Lily stepped toward him.
“You’re not my father.
But you tried to give my mother the truth when it cost you everything.”
“I should have done it sooner.”
“Yes,” she said.
“You should have.”
He nodded and accepted the words without defending himself.
“Can I still know you?” Lily asked.
“If your mother is comfortable.”
I looked at Daniel.
“No more payments.
No more agreements.
No more half-truths.”
“No more,” he said.
Three months later, I sat in the front row of a courtroom with Lily on one side and Elaine on the other.
Richard stood before the judge.
He had pleaded guilty to forging the loan document, filing false financial statements, and taking money from Elaine’s accounts without lawful permission.
The judge adjusted her glasses.
“Mr.
Mercer, you used trust as a financial tool and your family as a shield.
You will serve eighteen months in custody, repay the full amount taken from your wife and mother, and surrender control of every account named in this case.”
