Chapter 13 - Diane Had Been There From the BeginningThe video continued.
Victor Lang tapped the arm of his chair.
“Diane is useful.”
“She’s dangerous.”
“She’s ambitious.”
“She’s been feeding you information about Sarah and Ryan for years.”
Lang smiled.
“And you’ve been paying her.”
Sarah felt physically ill.
Her father’s face hardened.
“You think she’s loyal to you?”
“I think everyone is loyal to something.”
“My daughter trusted her.”
“That was Sarah’s mistake.”
Sarah paused the video.
Megan whispered, “Diane knew Lang before Dad died.”
Daniel nodded.
“Apparently.”
“How long?”
They resumed.
Sarah’s father slid a document across the desk.
“You promised Diane five percent of whatever Northstar saved by obtaining the rights below market.”
Lang’s expression changed.
“Careful.”
“So it wasn’t Ryan’s debt that brought you into my family.”
Lang said nothing.
“You found Diane first.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
Diane.
The sixty-two-year-old grandmother who had pretended Ryan’s financial troubles forced her into a terrible plan.
But she had been connected to Lang before Ryan was fully involved.
On screen, Sarah’s father continued.
“She told you about the trust.”
Lang smiled.
“Eventually.”
“She told you about the land.”
“She understood its value before Ryan did.”
Sarah felt anger unlike anything she had experienced.
Diane had been inside her home.
At Christmas.
Birthdays.
Hospital visits.
She had held Noah as a newborn.
And all that time…
Was she watching?
Waiting?
The video jumped slightly.
Possibly edited.
Then her father said, “If anything happens to me, Daniel has copies.”
Lang laughed.
“No, he doesn’t.”
Daniel stiffened.
Sarah stared at him.
Her father continued.
“He has enough.”
“To prove what?”
“That Diane obtained private trust information illegally.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
“Did you?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Lang leaned forward on screen.
“You made one mistake, Thomas.”
Sarah’s breath caught at hearing her father’s name.
“You assumed your lawyer was the only person handling your documents.”
Her father’s face changed.
“What did you do?”
Lang smiled.
“Ask Diane.”
The video ended.
Sarah stared at the black screen.
Daniel looked shaken.
“I need to review everyone who had access to our files then.”
“Staff?”
“Yes.”
“Could Diane have bribed someone?”
“Possibly.”
Sarah thought about Ryan.
His paranoia.
His anger toward her father.
Had Diane been feeding that too?
Turning Ryan’s insecurities into resentment?
Using his debt?
She called Detective Ruiz.
Within an hour, police requested Diane return for additional questioning.
She refused without an attorney.
Ryan also retained counsel.
But something else happened.
Martin Hale—the attorney whose email had warned Ryan not to fabricate evidence—contacted Sarah’s lawyer.
He wanted to talk.
Daniel arranged a call.
Martin sounded furious.
“I advised Ryan on custody procedure once.”
“When?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“Did you know why he wanted custody?”
“He claimed Sarah had become unstable after her father’s death.”
Sarah almost laughed.
“My father died four years ago.”
“I know that now.”
“What did he show you?”
“Photographs. School messages. Medical records.”
The manufactured history.
“Did you tell him to collect evidence?”
“Legitimate evidence.”
“Your email said do not fabricate anything.”
“Yes, because during our second conversation he asked a question that concerned me.”
“What question?”
“He asked whether a witness could report an incident they had been told about but not directly seen.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“And?”
“I told him hearsay would be weak and warned him not to manufacture situations.”
Sarah looked at Megan.
“What happened next?”
“I ended representation.”
“Why?”
“He asked if I could delay a trust transfer through emergency custody.”
There it was.
Martin continued.
“I told him family court was not a tool for financial control.”
“Did he mention Victor Lang?”
“No.”
“Diane?”
“Yes.”
Sarah’s pulse jumped.
“What did he say?”
“That she was the one who suggested filing.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
Diane again.
Martin hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Ryan seemed frightened of her.”
“His mother?”
“Yes.”
Sarah opened her eyes.
Martin continued.
“I remember thinking it was strange. She interrupted the meeting twice. Both times, Ryan changed what he was saying.”
Sarah looked at Daniel.
The conspiracy was rearranging itself.
Ryan was guilty.
Absolutely.
He had filmed his child.
Directed Diane.
Lied.
Planned to destroy Sarah.
But perhaps he hadn’t created the machine.
Perhaps Diane had.
And she had spent years turning her own son into exactly the weapon Victor Lang needed.
Then Sarah’s phone buzzed.
A voicemail.
From Ryan.
His voice was shaking.
“Sarah, I know you won’t believe me, but Mom is leaving.”
A pause.
“She has Noah’s passport.”
Sarah stood so fast her chair fell backward.
Noah’s passport should have been in the locked drawer at home.
May you like
Ryan continued.
“And she took the original trust documents.”
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