“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars. Offshore shell company. Traced back to Richard. Tell me what he purchased.”
Her hand shook around her water glass.
“He said you were destroying him,” she whispered. “He said you’d destroy me too.”
“So you helped him imply I killed my father?”
“I never accused you.”
“You hired a lawyer to raise suspicion.”
“I had questions!” she snapped, and for the first time the polished widow cracked open. “You weren’t there, Clara. He was suffering. Begging for peace. The nurse kept talking about dosage restrictions while he was in agony. I was his wife.”
“You administered extra morphine.”
“I helped him.”
“Richard was there.”
She looked away.
“Why?”
Tears filled her eyes. “Because I called him. I was frightened. Robert kept saying strange things. He said Richard was dangerous. He said I should call you, but you were in China building your empire while he was dying.”
The accusation landed.
I refused to show it.
“What did Richard tell you?”
“He said Robert was delirious. He said dying men imagine enemies everywhere. He told me the compassionate thing was letting him rest.”
The table between us suddenly felt miles wide.
“Did he tell you to give the morphine?”
Diana covered her mouth.
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither is lying about a dead man.”
Now the tears spilled freely, but tears had long stopped impressing me.
I placed an envelope on the table.
“You will return the money. You will sign an affidavit confirming Richard encouraged you to raise false suspicion after losing access to my assets. You will confirm I had absolutely no involvement in my father’s medication. If you refuse, Daniel sends the file to the district attorney, the medical board, and the trustee overseeing your settlement.”
“You’d ruin me.”
“You tried to ruin my father.”
She signed by five o’clock.
