowly sat again.
“Explain.”
“They needed to know whether you were already suspicious.”
The conversation at dinner returned to me.
Grant mocking my work.
Ryan criticizing how much time I spent at the office.
Diane asking whether I had changed my estate plan.
Brooke asking strangely specific questions about stock vesting.
Then Grant saying our daughter would be a Lawson and should inherit through Lawson-controlled structures.
I had laughed.
I told him my daughter’s assets would never be managed by someone who could not even pay for his own ski house.
That was when Grant’s face changed.
That was when Ryan grabbed my wrist under the table.
That was when I told him to let go.
That was when Grant stood.
“He burned me because I insulted him.”
Diane looked sick.
“He did it because you confirmed you knew the Aspen house wasn’t really his.”
I had not known.
I had guessed.
One sarcastic sentence had convinced Grant his entire scheme was exposed.
That was why Ryan panicked when I called police.
That was why the two-million-dollar transfer began while I was in the hospital.
They thought I already knew everything.
Their fear exposed them.
I laughed softly.
Diane stared.
“What?”
“They destroyed themselves.”
She did not disagree.
Before I left, she said one final thing.
“Ryan is worse than Grant thinks.”
I stopped.
“What does that mean?”
“Grant started the financial scheme.”
“And?”
“But the insurance policy?”
May you like
She looked directly at me.
“That was Ryan’s idea.”
